Live training webinars specific to the Vehicle Transfer Notification (VTN) process will be held this week. We know you have questions, so we are here to help!

Please register for your virtual seat using the links provided below:

• Vehicle Transfer Notification (VTN) Training on Sep 4, 2025 from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM CDT at:
  • https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3192877763120631898
• Vehicle Transfer Notification (VTN) Training on Sep 5, 2025 from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM CDT at:
  • https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8746812261203350111

These events can also be found on our Events Calendar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.  The recorded training will also be available on our TxDMV YouTube channel and our website soon.

Annette Quintero
Director Vehicle Titles and Registration Division
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

If you have any questions, please contact your local Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Regional Service Center.

Please review and distribute as appropriate.

The following provides information regarding various bills that are effective September 1, 2025.

Senate Bill (SB) 1816 – Title and Registration for Miniature Vehicles

This bill created a definition of a miniature vehicle under Texas Transportation Code, Section 502.001, and codified existing title and registration requirements within statute. The bill aligns with current Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) requirements previously outlined in Registration and Title Bulletin #001-24, published April 4, 2024.

The bill defines a miniature vehicle as a motor vehicle that is:

• designed to propel itself with four or more tires in contact with the ground;
• complies with applicable federal law; and
• is not a custom vehicle or street rod, is not a neighborhood electric vehicle, is not a golf cart, or is not an off-highway vehicle.

Miniature vehicles will continue to be titled and registered under existing department policies and procedures. 

SB 1464 – Revised Eligibility Requirements for County Tax Assessor-Collector (TAC) Hearings

This bill adds additional conditions in which an interested party is not eligible for a TAC hearing when the vehicle is:

• subject to any pending litigation or court proceedings in which ownership or possession of the vehicle has been awarded to another person; or
• being held as evidence in a criminal investigation.

A TAC shall deny the application for a TAC hearing if the vehicle is not eligible and the TAC is not required to send notice to the TxDMV or hold a hearing.

The TxDMV is in the process of adopting amendments to Texas Administrative Code, Rule §217.10, currently titled “Appeal to County” for clean-up purposes in support of SB 1464 changes. These rule amendments do not impede the effective date of the bill.

SB 1902 – Revised House Bill (HB) 718 Plate Assignment and Disposition Requirements for Dealers  

The bill eliminated the license plate to vehicle relationship originally established by HB 718. The bill requires dealers to remove the general issue license plates from a vehicle they take into inventory and transfer the plates to a subsequent vehicle purchased from the dealer, within 10 days of the plate being removed from a vehicle. A plate is only able to be reassigned to a vehicle of the same vehicle class that is appropriate for the type of plate. If the plate has not been reassigned by the dealer to a vehicle in the allotted time, the plates must be destroyed.

In addition, a seller in a private-party sale is allowed to keep their plates and have them assigned to another motor vehicle they own, with department approval.

• Plates must have previously been in the customer’s name.
• Must be the appropriate vehicle class.
• System programming retains Plate-to-Owner functionality.

The bill also allows the TxDMV to deny access to the license plate database if a dealer has been denied access to the temporary tag database under former Section 503.0632(f).

Programming to facilitate SB 1902 requirements was implemented along with initial HB 718 functionality in Release 25.3, on July 1, 2025. The TxDMV is in the process of adopting amendments to Texas Administrative Code, Chapters 215, 217 and 224 for revision and clean-up purposes in support of SB 1902 changes. These rule amendments do not impede the effective date of the bill.

HB 2029 – Elimination of Vehicle Safety Inspections for Certain Travel Trailers by Owner

The bill repeals Texas Transportation Code, Section 548.054, which allowed the owner of certain travel trailers to submit an affidavit to meet safety inspection requirements. This repeal aligns with the elimination of safety inspection requirements, as a result of HB 3297 established in the 88th Legislative Session, which took effect on January 1, 2025. TxDMV systems have already been updated to remove self-certification for travel trailers with Release 25.1, implemented on December 31, 2024.

TAC offices will discontinue the use of the Self-Certification of Travel Trailers More Than 7,500 lbs. (Form VTR-269).

TxDMV will make all applicable updates to the Motor Vehicle Title Manual and Motor Vehicle Registration Manual to support the changes of these bills in upcoming revisions.

