A registered motor vehicle owner may get replacement license plates if they certify the plates will not be used on another vehicle, pay the required fees, and return the old plates. County assessor-collectors keep part of the fee and send the rest to the department.
Sec. 504.007. REPLACEMENT LICENSE PLATES. (a) The owner of a registered motor vehicle may obtain replacement license plates for the vehicle by: (1) certifying that the replacement plates will not be used on any other vehicle owned or operated by the person making the statement; (2) paying a fee of $6 plus the fee required by Section 502.356(a) for each set of replacement license plates, unless otherwise specified by law; and (3) returning to the department each license plate in the owner's possession for which a replacement license plate is obtained. (b) Replacement license plates may not be issued except as provided by this section. (c) A county assessor-collector shall retain $2.50 of each fee collected under this section and forward the remainder of the fee to the department for deposit to the credit of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles fund. (d) The fee required by this section applies to the issuance of license plates for a transferred used vehicle for which the registration and license plates were not transferred under Section 504.901. (e) Replacement license plates may be used in the registration year in which the plates are issued and during each succeeding year of the registration period as set by rule if the registration insignia is properly displayed on the vehicle. (f) Subsection (e) does not apply to the issuance of specialized license plates for limited distribution, including exempt plates for governmental entities and temporary registration plates. Text of subsection as added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 490 (H.B. 2663), Sec. 2 (g) No fee is required under this section if a county assessor-collector determines that the owner of a registered motor vehicle did not receive license plates that were issued to the owner by mail. Text of subsection as added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 968 (S.B. 2075), Sec. 12 (g) No fee is required under this section if the county assessor-collector determines that the owner paid for license plates for the same vehicle that were mailed to the owner but not received by the owner. Transferred, redesignated and amended from Transportation Code, Section 502.1841 by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1296 (H.B. 2357), Sec. 172, eff. January 1, 2012. Amended by: Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1287 (H.B. 2202), Sec. 36, eff. September 1, 2013. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 490 (H.B. 2663), Sec. 2, eff. June 9, 2017. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 968 (S.B. 2075), Sec. 12, eff. September 1, 2017.