When you sell your vehicle and purchase a replacement, you can often save money by having your license plates transferred to your new vehicle. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) allows passenger car or light truck plates to be transferred in the same vehicle classification.

No transfers are allowed for motorcycles or trailer plates, however.

Transfer Your License Plates

The process for transferring license plates is the same whether you have the general issue plate design, personalized plates, or vanity plates.

To transfer your license plates to a new vehicle:

1. Visit your county tax office.
2. Ask for a motor vehicle inquiry or show a registration receipt in your name that contains the license plate number in order to show proof of ownership.
3. Once this is taken care of, a representative will assist you with the necessary paperwork and issue you a new TX vehicle registration sticker.
4. Pay the applicable fees. The fee to transfer license plates is $5, plus all standard vehicle registration fees.
5. To prevent fraud, remove and destroy the registration sticker on the vehicle you have sold.

License Plate Replacement Schedule

Although it isn't difficult to get your Texas license plates reassigned to another vehicle, keep in mind that license plates aren't meant to last forever.

Because daily exposure to the elements slowly wears away to reflective coating on your license plates, the TX DMV requires you to obtain a new set of license plates every seven years. There is no charge for this service and your registration renewal notice for your vehicle will state if it's time for you to replace your plates.