License Plates: Tips for Texas Drivers

In the State of Texas, keeping your license plates when you sell your vehicle can save you time, money, and liability risk.

There are several good reasons to keep your license plates when you sell your car. Here are a few of those reasons:

1. You can reuse them on your next car (or any other vehicle you own). Here's a side note on this: If you purchase a vehicle that has existing plates on it and want to use the ones from your previous car, please be considerate and deface the number off the old one before tossing or recycling the aluminum plate. A plate is tied to the vehicle owner's name and could cause the previous owner a multitude of legal problems if it is misused. This leads me to the next point.

2. Avoid legal problems. The new owner of your old car is forced to put the vehicle in his or her name in order to get new plates. You don't have to worry about being liable if the owner of your old car runs tolls, gets a red light camera ticket, or is involved in a crime. We have had problems with this in the past when selling cars and learned the hard way that the license plates stay connected to the owner of the vehicle. Therefore, unless you keep your old tags, or go to the DMV with the new owner to make sure they transfer ownership of the car to themselves, you put yourself at risk for legal problems. Of course, if you have proper documentation to prove the car was sold, any questions can be resolved. However, why not just avoid the hassle in the first place.

3. There is no need to memorize a new license plate number. Memorizing your license plate number can be useful if your car is ever stolen. I have also been asked for the number when checking into a hotel or moving to a new apartment.

4. Taxpayers save money because there won't be the need to make as many new plates, transport them to county offices, and cuts down on the amount of aluminum, ink, and energy used to make them. The manufacturing takes place at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville, Texas. About 150 prisoners spend their day in the manufacturing plant. The finished product is then transported by truck to the various Department of Motor Vehicles in the state. Helping cut down on transportation and manufacturing costs benefits everyone.

Want to see how a license plate is made in Texas? Click here

Sources:
Texas Department of Transportation
Personal experience