If you have any questions, please contact your local TxDMV Regional Service Center. 

Thank you,

Annette Quintero, Division Director
Vehicle Titles and Registration Division
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

Please review and distribute as appropriate.

PURPOSE: The 89^th Texas Legislature recently passed HB 4226 and SB 2064.  The two bills add tax exemptions for certain motor vehicle transactions. Below is a brief summary of the changes and where to find additional information.

HB 4226 Effective September 1, 2025, Tax Code, Section 152.094, as amended by HB 4226, exempts the motor vehicle sales, use, and rental tax for the following:

• A motor vehicle purchased, used, or rented by a nonprofit food bank, and used primarily for the purpose of the food bank. A nonprofit food bank defined by Tax Code, Section 162.001(45-a), is a nonprofit entity that solicits, stores, and redistributes edible food to agencies that feed needy families and individuals
• A motor vehicle purchased, used, or rented by certain providers of housing and related services on motor vehicles used primarily to provide housing at locations they own or control. A provider of housing and related services is further described by Tax Code, Section 151.310(a). To qualify for the exemption, the housing provider must serve individuals experiencing homelessness with a disabling condition who have either been continuously homeless for at least one year or have had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years.

SB 2064 Effective September 1, 2025, SB 2064 introduces changes to the taxation of vehicles obtained through a decedent’s estate (inheritance).

• Motor vehicles inherited through a decedents estate or acquired by a rights of survivorship agreement are exempt from motor vehicle sales tax, which eliminates the $10.00 gift tax previously collected in these instances.

The tax exemptions enacted by HB 4226 and SB 2064 will apply to motor vehicle transfers, sales, uses, or rentals occurring on or after September 1, 2025.

Tax liabilities that accrued before the effective date of September 1, 2025, will still be governed by the former law.

Processing Tax Exemptions on or after September 1, 2025

Until further programming is implemented, tax exemptions may be processed in the following manner:

• Counties processing transactions in the Registration and Title System will need to select “Other” as the Exempt Reason on the Sales Tax TTL012 screen.

• Dealers processing transactions in webDEALER will need to select “Other” as the Exempt Reason on the Sales Tax screen.

Any future programming changes will be communicated with the applicable programming release. Stakeholders are encouraged to review HB 4226 and SB 2064 for more information. For specific questions regarding sales tax exemptions and qualifications, please contact the Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) at 800-252-5555.

If you have any questions, please contact your local TxDMV Regional Service Center. 

Thank you, 

Annette Quintero, Division Director
Vehicle Titles and Registration Division
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

A new training is now available that provides a live walk-through of plate assignments, Vehicle Transfer Notifications (VTN), and other processes in ePLATE. The recorded training is available on our TxDMV YouTube channel and our website.

Live virtual events are also available. Please register for your virtual seat using the links provided below:

• Please register for Live Look at ePLATE Training on August 26, 2025 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM CDT at:
  • https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2256535859702624342
• Please register for Live Look at ePLATE Training on August 26, 2025 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM CDT at:
  • https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2790059583430764895
• Please register for Live Look at ePLATE Training on August 28, 2025 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM CDT at: 
  • https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7238494513412504922
• Please register for Live Look at ePLATE Training on August 28, 2025 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM CDT at: 
  • https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7621146550111127897

These events can also be found on our Events Calendar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. 

Annette Quintero
Director Vehicle Titles and Registration Division
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

If you have any questions concerning this communication, please contact your local TxDMV Regional Service Center. 

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) has made new system features and performance improvements to the Inventory Management System (IMS). These enhancements, which refine inventory transfer functionalities, will significantly improve the user experience. Attached is the Inventory Management System (IMS) – Plate Transfer Addendum for further guidance on transfer functionality.

To make using the IMS even easier, the DMV has also created quick, easy-to-follow training videos covering key topics like receiving and transferring inventory. The short videos are just a click away – simply click on the play icon (shown below) on the respective pages in the IMS, such as the Transfer Orders and Order Receiving pages.

These videos can also be found on our TxDMV YouTube channel.

INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (IMS) – PLATE TRANSFER ADDENDUM.pdf

We appreciate your patience as we continue to make enhancements to the IMS to better support your business operations.

Annette Quintero
Director Vehicle Titles and Registration Division
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles