Underglow Legal States 2025
Not illegal
35
Illegal
10
Legal
6
State | Underglow Lighting Legality↓ | Additional Underglow Legality Details | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Alabama | Not illegal | No red lights may be visible from the front of the vehicle. License plate illumination must be white. Flashing lights are prohibited. |
 | Alaska | Not illegal | No blue color is permitted. No red lights may be visible from the front of the vehicle. Flashing lights are not allowed. License plate illumination must be white. Only permitted underglow colors are white on front, amber on sides, and red on rear of the car. |
 | Arizona | Not illegal | All light visible from the front of the car should be white or amber. All lights visible on the rear side of the car should be red. License plate illumination must be white. Flashing lights are prohibited. |
 | Colorado | Not illegal | Green colored lights are explicitly forbidden. Red of blue light may not be visible from the front of the car. |
 | Delaware | Not illegal | All lights visible from the front or front sides of the car should be white or amber. All lights visible on the rear or rear side of the car should be red or amber. Red color should not be visible from the front of the vehicle. License plate illumination must be white. Flashing lights are prohibited. |
 | District of Columbia | Not illegal | No red lights may be visible from the front of the vehicle. License plate illumination must be white. Flashing lights are prohibited. |
 | Florida | Not illegal | Red lights may not be visible from the front of the car. Blue colored lights are prohibited on any part of the vehicle. All lights on the rear of the vehicle must be red. License plate illumination must be white. Flashing lights are prohibited. |
 | Georgia | Not illegal | Red, blue, violet and green colors are expressly forbidden. License plate illumination must be white. Flashing lights are prohibited. |
 | Hawaii | Not illegal | Red and blue colors are not permitted. License plate illumination must be white. |
 | Indiana | Not illegal | License plate illumination must be white. Flashing lights are prohibited. All combinations of red, blue, white, and amber colors are illegal. |
 | Iowa | Not illegal | Red color should not be visible from the front of the vehicle, and rear end of the vehicle should only display color red. All flashing lights are completely prohibited, except in case of an emergency. Blue lights must never be used on any part of a vehicle except on authorized emergency vehicles. License plate illumination must be white. |
 | Kentucky | Not illegal | Displaying any kind of flashing or rotating lights, except in the case of an emergency, is not permitted. Displaying blue lights is not permitted. Displaying red light visible from front of vehicle is not permitted. |
 | Louisiana | Not illegal | Blue-colored lights are illegal. Flashing lights are not permitted. Using neon lights of any color except white near license plate is not allowed. Red or green light must not be visible from the front of the car. Do not display any combination of white, red, and blue colored lights. |
 | Maryland | Not illegal | No red or blue lights may be visible from the front of the vehicle. Only permitted color for additional after-market lights visible from the rear of the vehicle is red. No flashing lights are permitted. License plate illumination must be white. |
 | Mississippi | Not illegal | All lights visible from the front of the car must be white or amber. All lights visible from the side of the car must be amber. All lights visible from the back of the car must be red. License plate illumination must be white. No flashing lights may be used. |
 | Missouri | Not illegal | No red color may be visible from the front of the vehicle. No flashing neons are permitted. License plate illumination must be white. |
 | Nebraska | Not illegal | No red or green color may be visible from the front of the vehicle. Rotating or flashing lights are not permitted. |
 | Nevada | Not illegal | No amber flashing lights are permitted. All aftermarket lights visible from the rear of the car should be red. License plate illumination must be white. |
 | New Hampshire | Not illegal | No red, blue, amber, or green lights are permitted. License plate illumination must be white. |
 | New Jersey | Not illegal | All lights visible from the front of the car must be white or amber. All lights visible from the front sides of the car must be amber. All lights visible from the back or near back of the car must be red. License plate illumination must be white. No flashing lights may be used. |
 | New Mexico | Not illegal | No red light may be visible from the front of the vehicle. No flashing lights are permitted. |
 | New York | Not illegal | Only allowed color for non-mandatory vehicle lights is white. No rotating, flashing, oscilating or moving lights are permitted. License plate illumination must be white. |
