Rideshare trade dress rules require every active Uber or Lyft driver to display the platform’s official decal or emblem on their vehicle whenever they’re logged into the app and available for pickups. The marking has to be the version the company issued or approved, placed where riders and law enforcement can see it, and taken down when you’re off duty. Those three pieces — official, visible, removable — carry across every state that regulates transportation network companies.
What Counts as Trade Dress
Trade dress is the logo, decal, or emblem that identifies your car as an active rideshare vehicle. Uber issues a rectangular decal with its logo and wordmark. Lyft issues a pink-and-white emblem. Both are built for the windshield and designed to come off at the end of a shift.
Homemade or third-party signs almost never satisfy the rules. State laws and platform policies both require the official version. Regulators and airport staff are trained to recognize the real thing, and a printed logo you made yourself will draw scrutiny rather than deflect it.
How to Get the Official Decal
Uber mails a decal to new drivers during onboarding. Replacements go through Uber’s online sticker request portal, with delivery typically taking five to seven business days.1Uber Help. I Need a Sticker
Lyft sends its emblem automatically to newly approved drivers. If yours is lost or worn out, you can order a new one through the Lyft Driver app or your online dashboard. Lyft also provides a downloadable temporary emblem you can print and display while waiting for the physical one to arrive.2Lyft Help. New Driver Welcome Kit
If you print a temporary version, use a color printer and make sure it’s sharp enough to read in both sunlight and streetlight. A faded or grainy printout defeats the purpose. Laminating it or sliding it into a transparent sleeve keeps the paper from curling.
Where to Place It
Both platforms direct drivers to put the trade dress on the front windshield. Lyft specifies the lower passenger-side corner, which keeps the emblem visible to approaching riders without blocking your sightline.2Lyft Help. New Driver Welcome Kit Uber’s placement rules vary slightly by city, so check the vehicle requirements page for your market.3Uber Help. Uber Decal Display Requirements Some jurisdictions also require a second identifier on the rear windshield so law enforcement behind you can identify the car.
Several state laws spell out a visibility distance. A common benchmark is that trade dress must be identifiable from at least 50 feet away in daylight. Heavy window tint, dashboard-mounted GPS units, and hanging air fresheners that overlap with the decal can all create problems. Clean the glass thoroughly before you stick anything to it, so the decal lies flat and stays readable.
Taking It Down When You’re Off Duty
Both Uber and Lyft tell drivers to remove the decal or emblem when they’re not logged into the app.3Uber Help. Uber Decal Display Requirements This is not a soft suggestion. Some jurisdictions treat visible trade dress as evidence that the vehicle is operating commercially, regardless of whether the driver is actually online. That reading can pull you into commercial vehicle rules, insurance questions, and parking restrictions you’d otherwise avoid.
There’s also a safety angle. A visible emblem on a parked car can prompt strangers to approach and try to get in. Removable mounts and transparent sleeves make daily on-off quick. If you use adhesive decals, peel them off gently at the end of each shift rather than leaving them stuck to the glass for weeks.
Driving for Both Uber and Lyft
If you run both apps, you need trade dress from each platform. Neither company bans displaying the other’s decal, and most multi-app drivers simply keep both emblems on the windshield rather than swapping them between rides.
State laws typically require trade dress to identify the specific TNC you’re operating under at any given moment, so both emblems need to be visible and properly placed. If local placement rules limit windshield space, stagger them on opposite sides of the glass to keep both readable.
Illuminated Signs and Light-Color Laws
Lyft once distributed the “Amp,” a dashboard LED that glowed in colors matched to the rider’s app so passengers could spot the car at night. Lyft has paused Amp distribution in most U.S. regions and is not currently providing replacements.4Lyft Help. Amp
Illuminated signs raise a legal issue that static decals don’t. Most states restrict the colors of light visible from the front of a vehicle to white and amber. Devices that glow pink, purple, or other colors can violate traffic codes even when they’re being used for a legitimate commercial purpose. Enforcement is inconsistent, but if you add any aftermarket illuminated sign, check your state’s vehicle lighting laws before switching it on.
Airports
Airports enforce trade dress most aggressively. Most major airports require proper trade dress before you can enter the terminal pickup zone, and many layer on their own requirements: airport-specific permits, QR-coded placards, or geo-fenced digital authorizations. Without them, you may not get into the staging lot or curb area at all.
Airport officers inspect vehicles in staging areas. Drivers caught without proper signage face fines that typically start around $100 for a first offense and climb from there. Some airports will deny entry outright, which forces you to cancel the ride and lose the fare. If you work airports regularly, keep the airport-specific permits organized alongside your standard decal.
What Happens If You Don’t Comply
Penalties come from two directions. On the platform side, both Uber and Lyft can temporarily or permanently deactivate your account for repeated trade dress violations. Some cities require trade dress by law, so driving without it is a legal problem on top of a policy one.3Uber Help. Uber Decal Display Requirements
Government fines vary by jurisdiction but commonly run from $100 to several hundred dollars per occurrence. Repeat offenders face steeper penalties, and in some areas an unmarked vehicle picked up in a regulatory sweep can be towed or impounded. Law enforcement may also treat the absence of trade dress as evidence of operating an unauthorized commercial vehicle, which is a separate violation that can touch your driving record and insurance rates.
The insurance gap is the most overlooked piece. Personal auto policies typically exclude commercial activity. If you’re in an accident while driving for a rideshare platform and can’t show you were properly authorized, the insurer may deny the claim entirely. Trade dress alone won’t prove your commercial coverage was active, but its absence can raise questions during a claims investigation that you’d rather not have to answer.
Sami’s Law and Counterfeit Signage
Legislation tied to the 2019 killing of University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson has pushed some states toward requiring illuminated or otherwise highly visible trade dress. Josephson was murdered after getting into a car she believed was her Uber. The resulting federal legislation, known as Sami’s Law, also made it illegal to sell counterfeit rideshare signage, addressing the risk of predators using fake trade dress to lure victims.5Office of Congressman Chris Smith. House Passes Sami’s Law, Ride-Share Safety Bill Named for Slain NJ Student For drivers, the practical takeaway is that only the real, platform-issued decal is legal to display, and buying a replacement from an unofficial seller can create problems well beyond a platform warning.