Beginning July 1, Texas drivers will experience a significant change in how they obtain their license plates. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles is eliminating paper temporary tags and replacing them with permanent metal plates that buyers will receive at the time of purchase.
For years, paper tags were a temporary solution for car buyers while they waited for their official plates and registration stickers. But, according to Texas officials, this change aims to combat widespread paper tag fraud and improve vehicle tracking across the state.
What Does This Mean for Car Buyers?
Under the new law, when you purchase a car from a dealership, you’ll now receive your metal license plates immediately. While you’ll still need to wait for your registration sticker to arrive in the mail, you can legally drive your vehicle as soon as you leave the dealership lot.
For drivers trading in their vehicles, the process is a bit different. Dealers will keep the original plates unless they are personalized or specialty plates. The plates will be reassigned to the next buyer when the vehicle is sold, and the dealer must also file a Vehicle Transfer Notification (VTN) with the TXDMV to ensure the records are updated.
Less Fraud, More Security
According to officials, the shift to metal plates is a response to the growing issue of paper tag fraud in Texas. The state has seen an increase in counterfeit and stolen paper tags, which are difficult to trace. Metal plates are more secure, harder to forge, and easier for law enforcement to track.
For those buying from individual sellers, the process will be slightly more complicated. Texas law now requires private buyers and sellers to meet at the DMV to complete the transfer of ownership and registration. Sellers will have more responsibility to finalize the sale correctly, ensuring that all paperwork is properly filed.
What Happens if You Don’t Have a Registration Sticker Yet?
New car buyers will still be able to drive their vehicles legally without a registration sticker for a short period after purchase. There’s a grace period for buyers to get their official sticker, and they won’t face penalties for driving with new metal plates during that time.
What Are Dealers Saying?
Dealers support the law change, stating it will simplify the process for consumers. The only ones who will have a problem with it are the ones who were scamming the system in the first place. That’s what got lawmakers involved, is that they said, ‘we’re going to have to fix this because it was becoming a major problem.
