(a) The owner of a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer may apply for registration under Section 502.0025 or 502.451 and is exempt from the payment of a registration fee under this chapter if the vehicle is:

1. (1) owned by and used exclusively in the service of:

   1. (A) the United States;
   2. (B) this state;
   3. (C) a county, municipality, or school district in this state; or
   4. (D) an open-enrollment charter school;
2. (2) owned by a commercial transportation company and used exclusively to provide public school transportation services to a school district under Section 34.008, Education Code;
3. (3) designed and used exclusively for fire fighting;
4. (4) owned by a volunteer fire department and used exclusively in the conduct of department business;
5. (5) privately owned and used by a volunteer exclusively in county marine law enforcement activities, including rescue operations, under the direction of the sheriff's department;
6. (6) used by law enforcement under an alias for covert criminal investigations; or
7. (7) 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, including search and rescue, emergency communications, and disaster operations.

(b) An application for registration under this section or Section 502.0025 must be made by a person having the authority to certify that the vehicle meets the exemption requirements prescribed by Subsection (a). An application for registration under this section of a fire-fighting vehicle described by Subsection (a)(3) must include a reasonable description of the vehicle and of any fire-fighting equipment mounted on the vehicle. An application for registration under this section of a vehicle described by Subsection (a)(5) must include a statement signed by a person having the authority to act for a sheriff's department that the vehicle is used exclusively in marine law enforcement activities under the direction of the sheriff's department. An application for registration under this section of a vehicle described by Subsection (a)(7) must include a statement signed 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, patrol, emergency communications, or disaster operations.

Transferred, redesignated and amended from Transportation Code, Section 502.202 by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1296 (H.B. 2357), Sec. 149, eff. January 1, 2012.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 726 (H.B. 1360), Sec. 1, eff. June 17, 2015.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 989 (H.B. 897), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 56 (S.B. 1064), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2021.