The end of paper tags. What you need to know about buying or selling a car after July 1

THE END OF PAPER TAG NATION

This summer, Texas will stop issuing paper temporary license plates and transition to metal tags.
Most paper tags are good for 60 days and will not be issued after June 30, 2025. Metal plates will be used starting July 1, 2025.
Dealers will provide a permanent metal plate or one of four temporary metal plates at purchase.
New rules also apply to conveying plates in private vehicle sales.
When a car is traded in at a dealership, the dealer keeps the plate and then transfers it. Vanity or specialty plates are exempt from transfer.
The legislature is currently considering additional changes to the new license plate rules, a little more than a month before they take effect, which could lead to some confusion with the implementation deadline rapidly approaching

We're nearing the end of the road for the "Paper Tag Nation". In a little more than a month, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles will stop issuing temporary paper license plates following a series of reports by 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates that exposed how crooks made millions selling fraudulent paper tags for profit.

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In 2023, the Texas legislature set a plan in motion to eliminate paper tags later this summer. The state's new temporary license plate system will bring changes for anyone buying or selling a car. Now, 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates is sharing details about the new system and how Texans can avoid potential problems.

At car dealerships across the state, change is coming fast with temporary paper license tags headed for the history books on July 1.

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"There's always gonna be some curve balls and there's always going to be some changing," said Jerry Smith, a car dealer who heads up the Fort Worth chapter of the . "This is going to be probably as big a change as we've ever had."

온라인카지노사이트 5 senior investigative reporter Scott Friedman, left, talks with car dealer Jerry Smith, right.

Smith has been in the car business for more than 50 years and agreed to help 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates steer viewers through the changes. We had many questions, including the most basic one about what dealers will put on cars so they can be driven off the lot.

"When we sell a car, we will be putting permanent metal plates on it," Smith said.

So that's the easy part. In most cases, dealers will put a regular metal plate on the car and register it with the Texas DMV. Some dealers will be able to print window registration stickers, too. If not, they can get them for customers from the local county tax office.

But what if you're buying a car and the dealership has run out of metal plates? In that case, the DMV is creating new metal temporary tags with a colored stripe to help set them apart from permanent tags. Texas is making three other temporary metal tags to cover other situations, like cars used for test drives or when a dealer sells a car to an out-of-state buyer.

In addition to a permanent metal tag, the state of Texas will also use four temporary metal tags each with a different colored border.

"You will have a metal plate that's a one-way tag to go out of state," Smith said.

If you think that's a lot of change, wait until you see what's about to happen when you trade in your vehicle. In that case, your plate will stay with the car and be transferred to the new owner. The dealer will take the plate off of the car and hold it until the vehicle is sold. Then, the dealer will complete the paperwork to register the old plate with the new owner.

However, the legislature is currently considering a bill that would also allow a dealer to transfer the old plate to another vehicle in their inventory.

Drivers with personalized or specialty plates are exempt from the transfer rule. The plate stays with the original owner and can be registered to a new vehicle.

The new plate rules may get more complicated for a private sale where no dealer is involved. In that case, the plates must be transferred to the new owner. That's where things could get dicey, because if they are not transferred right away, the new owner will be driving around with a plate still registered to the previous owner. That could cause problems if the new owner is stopped by police or drives on toll roads with a tag still registered to the previous owner.

Longtime car dealer Jerry Smith, who also leads the Fort Worth chapter of The Independent Auto Dealers Association, says there will be a transition period as the state switches from paper to metal temporary tags. — Longtime car dealer Jerry Smith, who also leads the Fort Worth chapter of the Texas Independent Auto Dealers Association, says there will be a transition period as the state switches from paper to metal temporary tags.

"If they're running up and down the George Bush or someplace, running up tolls, you're gonna get them because you're going to be the last registered owner," Smith said.

Smith suggested one solution: go to the tax office with the buyer and complete the registration paperwork immediately.

"Then you have the peace of mind knowing that it's not in your name anymore and you're not gonna be responsible," Smith said.

The legislature is currently considering a bill that would keep the plates with the vehicle seller in a private sale. The seller could then transfer the plates to a different car. 온라인카지노사이트 5 will continue to monitor that legislation and let you know if it passes both houses and the governor signs it into law.

Drivers may wonder how smoothly all of these changes will be implemented on July 1. The Texas DMV declined 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates' requests for an interview but did provide a statement.

"The department cannot comment on what experiences customers may have with individual dealers." But the agency said the new processes being put in place "…are intended to facilitate greater ease and efficiency in the vehicle transfer, title, and registration processes."

온라인카지노사이트 5 senior investigative reporter Scott Friedman with a metal license plate.

Smith thinks there will be a transition period and that while most large dealerships are ready, some of the smaller ones may not be.

"I'm getting two or three a week calling me wanting to know, you know, how this is going to go or what it's going to do," Smith said.

The Texas DMV has been hosting training sessions for dealers for months to help them prepare for the historic transition coming this summer.

"We're going to make this transition, and we're gonna make the best of it," Smith said.

It's important to remember that the change is being made because temporary paper license plates had become a massive headache for law enforcement. As we documented in our series Paper Tag Nation, crooks turned paper tags into a multi-million dollar black market industry, and fraudulent tags were being sold and used on cars involved in crimes.

According to law enforcement officials, metal tags will be more secure, harder to counterfeit, and harder to sell than paper tags. Having all metal plates will also make it easier for police to spot fakes because any paper tag used 60 days after July 1 will not be a legal tag.