43 Tex. Admin. Code § 217.53 – Disposition of License Plates and Registration Insignia upon Sale or Transfer of Motor Vehicle.

(a) Upon the sale or transfer of a motor vehicle to a dealer, the dealer shall remove the license plates and remove and dispose of the registration insignia from the motor vehicle. The dealer shall transfer or dispose of the removed general issue license plates in accordance with §215.151(d) of this title (relating to License Plate General Use Requirements).
(b) Upon the sale or transfer of a motor vehicle in which neither party is a dealer, the license plates shall be removed from the motor vehicle by the seller or transferor. The removed license plates may be transferred to another motor vehicle if the following requirements are met:
1. (1) the motor vehicle is titled in the seller's or transferor's name;
2. (2) the motor vehicle is of the same vehicle classification as the motor vehicle from which the license plates were removed; and
3. (3) the county tax assessor-collector with which the application is filed accepts a request to transfer the license plates by as provided by Transportation Code, §501.023 or §502.040, whichever applies.
(c) License plates that are not transferred to another motor vehicle as described in subsection (b) of this section within 10 days after the date the license plate is removed from the motor vehicle must be rendered unusable by permanently marking the front of the plate with the word "VOID" or a large "X" and:
1. (1) destroying the license plate;
2. (2) recycling the license plate using a metal recycler registered under Occupations Code Chapter 1956; or
3. (3) returning the license plate to the department or county tax assessor-collector.
(d) A person who obtains a motor vehicle in a transaction described by subsection (b) of this section may obtain one vehicle transit permit (temporary single-trip permit), as provided by Transportation Code, §502.492, through the department's website at www.txdmv.gov.

Source Note:The provisions of this §217.53 adopted to be effective March 12, 2015, 40 TexReg 1096; amended to be effective August 8, 2016, 41 TexReg 5777; amended to be effective July 1, 2025, 49 TexReg 8980; amended to be effective October 9, 2025, 50 TexReg 6517.