SECTION 217.55. Exempt and Alias Vehicle Registration

(a) Exempt plate registration.

(1) Issuance. Pursuant to Transportation Code, §502.453 or §502.456, certain vehicles owned by and used exclusively in the service of a governmental agency, owned by a commercial transportation company and used exclusively for public school transportation services, designed and used for fire-fighting or owned by a volunteer fire department and used in the conduct of department business, privately owned and used in volunteer county marine law enforcement activities, used by law enforcement under an alias for covert criminal investigations, owned by units of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary headquartered in Texas and used exclusively for conduct of United States Coast Guard or Coast Guard Auxiliary business and operations, or owned or leased by a non-profit emergency medical service provider are exempt from payment of a registration fee and are eligible for exempt plates.

(2) Application for exempt registration.

(A) Application. An application for exempt plates shall be made to the county tax assessor-collector, shall be made on a form prescribed by the department, and shall contain the following information:

(i) vehicle description;

(ii) name of the exempt agency;

(iii) a certification by an authorized person stating that the vehicle is owned or under the control of and will be operated by the exempt agency; and

(iv) a certification that each vehicle listed on the application has the name of the exempt agency printed on each side of the vehicle in letters that are at least two inches high or in an emblem that is at least 100 square inches in size and of a color sufficiently different from the body of the vehicle as to be clearly legible from a distance of 100 feet, unless the applicant complies with the requirements under this section for each vehicle that is exempt by law from the inscription requirements.

(B) Emergency medical service vehicle.

(i) The application for exempt registration must contain the vehicle description, the name of the emergency medical service provider, and a statement signed by an officer of the emergency medical service provider stating that the vehicle is used exclusively as an emergency response vehicle and qualifies for registration under Transportation Code, §502.456.

(ii) A copy of an emergency medical service provider license issued by the Department of State Health Services must accompany the application.

(C) Fire-fighting vehicle. The application for exempt registration of a fire-fighting vehicle or vehicle owned privately by a volunteer fire department and used exclusively in the conduct of department business must contain the vehicle description, including a description of any fire-fighting equipment mounted on the vehicle if the vehicle is a fire-fighting vehicle. The certification must be executed by the person who has the proper authority and shall state either:

(i) the vehicle is designed and used exclusively for fire-fighting; or

(ii) the vehicle is owned by a volunteer fire department and is used exclusively in the conduct of its business.

(D) County marine law enforcement vehicle. The application for exempt registration of a privately-owned vehicle used by a volunteer exclusively in county marine law enforcement activities, including rescue operations, under the direction of the sheriff's department must include a statement signed by a person having the authority to act for a sheriff's department verifying that fact.

(E) United States Coast Guard Auxiliary vehicle. The application for exempt registration of a vehicle owned by units of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary headquartered in Texas and used exclusively for conduct of United States Coast Guard or Coast Guard Auxiliary business and operation, including search and rescue, emergency communications, and disaster operations, must include a statement by a person having authority to act for the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary that the vehicle or trailer is used exclusively in fulfillment of an authorized mission of the United States Coast Guard or Coast Guard Auxiliary, including search and rescue, emergency communications, or disaster operations.

(F) Motor vehicles owned and used by state-supported institutions. If the applicant is exempt from the inscription requirements under Education Code §51.932, the applicant must present a certification that each vehicle listed on the application is exempt from the inscription requirements under Education Code §51.932.

(3) Exception. A vehicle may be exempt from payment of a registration fee, but display license plates other than exempt plates if the vehicle is not registered under subsection (b) of this section.

(A) If the applicant is a law enforcement office, the applicant must present a certification that each vehicle listed on the application will be dedicated to law enforcement activities.

(B) If the applicant is exempt from the inscription requirements under Transportation Code, §721.003, the applicant must present a certification that each vehicle listed on the application is exempt from inscription requirements under Transportation Code, §721.003. The applicant must also provide a citation to the section that exempts the vehicle.

(C) If the applicant is exempt from the inscription requirements under Transportation Code, §721.005 the applicant must present a certification that each vehicle listed on the application is exempt from inscription requirements under Transportation Code, §721.005. The applicant must also provide a copy of the order or ordinance that exempts the vehicle.

(b) Affidavit for issuance of exempt registration under an alias.

(1) On receipt of an affidavit for alias exempt registration, approved by the executive administrator of an exempt law enforcement agency, the department will issue alias exempt license plates for a vehicle and register the vehicle under an alias for the law enforcement agency's use in covert criminal investigations.

(2) The affidavit for alias exempt registration must be in a form prescribed by the director and must include the vehicle description, a sworn statement that the vehicle will be used in covert criminal investigations, and the signature of the executive administrator or the executive administrator's designee as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection. The vehicle registration insignia of any vehicles no longer used in covert criminal investigations shall be surrendered immediately to the department.

