stolen license plate2 (house, transfer to, purchase)

[Dwayne Lassiter]

So I get a toll bill from TxTag for a particular license plate. I had that plate on my car five years ago, when Tx DMV sent me new plates. The old ones went in the trash. In fact, that particular car is no longer even in Texas, and doesn't have Texas plates anymore. It looks like someone fished that old plate out of the trash and put it on their car! Is this common? Are old license plates supposed to be destroyed more securely?

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by Dwayne Lassiter

So I get a toll bill from TxTag for a particular license plate. I had that plate on my car five years ago, when Tx DMV sent me new plates. The old ones went in the trash. In fact, that particular car is no longer even in Texas, and doesn't have Texas plates anymore. It looks like someone fished that old plate out of the trash and put it on their car! Is this common? Are old license plates supposed to be destroyed more securely?

Just in general I've always kept my old plates in the event that I purchase another vehicle and want to reuse them. Did you notify tx-tag and disable the plate on your account?

[Dwayne Lassiter]

I don't even have a TxTag account. Not sure where they get the ID, as the DMV knows better.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by Dwayne Lassiter

I don't even have a TxTag account. Not sure where they get the ID, as the DMV knows better.

In that case I'd call TX-TAG and explain that its no longer your tag then try to rectify it with the DMV.

[10scoachrick]

And, yes, destroy the plates unless you are keeping them(somewhere safe). You REALLY don't want the PO-lice dropping by your house because your plates were on a vehicle used in a serious crime.

[Dwayne Lassiter]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

And, yes, destroy the plates unless you are keeping them(somewhere safe). You REALLY don't want the PO-lice dropping by your house because your plates were on a vehicle used in a serious crime.

You'd like to believe the DMV would have asked you to do that when they sent new plates if they thought it important. Most people don't have any ability to destroy license plates.

As to rectifying with the DMV, there is nothing to rectify. The DMV *knows* that plate is defunct, and the car it used to be on isn't even in Texas anymore. It's TxTag who screwed up. I tried to call TxTag, and was faced with a 50 minute wait time! Sent them a text note instead. They are using a long-outdated list of license plates, evidently.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by Dwayne Lassiter

You'd like to believe the DMV would have asked you to do that when they sent new plates if they thought it important. Most people don't have any ability to destroy license plates.
.

I found it slightly interesting that when we had white or silver vehicles, Texas had the old red, white and blue plates that didn't match worth a darn. Then we get a nice blue car and our new tags were the current black on white...dang!


It took some bending back and forth; but I was able to "cut" the plates in half when it was time to retire them.

[Dwayne Lassiter]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Just in general I've always kept my old plates in the event that I purchase another vehicle and want to reuse them. Did you notify tx-tag and disable the plate on your account?

That doesn't make a lot of sense. When you get new plates, they have a new identifier on them. As far as DMV is concerned, your old plates don't belong to your car anymore. You purchase another vehicle and the DMV will sure as hell want new plates on it. A plate is car-specific. That, at least, is partly why stealing plates won't work. If the DMV has the plate registered to a 2012 Honda Civic, you'd better not let them see those plates on a 2018 Jeep Wrangler. In fact, the plates are VIN-specific.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by Dwayne Lassiter

That doesn't make a lot of sense. When you get new plates, they have a new identifier on them. As far as DMV is concerned, your old plates don't belong to your car anymore. You purchase another vehicle and the DMV will sure as hell want new plates on it. A plate is car-specific. That, at least, is partly why stealing plates won't work. If the DMV has the plate registered to a 2012 Honda Civic, you'd better not let them see those plates on a 2018 Jeep Wrangler. In fact, the plates are VIN-specific.

Yeah I noticed here in TX it seems to work in the way that the DMV sends new tags to the dealer you purchased from when the dealer registers the car to you when purchasing a new vehicle. Where I lived before I moved here, you could just bring old or unused tags to the DMV for any new vehicle rather than paying for new ones. The tags could be exchanged between vehicles basically.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by Dwayne Lassiter

That doesn't make a lot of sense. When you get new plates, they have a new identifier on them. As far as DMV is concerned, your old plates don't belong to your car anymore. You purchase another vehicle and the DMV will sure as hell want new plates on it. A plate is car-specific. That, at least, is partly why stealing plates won't work. If the DMV has the plate registered to a 2012 Honda Civic, you'd better not let them see those plates on a 2018 Jeep Wrangler. In fact, the plates are VIN-specific.

We've had a similar discussion on C-D before. We had one set of plates on three different vehicles and another set on two vehicles before we were (incorrectly) told the plates could NOT transfer to a third purchase. That's how we ended up with black/white plates on our first BLUE car
Prior to that, we "enjoyed" having sequential numbers on our two vehicles' plates. As I recall, it was also cheaper to transfer the plates from the traded vehicle to the new one...just couldn't put it on until the actual registration papers were received.