 | North Carolina | Not illegal | Never use colors blue or red. Do not display amber flashing lights. White color visible from the back of the vehicle is not permitted. |
 | North Dakota | Not illegal | Red or green colors must not be visible from the front of the car. License plate illumination must be white. No flashing lights may be used. |
 | Oklahoma | Not illegal | No flashing lights are permitted. No red or blue lights may be visible from the front of the vehicle. Blue lights are completely prohibited. License plate illumination must be white, and no additional lights near the license plate are permitted. |
 | Oregon | Not illegal | No red color may be visible from the front of the vehicle. Only permitted color in the rear of your car is red (white license plate illumination excluded). Blue color is completely prohibited and is reserved for police vehicles. No flashing lights are allowed. |
 | Rhode Island | Not illegal | License plate illumination must be white. Red lights in front of the car are expressly prohibited. Flashing lights are not permitted (except for authorized vehicles, or for signalling a traffic hazard or turn). |
 | South Carolina | Not illegal | No red lights may be visible from the front of the vehicle. Blue color is reserved for police vehicles and may not be visible anywhere outside the car. Flashing or rotating lights are prohibited. License plate illumination must be white. |
 | South Dakota | Not illegal | No red light may be visible from the front of your car. Blue lights are illegal to use. License plate illumination must be white. |
 | Tennessee | Not illegal | No flashing lights may be used. Never use any combination of white, amber or red lights in front of the vehicle. |
 | Texas | Not illegal | No flashing, rotating or oscillating lights are permitted on civilian vehicles (only exception is in Sec. 547.331. allowing emergency lamps in case of traffic hazards). No red lights may be visible from the front of the vehicle. |
 | Vermont | Not illegal | Do not use red, blue or amber underglow. Any after-market lights must not emit over 4 candle power. License plate illumination must be white. |
 | West Virginia | Not illegal | No flashing, rotating or oscillating lights are allowed. Only permitted color visible from the rear of the vehicle is red (exception for license plate illumination, which must be white). Only allowed color visible from the front of the car is white or amber. |
 | Wisconsin | Not illegal | All lights visible from the front of the car should be white or amber. All lights visible from the back of the car should be red. No flashing lights may be used. No blue lights are permitted. License plate illumination must be white. |
 | Wyoming | Not illegal | All lights visible from the back of the car should be red. Red or blue lights may not be visible from the front of the car. License plate illumination must be white. No flashing lights are permitted. |
 | Arkansas | Legal | Only two additional ornamental lights are permitted on the front of the vehicle, which must be white. License plate illumination must be white. No red, blue or green lights may be visible from the front of the vehicle. No flashing lights are allowed. |
 | California | Legal | Red color may not be visible from the front of the car. No flashing lights are permitted. Underglow must not emit more than 0.05 candela per square inch. All aftermarket lights must not be installed within 12 inched of vehicle's required lights. |
 | Idaho | Legal | No red color may be visible from the front of the car. No flashing lights are permitted. Blue color is prohibited. Only red color may be visible on the rear of the car. License plate illumination must be white. |
 | Kansas | Legal | Underglow must not be red. Lights must not be flashing. Neon tubes must not be visible. |
 | Montana | Legal | No flashing, rotating, or oscillating lights are permitted. Colors blue, red, and green are prohibited. License plate illumination must be white. |
 | Ohio | Legal | No flashing, rotating or oscillating lights are permitted. License plate illumination must be white. Underglow lights must not exceed 300 candlepower. |
 | Connecticut | Illegal | The state of CT requires all non-mandatory vehicle lighting equipment to be certified, and according to ct.gov no manufacturers have certified the color or intensity of their products, essentially meaning all neon underglow is considered illegal. |
 | Illinois | Illegal | The law forbids possession of any rotating, oscillating and flashing lights capable of producing an effect which may give the appearance of an emergency vehicle. |
 | Maine | Illegal | A vehicle may be equipped with under-vehicle lighting for the purpose of participating in shows, events or other exhibitions, but the lighting may not be used or the vehicle illuminated with under-vehicle lighting on a public way. |
 | Massachusetts | Illegal | Massachusetts law specifically forbids the usage of after-market lighting and neon underglow. Furthermore MA laws prohibit the use of blue lights, and flashing lights, without special permits. |