(3) The executive administrator, by annually filing an authorization with the director, may appoint a staff designee to execute the affidavit. A new authorization must be filed when a new executive administrator takes office.

(4) The letter of authorization must contain a sworn statement delegating the authority to sign the affidavit to a designee, the name of the designee, and the name and the signature of the executive administrator.

(5) The affidavit for alias exempt registration must be accompanied by a title application under §217.103 of this title (relating to Restitution Liens). The application must contain the information required by the department to create the alias record of vehicle registration and title.

(c) Replacement of exempt registration.

(1) If a metal exempt license plate is lost, stolen, or mutilated, a properly executed application for metal exempt license plates must be submitted to the county tax assessor-collector.

(2) An application for replacement metal exempt license plates must contain the vehicle description, original license number, and the sworn statement that the license plates furnished for the vehicle have been lost, stolen, or mutilated and will not be used on any other vehicle.

(d) Title requirements. Unless exempted by statute, a vehicle must be titled at the time the exempt registration is issued.

(e) Extended Registration of County Fleet Vehicles.

(1) Subsections (a)(2), (a)(3)(B), and (c) of this section do not apply under this subsection.

(2) The owner of the exempt county fleet must file a completed application for exempt county fleet registration on a form prescribed by the department, and shall contain the following information:

(A) vehicle description;

(B) name of the exempt agency;

(C) a certification by an authorized person stating that the vehicle is owned by and used exclusively in the service of the county;

(D) a certification that each vehicle listed on the application has the name of the exempt agency printed on each side of the vehicle in letters that are at least two inches high or in an emblem that is at least 100 square inches in size and of a color sufficiently different from the body of the vehicle as to be clearly legible from a distance of 100 feet, unless the applicant complies with the requirements under this section for each vehicle that is exempt by law from the inscription requirements; and

(E) designation of a single registration period for the fleet to ensure that the registration period for each vehicle will expire on the same last day of a calendar month.

(3) The application for exempt county fleet registration must be accompanied by the state's portion of the vehicle inspection fees.

(4) As evidence of registration, the department will issue a registration receipt and one or two metal exempt fleet license plates for each vehicle in the exempt county fleet. The registration receipt for each vehicle must be carried in that vehicle at all times and be made available to law enforcement personnel upon request. The registration receipt and exempt fleet license plates may not be transferred between vehicles, owners, or registrants.

(5) An owner may add or remove a vehicle from an exempt county fleet at any time during the registration period. An added vehicle will be given the same registration period as the other vehicles in the exempt county fleet and will be issued a registration receipt and one or two metal exempt fleet license plates. Upon the removal of a vehicle from the exempt county fleet, the owner of the vehicle shall dispose of the registration receipt and shall either return the metal exempt fleet license plates to the department or provide the department with acceptable proof that the metal exempt fleet license plates have been destroyed.

(6) An owner must pay the department by the deadline listed in the department's invoice for the state's portion of the vehicle inspection fee. Payment shall be made in the manner prescribed by the department.

(7) The department may cancel registration on an exempt county fleet or any vehicle in an exempt county fleet on the anniversary date of the registration if the vehicle is not in compliance with Transportation Code §502.0025, this subsection, the inspection requirements under Transportation Code Chapter 548, or the inspection requirements in the rules of the Texas Department of Public Safety. A vehicle with a canceled registration may not be operated on a public highway.

(8) If the department cancels the registration of a vehicle in an exempt county fleet under subsection (e)(7) of this section, the owner may request that the department reinstate the registration. To request reinstatement, the owner must comply with the requirements that led the department to cancel the registration and must provide the department with notice of compliance on a form prescribed by the department. An owner is eligible for reinstatement of the registration of a vehicle in an exempt county fleet if the department receives the owner's request for reinstatement and proof of compliance no later than 90 calendar days after the date of the department's notice of cancellation. If the department does not timely receive an owner's request to reinstate the registration, the owner must immediately do the following:

(A) either return all metal exempt county fleet license plates to the department or provide the department with acceptable proof that the metal exempt county fleet license plates have been destroyed; and

(B) dispose of the registration receipt in a manner prescribed by the department.

(9) If a metal exempt county fleet license plate is lost, stolen, or mutilated, the owner may request a new metal exempt county fleet license plate from the department. The request must include the following:

(A) a certification that the previously issued metal exempt county fleet license plate furnished for the vehicle has been lost, stolen, or mutilated and that the new metal exempt county fleet license plate will not be used on any other vehicle;

(B) the vehicle description; and

(C) the original license plate number, if applicable.

Source Note: The provisions of this §217.55 adopted to be effective March 12, 2015, 40 TexReg 1096; amended to be effective August 8, 2016, 41 TexReg 5766; amended to be effective July 12, 2020, 45 TexReg 4358; amended to be effective December 28, 2022, 47 TexReg 8756