Affiliate disclosure: Tipontech is a participant in the AliExpress Affiliate Program. I may earn a commission if you buy through my links, at no extra cost to you. I have not installed these bulbs myself; the picks below come from comparing specs, price, seller and buyer ratings on the listings.
A dead license plate light is one of the cheapest things to fix on a car, and one of the easiest to get pulled over for. The job takes a few minutes. The only real question is which bulb your car uses.
First, find your bulb type
Most cars use one of two small bulbs for the plate light:
- W5W / T10 wedge (sold in the US as 194 or 168): a small glass bulb with no metal base that pushes straight into the socket.
- C5W or C10W festoon: a thin tube with a metal cap on each end. These come in different lengths, usually 31, 36, 39 or 41 mm, so measure yours before you buy.
The quickest way to be sure is to pull the old bulb and read the marking on it, or to check your owner’s manual. Search by your car model and “license plate bulb” if neither helps.
How to replace a license plate bulb
- Turn the lights off. Let the old bulb cool if it was on recently.
- Find the plate lamp. It is usually held by one or two small screws, or by tabs you release with a small flat screwdriver. On some cars you reach it from inside the trunk lid.
- Remove the lens, then pull out the old bulb (wedge bulbs pull straight out; festoon bulbs unclip from the two metal contacts).
- Fit the new bulb. If it does not light, turn a wedge bulb 180°: LED bulbs have polarity and an old-style bulb does not.
- Test the lights before you put the lens back on.
Why LED, and what to watch for
LED bulbs use much less power than the old filament ones and usually give a cleaner white light. Two things to check:
- Dashboard warnings. Some cars, especially many European models, monitor the bulb’s power draw and may show a bulb-out warning when a low-power LED is fitted. Bulbs sold as “CANBUS” or “error free” are built to avoid this. That is a claim made by the listing, so it does not guarantee it works on your car.
- Colour. In most places the plate light must be white, so skip the blue, red and amber versions. Check your local rules.
This is a different problem from fast-blinking turn signals after an LED swap, which is a separate issue with the flasher relay.
Two budget LED picks
Both are very cheap, which is the point: a plate bulb is a cheap part. The trade-off is that you are buying a no-name part from a marketplace, so expect some variation between batches and slow shipping.
Fits: W5W / T10 / 194 / 168 sockets. A 10-pack is more than most people need, which also means spares for the side markers or interior lights. Check before buying: choose the white option, not the coloured ones. Price shown on the listing when I checked (Oct 3, 2026) was $1.09 for new shoppers and about $3.30 before the discount.
Fits: festoon plate lamps that take a 41 mm bulb. The listing I checked is for the 41 mm size and comes in 2 or 10 packs. If your old bulb is a different length, check the options on the page before ordering. Price shown when I checked was $1.09 for new shoppers.
Quick FAQ
Can I use a brighter bulb? Stay with a normal white plate bulb. A very bright or blue-white bulb can be glaring and may not meet local rules.
Do I need a resistor? Only if your car shows a bulb warning after the swap. In that case buy bulbs sold as CANBUS or error-free first, and add a load resistor only if the warning stays.
The new bulb flickers or does not light. Turn a wedge bulb around, check the socket for corrosion, and make sure the contacts are clean and tight.
Prices and ratings change. Tip: AliExpress sometimes shows extra coupons or new-user offers in its app. Availability varies by country and account, so check before you pay.
Related: LED interior lighting kits and 7 cheap car gadgets under $25.
I’m Avi, a parent, car owner and tech lover who researches AliExpress finds for real driving life – from dash cams and diagnostics tools to the gear that survives a long road trip with kids in the back seat. I spend hours digging through specs, buyer reviews, and automotive forums (and tracking which travel toys parents report actually stay quiet past mile 50) so you don’t have to – and I only recommend what holds up under real buyer scrutiny.