SECTION 217.61. Digital License Plate Designs and Displays

(a) Digital license plate designs.

(1) A digital license plate provider is prohibited from designing or creating specialty license plates under Transportation Code Chapter 504, unless the provider has a contract with the department under Transportation Code, §504.851.

(2) A digital license plate provider must enter into a licensing agreement, with standard language as approved by the department, for the display of any third party's intellectual property on a digital license plate.

(b) Digital license plate displays.

(1) Electronic information to be displayed on a digital license plate, including the content and design of both required and optional digital license plate information, must be approved by the department. A digital license plate may not be personalized or customized in any region of interest, including the legend area, except as provided by the department under this chapter.

(2) Optional digital license plate information when in park. When the vehicle is in park, optional digital license plate information may include any of the following optional digital license plate information as approved by the department and the digital license plate owner:

(A) an emergency alert or other public safety alert issued by a governmental entity, including an alert authorized under Subchapter L, M, or P of Government Code Chapter 411;

(B) vehicle manufacturer safety recall notices;

(C) advertising; or

(D) a parking permit pursuant to an agreement between a digital license plate provider and the entity that issues the parking permit.

(3) When the vehicle is in park, required digital license plate information may be reduced in size but must be in a field no smaller than 4.5 inches by 2.5 inches in the upper right-hand corner. The alphanumeric characters and any symbols in the reduced field must be black. The background in the reduced field must be white. There must be two adjoining borders outlining the field. The inside border must be black and the outside border must be white.

(4) If more than one category of optional digital information in subsection (b)(2) of this subsection could be displayed at one time, the department may determine the order of display on the digital license plate.

(5) A digital license plate may be authorized for electronic toll collection with approval from, and agreement between, a digital license plate provider and the appropriate toll entity.

(c) Registration Expiration Notification.

(1) Digital license plate providers must display the word "EXPIRED" as approved by the department on a digital license plate if registration has expired.

(2) If a digital license plate is displaying a registration expiration notification, the registration notification and optional digital license plate information may not encroach upon the primary or secondary regions of interest.

(3) Unless otherwise prescribed by this chapter, the digital license plate provider must not remove an expired registration notification until after the department confirms registration is current.

(d) Owner authorizations.

(1) The digital license plate provider may not display optional digital license plate information on a digital license plate unless the digital license plate owner authorizes the display.

(2) The digital license plate provider may not disclose GPS data to any person unless the digital license plate owner authorizes its disclosure or the disclosure of the GPS data is required or permitted under other law.

(3) The digital license plate provider must disclose to potential and current digital license plate owners how GPS data authorized for disclosure by the owner or by law will be used and to whom it will be disclosed.

(4) The digital license plate provider may not require the owner to authorize the display or disclosure under paragraphs (1) or (2) of this subsection as a condition of purchase or lease of a digital license plate.

(5) The digital license plate provider must immediately discontinue the display of optional digital license plate information if the digital license plate owner requests for the display of the optional digital license plate information to be discontinued.

(6) The digital license plate provider must provide a single mechanism (or method or means) by which the digital license plate owner may opt in or opt out of the display of optional digital license plate information.

Source Note: The provisions of this §217.61 adopted to be effective July 12, 2020, 45 TexReg 4358