Is it Legal to Have Your Car Look Like a Police Car?

You might think outfitting your civilian car with police vehicle equipment to look more like a police patrol car is a fun way to showcase your personal style. But, what you probably don’t know is that you could be convicted for a crime.

Is it legal to have your car look like a police vehicle?

The short answer is to this question is no. In most provinces and states, it is illegal to impersonate a police officer – with this including impersonating the patrol cars they drive.

In most instances of the applicable law, police impersonation includes driving around in what appears to be a police vehicle.

Having police lights permanently mounted or temporary lights attached to the top of the vehicle, fixing similar car decals to the sides of the vehicle, and installing sirens, or other police vehicle equipment that would potentially make the vehicle recognizable as a “police car” are all considered to be illegal under almost all jurisdictions across Canada and the States.

Why is it illegal to impersonate a police officer?

Portraying yourself as a police officer is often conducted for deceptive purposes. Typically, people will impersonate a police officer by identifying themselves as a police officer or law enforcement agent, offer a fake badge or certification card, wear a fake uniform, or drive a fake police vehicle to assert government authority, with the goal of committing a crime.

The Canadian Criminal Code

If you’re wondering where specifically Canadian law comes into play, Part IV Section 130 (1-2) of the Criminal Code dictates that,

“Everyone commits an offence who… (a) falsely represents himself to be a peace officer or a public officer; or (b) not being a peace officer or public officer, uses a badge or article of uniform or equipment in a manner that is likely to cause persons to believe that he is a peace officer or a public officer, as the case may be”.

The penalty for those found guilty of personating a peace officer, is up to five years in prison.

So while it may seem like a fun idea to outfit your civilian vehicle with police vehicle equipment to look more like a patrol car, we would advise against it.