To register a motor vehicle, the owner or representative must submit evidence of financial responsibility, and the county assessor-collector may not register it without that evidence.
Sec. 502.046. EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. (a) Evidence of financial responsibility as required by Section 601.051 other than for a trailer or semitrailer shall be submitted with the application for registration under Section 502.043. A county assessor-collector may not register the motor vehicle unless the owner or the owner's representative submits the evidence of financial responsibility. (b) The county assessor-collector shall examine the evidence of financial responsibility to determine whether it complies with Subsection (c). After examination, the evidence shall be returned unless it is in the form of a photocopy or an electronic submission. (c) In this section, evidence of financial responsibility may be: (1) a document listed under Section 601.053(a) or verified in compliance with Section 601.452; (2) a liability self-insurance or pool coverage document issued by a political subdivision or governmental pool under the authority of Chapter 791, Government Code, Chapter 119, Local Government Code, or other applicable law in at least the minimum amounts required by Chapter 601; (3) a photocopy of a document described by Subdivision (1) or (2); or (4) an electronic submission of a document or the information contained in a document described by Subdivision (1) or (2). (d) A personal automobile policy used as evidence of financial responsibility under this section must comply with Section 1952.052 et seq. and Sections 2301.051 through 2301.055, Insurance Code. (e) At the time of registration, the county assessor-collector shall provide to a person registering a motor vehicle a statement that the motor vehicle may not be operated in this state unless: (1) liability insurance coverage for the motor vehicle in at least the minimum amounts required by law remains in effect to insure against potential losses; or (2) the motor vehicle is exempt from the insurance requirement because the person has established financial responsibility in a manner described by Sections 601.051(2)-(5) or is exempt under Section 601.052. (f) A county assessor-collector is not liable to any person for refusing to register a motor vehicle to which this section applies because of the person's failure to submit evidence of financial responsibility that complies with Subsection (c). (g) A county, a county assessor-collector, a deputy county assessor-collector, a person acting for or on behalf of a county or a county assessor-collector, or a person acting on behalf of an owner for purposes of registering a motor vehicle is not liable to any person for registering a motor vehicle under this section. (h) This section does not prevent a person from registering a motor vehicle by mail or through an electronic submission. (i) To be valid under this section, an electronic submission must be in a format that is: (1) submitted by electronic means, including a telephone, facsimile machine, or computer; (2) approved by the department; and (3) authorized by the commissioners court for use in the county. (j) This section does not apply to a vehicle registered pursuant to Section 501.0234. Transferred, redesignated and amended from Transportation Code, Section 502.153 by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1296 (H.B. 2357), Sec. 84, eff. January 1, 2012.