Designed for hawse, means it is intended to be used with synthetic line. Which means in order to install it, you will need to remove your winch line, install the product, and reinstall, and retention, your winch line. If the bottom half of the plate had a ½" slot in it removal would not be required. Just a thought? I did not cut mine, I just reinstalled my winch line. Looks and works great.

I really like the Warrior Product hawse license plate mount, its a clean design, easy to install and not at all flimsy, made very strong. When on the trail, you can simply just unscrew the two top plate retainer bolts and start winching. Too easy! Very recommended for those with a hawse fairlead and synthetic rope.