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Underglow Legal States 2023
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.
State | Underglow Legal States | Additional Details |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Legal | No red lights may be visible from the front of the vehicle. License plate illumination must be white. Flashing lights are prohibited. |
| Alaska | Legal | 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 | Legal | There are no relevant AZ laws which specifically restrict or prohibit installing car underglow, meaning we consider it legal to use it while driving. |
| 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. |
| Colorado | Legal | Colorado law does not restrict additional aftermarket vehicle lighting which would include neon underglow. Therefore it's our conclusion that in Colorado neon underglow is not illegal, as long as you follow these restrictions: Green colored lights are explicitly forbidden. |
| 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. |
| Delaware | Legal | 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. |
| Florida | Legal | 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 | Legal | Red, blue, violet and green colors are expressly forbidden. License plate illumination must be white. Flashing lights are prohibited. |
| Hawaii | Legal | Red and blue colors are not permitted. License plate illumination must be white. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Indiana | Legal | License plate illumination must be white. Flashing lights are prohibited. All combinations of red, blue, white, and amber colors are illegal. |
| Iowa | Legal | 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. |
| Kansas | Legal | Underglow must not be red. Lights must not be flashing. Neon tubes must not be visible. |
| Kentucky | Legal | 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 | Legal | 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. |
| 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. |
| Maryland | Legal | 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. |
| 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. |
| Mississippi | Legal | 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 | Legal | No red color may be visible from the front of the vehicle. No flashing neons are permitted. License plate illumination must be white. |
| Montana | Legal | No flashing, rotating, or oscillating lights are permitted. Colors blue, red, and green are prohibited. License plate illumination must be white. |
| Nebraska | Legal | No red or green color may be visible from the front of the vehicle. Rotating or flashing lights are not permitted. |
| Nevada | Legal | 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 | Legal | No red, blue, amber, or green lights are permitted. License plate illumination must be white. |
| New Jersey | Legal | 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 | Legal | No red light may be visible from the front of the vehicle. No flashing lights are permitted. |
| New York | Legal | 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 | Legal | 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 | Legal | 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. |
| Ohio | Legal | No flashing, rotating or oscillating lights are permitted. License plate illumination must be white. Underglow lights must not exceed 300 candlepower. |
| Oklahoma | Legal | 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 | Legal | 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. |
| Pennsylvania | Illegal | Pennsylvania law prohibits all additional aftermarket vehicle lighting which includes neon underglow. |
| Rhode Island | Legal | 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 | Legal | 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 | Legal | 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 | Legal | No flashing lights may be used. Never use any combination of white, amber or red lights in front of the vehicle. |
| Texas | Legal | 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. |
| Utah | Legal | No red or blue lights may be visible from the front of the car. No flashing or rotating lights are allowed. |
| Vermont | Legal | Do not use red, blue or amber underglow. Any after-market lights must not emit over 4 candle power; check your neon or LED packaging! License plate illumination must be white. |
| Virginia | Legal | 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. |
| West Virginia | Legal | 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 | Legal | 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 | Legal | 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. |