Car Registration Optional?

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by harryp0tter

I have noticed there are still some people driving with 15+ year old license plates, remember the license plates from 2000 with the space shuttle and cowboy theme, I still see that plate on some cars and I know for a fact those are expired by now because plates need to be renewed every 8 years and the last time those space shuttle cowboy plates came out was like in 2007 or 2008 so the latest ones are atleast 12 years old now making them expired.

I’m more curious about how people driving with 10+ year old license plates don’t get pulled over. If they can drive confidently with an expired license plate then you shouldn’t even have to worry about expired registration stickers.

My registration sticker expires in August but I might actually consider not renewing after reading this thread

My plates are 9 years old, and I've been registered every year. The plates don't have a sticker on them, so there's no expiry date for the plates themselves. In Houston, it's pretty hard to get a ticket of any kind, much less a registration infraction. In Bellaire, the Memorial Villages, etc, you have a much higher risk of getting pulled over.

[harryp0tter]

Originally Posted by elnina

How do you know that people are driving with expired plates?

As of November 1, 2016, the State of Texas is no longer automatically replacing your plates after 7 years. So, no - they don't "need to be replaced every 8 years."

And yes, you see some old blue, pre-2012 plates one some cars - that's because some counties must exhaust their remaining supply of the 2009 base before issuing the new ones. Obviously, some counties still have plenty of old plates in stock...
When a new general-issue license plate design is released, it takes several years before all registered vehicle owners receive the plates. New registrations get them first.

The Panoramic Texas plates with a cowboy were issued in 2000
The Lone Star Texas was issued in 2009

There are also people who ordered the Panoramic Texas plates as Specialty Plates. The TX-2000 Panoramic Texas plates were still in pre-order phase few months ago.
So, YES - you will see them, and NO - they most likely are not expired.

I’m not talking about the ugly controversial design in 2009, I mean the ones before that. And yes they are expired, anyone driving with a plate from 1999-2000 will most likely get pulled over.