Printing Vehicle Registration ????

[ChristieP]

Thanks for the follow-up! Texas DPS is really an embarrassment. Their systems are horribly inefficient and as you said, it often depends on the employee you get as to what they require. One of my friends’ husband was born abroad to American parents. When he went to renew his TXDL, the DPS employee flagged him as a non-US citizen because his birth certificate was from a foreign country and she reported him to ICE! He literally had to go through immigration court to prove that he was a USC and was here legally! The process took almost 4 years, during which time he lost his right to vote, and it also cost them a substantial amount of money in legal fees. If they had not gotten their congressman’s office involved, it would have taken even longer.

[Seguinite]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Most people just toss that piece of paper after they peel the window sticker off, which is unfortunate because that information is often needed later. In your situation, you may need to go to the county vehicle registration office and have them reprint that information for you. I think it costs $1 per page IIRC.

I've been gone a couple years almost, but doesn't it plainly say that paperwork is to be carried in the vehicle?

[hijakeroo123]

In Texas, the paperwork is not required to be carried in vehicle. In fact, in Texas and other states where the paperwork is not required to be carried, it is recommended to not store it within the vehicle as it makes transferring the title and registration much easier for a thief if the vehicle is stolen. States that still require this are frankly living in the dark ages.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by Seguinite

I've been gone a couple years almost, but doesn't it plainly say that paperwork is to be carried in the vehicle?

It has to be carried in a commercial vehicle. For personal vehicles, it's up to you.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Thanks for the follow-up! Texas DPS is really an embarrassment. Their systems are horribly inefficient and as you said, it often depends on the employee you get as to what they require. One of my friends’ husband was born abroad to American parents. When he went to renew his TXDL, the DPS employee flagged him as a non-US citizen because his birth certificate was from a foreign country and she reported him to ICE! He literally had to go through immigration court to prove that he was a USC and was here legally! The process took almost 4 years, during which time he lost his right to vote, and it also cost them a substantial amount of money in legal fees. If they had not gotten their congressman’s office involved, it would have taken even longer.

I'm going to get political here for a minute, but I truly believe that anyone who thinks having ID to vote isn't preventing people from voting needs to go through this process.

There are a ridiculous number of hoops to jump through. Not to mention, as I said, appointments being scheduled 4-6 months out. I also had to drive an hour away to a smaller town to get an appointment even four months away. And I had to take time off of work to do it, since they are only open during business hours.

What if I didn't have transportation or a license already? What if I couldn't afford to take time off of work because I didn't have PTO (A LOT of people don't)? Or what if I didn't have an employer who would give me the time off? What if I had misplaced her birth certificate and/or social security card and had to get another one? Again, without transportation or time off of work?

My daughter was born in Texas, I had all of the legal documents and pretty much every advantage, and it was still an expensive and complicated process.

And throw in the fact that every person who is working at the counter can just arbitrarily decide you need something, like proof of car registration.

[Need4Camaro]

To be fair I agree with the proof of registration for every vehicle is a bit stringent and isnt something Ive run into before in other states.. and it does appear that in your specific case the representative was misleading you on due process as it does not seem to be required for existing residents.. ..but most (if not all) states currently require birth certificates and/or SSN identification cards for new or transferring drivers licenses. I needed mine for my Georgia learners permit and to reinstate my license when I moved back to Georgia. I also needed it to obtain my license in Washington state & Illinois, so that part isn't specific to TX. I've had to replace my Birth Certificate twice so far, usually it takes about a month to do so but I typically do this well in advance of actually needing it for verification purposes so I have not met a hiccup purely because my Birth Certificate as researching the requirements to obtain a license will typically make this requirement very apparent in most states.

The backlogs here did throw me for a hoop and I did end up having to renew my GA license while living in TX so I could technically have some legal drivers license while awaiting my appointment to transfer my out of state license. It is worse here than it was in GA and WA (although they typically required scheduled appointments as well) ... I am not sure how they were pre-pandemic so I cannot say if this is ordinary or not.

As for the other hurdles (transportation, PTO, ect) .. Just not seeing how this wouldnt be a issue in most other states.

[Seguinite]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

... but most (if not all) states currently require birth certificates and/or SSN identification cards for new or transferring drivers licenses.

Indeed. My wife got along her entire life of 60+ years without an official Texas birth certificate... and then we moved out of state. She's got one now.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

As for the other hurdles (transportation, PTO, ect) .. Just not seeing how this wouldnt be a issue in most other states.

Oh, it is. Which is why it's ridiculous to expect everyone to be able to navigate this process.