 | Michigan | Illegal | Michigan law explicitly prohibits additional vehicle lighting while the vehicle is on public roads. You may install car underglow as long as the lights are covered and not lit while driving. |
 | Minnesota | Illegal | Minnesota law does specifically prohibit additional vehicle lighting which may include neon underglow. Only white or amber lights are allowed in front and red or amber in back. Blue, red and flashing lights are banned for civilians. |
 | Pennsylvania | Illegal | Pennsylvania law prohibits all additional aftermarket vehicle lighting which includes neon underglow. |
 | Utah | Illegal | No red or blue lights may be visible from the front of the car. No flashing or rotating lights are allowed. |
 | Virginia | Illegal | Only permissible aftermarket lights on civilian vehicles is an illumination sign on certain delivery vehicles. You may not use underbody lights while driving, but you may still use it while not on a public road. In that case make sure to avoid using colors red and blue on any aftermarket lights installed on your car, and ensure they are not flashing or rotating. |
 | Washington | Illegal | Using car underglow is legal only when parked on a private property, but ensure your lights are not displaying red or blue colors, nor flashing or rotating in any way. |
- States whose laws neither ban nor specifially legalize underglow lights are marked as “not illegal”, whereas states whose laws specifically legalize or ban modifications such as underglow lighting are marked “legal” or “illegal”.
- Laws regarding underglow lighting may change at any time. Additionally, underglow lighting may be regulated at the county or local level even in states in which it is unregulated at the state level. As such, data displayed should not be considered legally authoritative. Interested parties are advised confirm legality with local authorities.
What Is Underglow?
When people talk about underglow, they are talking about the lighting effects people place on the bottoms of vehicles. For example, if you have seen a car driving down the road and you see a light underneath the vehicle, you know you are dealing with underglow. In some situations, underglow is almost required, such as airplanes that need to like the ground beneath them. On the other hand, there are situations where cars might have underglow, which can be a significant concern. What do you need to know if you are interested in adding this effect to your vehicle?
Why Do People Like Underglow?
The biggest reason why people like this lighting effect is that it is another way for them to customize their vehicles. You get to customize your vehicle to meet your needs if you decide to put this to work for you. In general, there are two different options available. One option is to use neon tubes for the bottom of your car. If you add certain elemental gases to the tube, you can produce more than 150 colors.
The other popular option is to use an LED light. You can arrange these lights in clusters, which will last significantly longer than neon tubes. Furthermore, they are also considered to be less fragile. They are very bright, and you can tailor them to respond to different effects, such as music.
What Are the Best Colors for Underglow?
Several options are available if you are trying to figure out which color to add to your car. In general, you should try to stay away from blue and red. These are colors commonly used by emergency vehicles, and you do not want to unnecessarily distract any drivers on the road. For similar safety reasons, the illumination around license plates should only be done with white lighting.
In addition, you should stay away from flashing lights. They can be incredibly distracting for people, and you could cause someone to have a seizure on the road. As long as you stay away from these specific effects, you should put yourself in a position to be successful.
Where Is Underglow Legal?
Before you start modifying your vehicle, it is important to look at the local rules and regulations in your area to understand what is legal and what is not. The laws can differ from state to state.
For example, ground effect lighting is illegal if you live in Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Virginia, or Washington. You are not allowed to modify your vehicle in this manner if you do not activate them on public roads. If you do so, you could face significant fines and penalties.
Underglow lighting is legal in Arkansas, California, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, and Ohio. Each of these states has some restrictions. For example, California does not allow lights to be installed within 12 inches of factory-installed lights. Ohio requires lights to be under 300 candlepower.
In any state where underglow is not expressly legal or illegal, it is considered not illegal. As long as precautions are taken regarding light colors and avoiding rotating or flashing lights, underglow should be allowed on vehicles.
