TX License Plate Requirements (Dallas: rental car, rental, attorney)

[pfil]

i'm late to the party but was researching the flip flop rules about what type of licence plate cover you are allowed (always hear the shuttle, moon, and cowboy can't be obscured at all but then see plenty of custom plate covers slightly obscuring the images) however; while on the TxDPS found this FAQ :
How Many License Plates Am I Required To Display?
State law requires that you display two (2) license plates, one to the front and one to the rear. Placement or mounting of license plates is not defined.


*This guidance is referenced in TXDOT's requirements to properly display the registration certificate. DPS does not inspect the license plate itself, but instead inspects the license plate lamp.

TxDPS - FAQs: Items of Inspection (http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/vi/misc/faq/faq_item.htm - broken link)

edit: found this gem concerning licence plate covers:
Texas Governor Rick Perry signed Senate Bill 369 into law on April 19, 2007. As the press release for bill explained, "an unintended consequence from legislation passed in 2003 was that some law enforcement agencies interpreted to outlaw license plate brackets." The new law explicitly allows license plate frames, so long as they "do not cover more than one half of the name of the state in which the vehicle is registered" and "the letters and numbers of the license plate itself must be un-obscured."

Read more: Texas Laws on License Plate Covers | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_6884334_tex...#ixzz1kfPbHloC

[majormadmax]

Originally Posted by pfil

i'm late to the party but was researching the flip flop rules about what type of licence plate cover you are allowed (always hear the shuttle, moon, and cowboy can't be obscured at all but then see plenty of custom plate covers slightly obscuring the images) however; while on the TxDPS found this FAQ :
How Many License Plates Am I Required To Display?
State law requires that you display two (2) license plates, one to the front and one to the rear. Placement or mounting of license plates is not defined.


*This guidance is referenced in TXDOT's requirements to properly display the registration certificate. DPS does not inspect the license plate itself, but instead inspects the license plate lamp.

TxDPS - FAQs: Items of Inspection (http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/vi/misc/faq/faq_item.htm - broken link)

edit: found this gem concerning licence plate covers:
Texas Governor Rick Perry signed Senate Bill 369 into law on April 19, 2007. As the press release for bill explained, "an unintended consequence from legislation passed in 2003 was that some law enforcement agencies interpreted to outlaw license plate brackets." The new law explicitly allows license plate frames, so long as they "do not cover more than one half of the name of the state in which the vehicle is registered" and "the letters and numbers of the license plate itself must be un-obscured."

Read more: Texas Laws on License Plate Covers | eHow.com Texas Laws on License Plate Covers | eHow.com

Since you arrived late I suggest you go back and read the entire thread. The Texas Court of Appeals has ruled on what mounting rules are, saying that placing the plate in the windshield does not satisfy the "on the front of the car" requirement as it is written in law.

Originally Posted by ged_782

All vehicles sold in the U.S. are required to have a provision for mounting a front license plate, and if it happens to be a separate bracket, they must be so equipped if sold in a State that requires a front plate.

As I have posted elsewhere, it seems all the dealers here mount their own placard and frame on all the new vehicles in inventory where the front plate would go, so in the case of vehicles that have to have holes poked in the front bumper fascia to mount the plate, they've already done that.

Sorry, but the violators of this law are not looking for options, they're looking for excuses. Most people are bright enough to realize that all cars have the capability to mount a plate on the front, 28 states require it and pretty much every other country in the world; so vehicles are equipped accordingly.

But the bottom line is that the law requires it, so those who aren't bright enough to realize it or simply chose to ignore it completely get their just deserts when caught. Some are at least mature enough to accept the consequences and pay the fine, or if they’re lucky the judge will dismiss if with proof that the violation has been corrected; but there will always be a select few who feel they are above the law and can pick and choose which codes they get to comply with...

[Azure110]

Interesting article. Looks like Texas messed up on the two plate law for the time being but the original law is still being enforced.

Texas Lawmakers Accidentally Omit 2 License Plate Law (http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/traffic/texas-lawmakers-accidentally-omit-2-license-plate-law-011112 - broken link)

“Most times they don’t give you a ticket for this so the issue of not having a fine is not really it. The issue is they’ve taken out that it’s an offense. It’s not an offense. They can’t use it to pull somebody over, which they use it every day all day long,” Gregg said.

[HeyEng]

Holy crap! $167 fine for plate missing?! That is ludicrous as are most of the other fines in San Antonio. Well, of course except DUI...they aren't doing a damn thing to curb that. Nonetheless, I have NEVER seen ticket fines as high as they are here.

City of San Antonio | Official Web Site - Municipal Court

[txtea]

Originally Posted by HeyEng

Holy crap! $167 fine for plate missing?! That is ludicrous as are most of the other fines in San Antonio. Well, of course except DUI...they aren't doing a damn thing to curb that. Nonetheless, I have NEVER seen ticket fines as high as they are here.

City of San Antonio | Official Web Site - Municipal Court

I agree. I did get a ticket for no front plate way back in the mid 80's....I wasn't aware that it was missing...don't know what happened to it. Was leaving Jack In The Box drive-thru on Broadway one day, and a cop pulled me over, and gave me a ticket. It cost me $32.50, which at the time for me was a lot.

[majormadmax]

Obviously you don't travel much, compared to most states the traffic fines here in Texas (and San Antonio) are much lower. Look at Pennsylvania's fines and you're really be shocked!

[HeyEng]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

Obviously you don't travel much, compared to most states the traffic fines here in Texas (and San Antonio) are much lower. Look at Pennsylvania's fines and you're really be shocked!

I don't travel much? Right...you don't know me very well. Perhaps you don't travel too much. From PADOT's website, if I get stopped doing 80 in a 65, then the fine is 112.50. Here in San Antonio, that same infraction would be 191.00. In my hometown of Marietta, GA. it would be 180.00...although anything under 5 over, there is no fine. So, I stick with my original opinion...San Antonio makes lots of revenue through traffic fines.


City of San Antonio | Official Web Site - Municipal Court

http://www.drivesafepa.org/Resources...02009%20v1.pdf

http://statecourtclerk.cobbcountyga....er07-01-10.pdf

[theeddie]

plate has to be on the farthest point on the front of the car.... many of years driving down sw military teaches you all the traffic laws

[TexasRedneck]

Actually, you've not done a whole lot of research on the distribution of the fines - a large chunk goes to the state.

[Azure110]

Originally Posted by TexasRedneck

Actually, you've not done a whole lot of research on the distribution of the fines - a large chunk goes to the state.

A chunk still goes to city budget, therefore it is still "revenue" but capped at 35% per state law.