Tex. Transp. Code § 502.452 – Limitation on Issuance of Exempt License Plates; Seizure of Certain Vehicles

(a) The department may not issue exempt license plates for a vehicle owned by the United States, this state, or a political subdivision of this state unless when application is made for registration of the vehicle, the person who under Section 502.453 has authority to certify to the department that the vehicle qualifies for registration under that section also certifies in writing to the department that there is 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, the name of the agency, department, bureau, board, commission, or officer of the United States, this state, or the political subdivision of this state that has custody of the vehicle. The letters or emblem must be of a color sufficiently different from the body of the vehicle to be clearly legible from a distance of 100 feet.
(b) The department may not issue exempt license plates for a vehicle owned by a person other than the United States, this state, or a political subdivision of this state unless, when application is made for registration of the vehicle, the person who under Section 502.453 has authority to certify to the department that the vehicle qualifies for registration under that section also certifies in writing to the department that the name of the owner of the vehicle is printed on the vehicle in the manner prescribed by Subsection (a).
(c) A peace officer listed in Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure, may seize a motor vehicle displaying exempt license plates if the vehicle is:
1. (1) operated on a public highway; and
2. (2) not identified in the manner prescribed by Subsection (a) or (b), unless the vehicle is covered by Subsection (f).
(d) A peace officer who seizes a motor vehicle under Subsection (c) may require that the vehicle be:
1. (1) moved to the nearest place of safety off the main-traveled part of the highway; or
2. (2) removed and placed in the nearest vehicle storage facility designated or maintained by the law enforcement agency that employs the peace officer.
(e) To obtain the release of the vehicle, in addition to any other requirement of law, the owner of a vehicle seized under Subsection (c) must:
1. (1) remedy the defect by identifying the vehicle as required by Subsection (a) or (b); or
2. (2) agree in writing with the law enforcement agency to provide evidence to that agency, before the 10th day after the date the vehicle is released, that the defect has been remedied by identifying the vehicle as required by Subsection (a) or (b).
(f) Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to a vehicle to which Section 502.451(f) applies.
(g) For purposes of this section, an exempt license plate is a license plate issued by the department that is plainly marked with the word "exempt."
Transferred, redesignated and amended from Transportation Code, Section 502.2015 by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1296 (H.B. 2357), Sec. 148, eff. January 1, 2012.
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 765 (H.B. 4504), Sec. 2.166, eff. January 1, 2025.