TxDMV Announces Direct-to-Dealer License Plate Distribution Model

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) continues to work closely with impacted stakeholders on the important process of implementing House Bill 718 from the last legislative session. The bill eliminates most paper temporary tags and requires vehicles to be issued metal plates at the time of sale. This is a significant operational change for both TxDMV and the Texas vehicle industry, and we appreciate your support as we work to implement the bill by the effective date of July 1, 2025.

At this time, TxDMV is excited to announce that we have selected a direct-to-dealer distribution model for license plate issuance as part of this implementation. Delivering license plates directly to dealers will streamline the process and ensure that plates are available to dealers as needed to support sales activity. The process is also intended to remove some of the logistical workload from tax assessor-collectors, allowing those offices to focus on their work processing title and registration transactions for dealers and individuals in an efficient and timely manner.

Here is how the new process will work:

• The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) will continue producing license plates for TxDMV. Plates will be shipped from TDCJ to an external centralized distribution warehouse operated by a TxDMV contractor. This will mitigate the impact of correctional facility security incidents that can delay the production and shipment of plates. The department will work to maintain at least a six-month supply of plates at the contract distribution facility.

• Department staff will use a new inventory management system to determine the number of plates to deliver to each dealer and to manage reorder requests from dealers and tax assessor collectors. The system will notify the distribution contractor when to ship plates to individual dealers and specific tax assessor-collectors. Upon receiving plates from the distributor, dealers will be required to keep them in secure locations as defined by department rules. The department is in the process of procuring this new system now.

This is just our first announcement of this important new process to serve the motor vehicle industry, and we will follow up with both counties and dealers with more detailed information as the contractors are procured and operational policies defined over the coming year. The department will also provide training on the new inventory management system to stakeholders once the system is configured and operational. Expect to hear more about those training opportunities in the spring of 2025.

Initial distribution of license plates, in preparation for the bill taking effect on July 1, 2025, is also expected to begin during the spring of 2025. The bill requires dealers to use webDEALER to process title applications. The department offers monthly webDEALER training opportunities for both county tax office staff and dealers. The training is available both in-person and virtually. Specific session dates can be found on the TxDMV website at www.txdmv.gov/calendar. We encourage dealers to complete webDEALER training as soon as possible to guarantee you are able to comply with the requirements of House Bill 718 in July 2025.