Austin (KXAN) — Residents continue to move to Austin in droves, which means more people and more cars on Texas roads. Occasionally, you may find a vehicle without front and rear license plates.
But is it legal? According to the Texas Traffic Code, the answer is no, but a mistake made ten years ago continues to confuse the rules to this day.
under Texas Administrative Code, Most vehicles are required to display two license plates. License plates must be “clearly visible, legible and legible” and “firmly attached” to both ends of the vehicle. The same applies to temporary plates.
But in January 2012, Texas transit laws were amended to erroneously remove provisions penalizing vehicles without both plates, according to the Fort Worth-based Barnett Howard & Williams Law OfficeThis was fixed in September 2013, but according to BHW there was more confusion around the two plate rule.
The only vehicles exempt from both license plates include road tractors, motorcycles, trailers, semi-trailers, antique cars and former military vehicles, according to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and Austin-based Cobb & Counsel. . These specific vehicles only require a rear license plate.
Texas law imposes a $200 fine on any vehicle that is not exempt and is found to be driving without a front license plate. But some Texas lawmakers have tried to change that policy in recent years.
Dating back to 2021, status.Proposed by Congressman Will Metcalfe House Bill 1199, if passed, would have required only the issuance of rear license plates for “passenger cars or light trucks.” The bill did not pass the 2021 Texas legislature.
As of October 2022, 19 states have removed front license plate requirements from their state transportation codes. According to Cobb & Counsell, all states bordering Texas have eliminated front plates.
A challenge that continues today is that certain vehicle models, including Tesla, do not come with a front license plate holder. However, Texas law currently requires both front and rear plates.
https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/does-texas-require-cars-have-both-front-back-license-plates/ Does Texas require a car to have both front and rear license plates?