Texas will no longer issue paper license plates as of Monday, thanks to the signing of HB718 by Governor Greg Abbott. Metal license plates will be issued by car dealerships at the time of sale.
This law is the solution to years of problems in Texas associated with fraudulent paper license plates. In the past two years, it has been reported that fraudulent paper plates were used by criminals to commit crimes. It is difficult for law enforcement to differentiate them from genuine paper identifiers.
Reportedly paper tags have been linked to hundreds of crimes, including killings. The DMV director in Texas has also stepped down from his position since the announcement.
Abbott’s signature on HB 718 went with its majority approval by the legislature.
It has also been requested that the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles develop a plan for carrying it out. The DMV is already hard at work on additional security measures to fight the black market sale of fake tags. The deadline for the TxDMV to issue regulations to comply with the new statute is December 1, 2024.
As of July 1, 2025, the law requires that all paper tags be replaced with metal ones.
