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All vehicles operating upon the public highways of Texas must be registered, except farm trailers or farm semitrailers of a gross weight of 4,000 pounds or less, farm tractors and implements of husbandry operated or moved temporarily upon public highways.
Texas has implemented staggered registration. The expiration month for new accounts will be the nominal month before the account was processed. The registration year is a 12-month period.
License plate display
Each vehicle must display two license plates, one at the exterior front and one at the exterior rear of the vehicle.
A vehicle with a rear overhang of 4 feet up to 7 feet may place the rear plate so that it is clearly visible.
If the vehicle is a road tractor, trailer, or semitrailer, the plate must be displayed at or as close as possible to the exterior rear of the vehicle.
A truck or truck tractor with a gross weight in excess of 10,000 pounds used or to be used in combination with a semitrailer having a gross weight in excess of 6,000 pounds, may be registered with combination license plates. Such vehicles must be registered for a gross weight equal to the combined gross weight of all the vehicles in the combination, but not less than 18,000 pounds. Only one combination license plate is required and must be displayed on the front of the truck or truck tractor.
Multi-year Intrastate fleet registration program
An online multi-year intrastate fleet registration program is available for registering fleets of intrastate commercial motor vehicles, trailers, and token trailers in Texas.
A commercial fleet is a group of at least 25 non-apportioned motor vehicles, trailers, or token trailers. There is no maximum number of motor vehicles or trailers within a fleet. A fleet can include multiple vehicle classes such as passenger cars, trucks, motorcycles, and trailers, and there is no maximum number of fleets a company can utilize on one account. All units within a fleet will have the same expiration date.
The registration period is at least one year and not more than eight years.
Standard plates or custom logo plates are available in this program.
Registration fees are collected, along with a one-time per vehicle fee.
Contact MCD_FleetRegistration@TxDMV.gov or call (512) 374-5250 for details.
Foreign commercial vehicle registration
Texas requires foreign commercial vehicles (trucks, truck-tractors, trailers, semitrailers) engaged in transportation across the border to register and license their vehicles in their country of origin in order to be exempt from registering their vehicles in Texas. When a foreign commercial vehicle is operated within a Border Commercial Zone in Texas and the vehicle is licensed with out-of state registration, then that vehicle (including semitrailers) must be registered in Texas or have a 72/144-hour permit, a NAFTA Annual Permit, Token Trailer License Plate, or a Regular Trailer License Plate.
Trailers registered in one of the United States entering a Texas Commercial Zone from Mexico with a Mexico-domiciled power unit must comply by having Texas registration.
International Registration Plan
Texas is a member of the International Registration Plan (IRP). The IRP is a program for licensing commercial vehicles (trucks, truck tractors, and buses) engaged in interstate operations among member jurisdictions (states or provinces).
An apportionable vehicle means any vehicle used or intended for use in two or more member jurisdictions that allocate or proportionally register vehicles and is used for the transportation of persons for hire or designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property and:
- is a power unit having two axles and a gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight in excess of 26,000 pounds or 11,793.401 kilograms; or
- is a power unit having three or more axles, regardless of weight; or
- is used in combination, when the weight of such combination exceeds 26,000 pounds or 11,793.401 kilograms gross vehicle weight.
Recreational vehicles, vehicles displaying restricted plates, city pick-up and delivery vehicles, and government-owned vehicles are not required to obtain apportioned registration.
Trucks, truck tractors, and combinations of vehicles having a gross vehicle weight of 26,000 pounds or less may be proportionally registered at the option of the registrant. When such vehicles are not apportioned, they are subject to registration and fee payment laws in each jurisdictions of travel. Trailers are not required to display apportioned plates. Token trailer plates are requested at the local county tax assessor-collector’s office.
Vehicles registered under IRP are not subject to Texas’ annual vehicle inspections, but must have a certificate of inspection in compliance with federal regulations. Such vehicles are still subject to applicable inspection fees, however.
Federal law requires proof of payment of the Federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (HVUT) when licensing vehicles at 55,000 pounds or more gross weight or combined gross weight. Proof is not required on new or used units being titled and registered within 60 days of the date shown on the bill of sale.
Proof of financial responsibility (liability insurance) must be submitted with an application for initial registration, renewal of registration or transfer of registration. The most common evidence of financial responsibility is a liability insurance card issued to the policyholder by the insurance company. If you are registered as a motor carrier with the Texas Department of Transportation, Motor Carrier Division, a copy of the Motor Carrier registration Certificate (Form 1899) may be submitted as proof of financial responsibility.
Texas has a mandatory automobile liability insurance and financial responsibility law that requires a vehicle owner to show proof of liability for damages.
The owner or lessee of a commercial motor vehicle operating in Texas may apply for a Registration Purposes Only (RPO) record at a Texas Department of Transportation, Regional Service Center. Commercial vehicle owners or lessees who wish to obtain an original negotiable Texas certificate of title must continue to apply at their local county tax assessor-collector’s office.
Agency: Regional Service Center; see Regulatory Agencies for address(es).
Fees
Texas has established two fee charts for IRP registration. The first is for tractor-trailer combinations and the other for individual trucks. Both fee charts are based on the vehicle’s combined gross weight. In addition, all individual trucks that are diesel-powered are assessed an additional diesel fee added to the registration fee. Trailers are registered with a token trailer license plate fee.
All Texas based vehicles operating in combination are also subject to a registration surcharge from the “Texas Emissions Reduction Plan.”
Fleet registrations and renewals effective on or after January 1, 2017, will be charged per vehicle a processing and handling fee. The fee applies to all vehicles registered in the Texas IRP system including apportioned, token-trailer, five-year rental trailer, multi-year fleet, and forestry vehicle registrations.
Fees are annual and are prorated according to the month registration is applied for (reduced monthly by 1/12). If vehicle is propelled by diesel fuel (above two tons carrying capacity), it is assessed additional registration fees unless registered as a combination power unit. For commercial vehicles used on farms, fees are 50 percent of the above rate schedules.
In addition to the apportioned registration fees due, there is an administrative fee for each apportioned cab card.
Certain Texas counties have a local county fee consisting of a County Road and Bridge Fee and some counties also include a Child Safety Fund Fee that is added to the apportioned fee. A one dollar automation fee (per vehicle) is added to each Texas apportion fee in counties in which 50,000 or more vehicles were registered during the preceding year.
Trailer registration fees
Token Trailer License Plates
Semitrailers with a gross weight of more than 6,000 pounds used in combination with a truck-tractor or commercial motor vehicle with a manufacturer’s rated carrying capacity of more than one ton are issued a Token Trailer License Plate. These plates are valid only when used in combination as follows:
- semitrailer propelled by a power unit which has NOT been issued an oversize or overweight permit.
- semitrailer propelled by a power unit which has been issued an oversize or overweight permit.
Regular Trailer License Plates
Plates fee charged plus an amount determined according to the vehicle’s gross weight and tire equipment annually.
Trailers with a U.S. state license plate entering Texas in a Texas Border Commercial Zone from Mexico in combination with a Mexico-domiciled power unit must have Texas Token Trailer Plates, Regular Texas Trailer Plates, or a 72/144 hour trip permit.