Texas Shreds Paper Temporary License Plates In Favor Of Metal Plates

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The Texas Department Of Motor Vehicles has a year and a half to come up with some new rules on how new Texas license plates are going to be issued by car dealers beginning July 01, 2025.

This week Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 718 into law. This new law will eliminate the issuance of temporary paper license plates for new or newly purchased vehicles in the state of Texas and will be replaced with metal plates. The new plates will come with a $10 fee and will replace the current one-trip and 30-day temporary paper license plate.

This bill was created by Rep. Craig Goldman (R-Ft. Worth) who was surprised by how quickly it moved and was supported and approved by the House and Senate. He tells KXAN,

Bills this big, that make fundamental change in this state, don’t normally pass the very first session that you file them. So, huge relief."

Many television stations have covered this story from many different angles, including KPRC in Houston. The goal of the new law is to cut down on the number of fake temporary tags that were popping up on Texas streets, especially in more populated counties of Texas. The counterfeit and copied paper tags were being placed on unregistered vehicles, stolen vehicles, or on vehicles to make it harder for law enforcement to track them down.

After the bill was signed into law by the governor, Adam Shaivitz, a TxDMV spokesperson told KCBD,

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles worked with legislative offices and stakeholder communities throughout the development of House Bill 718. The department appreciates the numerous amendments and clarifications that were made to address various industry and operational needs while accomplishing the intended goal of the legislation. We are now beginning the process of planning for the successful implementation of the new regulations by the bill’s required deadlines."

Although signed into law on Monday (June 12), it will not go into effect until July 01, 2025 so that the Texas DMV can work with county tax offices and local auto dealerships on a system to manage license plate inventory and how the plates are going to be managed.