| (a) Exempt plate registration.
(1) Issuance. Pursuant to Transportation Code, §502.453
or §502.456, certain vehicles owned by and used exclusively in
the service of a governmental agency, owned by a commercial transportation
company and used exclusively for public school transportation services,
designed and used for fire-fighting or owned by a volunteer fire department
and used in the conduct of department business, privately owned and
used in volunteer county marine law enforcement activities, used by
law enforcement under an alias for covert criminal investigations,
owned by units of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary headquartered
in Texas and used exclusively for conduct of United States Coast Guard
or Coast Guard Auxiliary business and operations, or owned or leased
by a non-profit emergency medical service provider are exempt from
payment of a registration fee and are eligible for exempt plates.
(2) Application for exempt registration.
(A) Application. An application for exempt plates shall
be made to the county tax assessor-collector, shall be made on a form
prescribed by the department, and shall contain the following information:
(i) vehicle description;
(ii) name of the exempt agency;
(iii) a certification by an authorized person stating
that the vehicle is owned or under the control of and will be operated
by the exempt agency; and
(iv) a certification that each vehicle listed on the
application has the name of the exempt agency printed on each side
of the vehicle in letters that are at least two inches high or in
an emblem that is at least 100 square inches in size and of a color
sufficiently different from the body of the vehicle as to be clearly
legible from a distance of 100 feet, unless the applicant complies
with the requirements under this section for each vehicle that is
exempt by law from the inscription requirements.
(B) Emergency medical service vehicle.
(i) The application for exempt registration must contain
the vehicle description, the name of the emergency medical service
provider, and a statement signed by an officer of the emergency medical
service provider stating that the vehicle is used exclusively as an
emergency response vehicle and qualifies for registration under Transportation
Code, §502.456.
(ii) A copy of an emergency medical service provider
license issued by the Department of State Health Services must accompany
the application.
(C) Fire-fighting vehicle. The application for exempt
registration of a fire-fighting vehicle or vehicle owned privately
by a volunteer fire department and used exclusively in the conduct
of department business must contain the vehicle description, including
a description of any fire-fighting equipment mounted on the vehicle
if the vehicle is a fire-fighting vehicle. The certification must
be executed by the person who has the proper authority and shall state
either:
(i) the vehicle is designed and used exclusively for
fire-fighting; or
(ii) the vehicle is owned by a volunteer fire department
and is used exclusively in the conduct of its business.
(D) County marine law enforcement vehicle. The application
for exempt registration of a privately-owned vehicle used by a volunteer
exclusively in county marine law enforcement activities, including
rescue operations, under the direction of the sheriff's department
must include a statement signed by a person having the authority to
act for a sheriff's department verifying that fact.
(E) United States Coast Guard Auxiliary vehicle. The
application for exempt registration of a vehicle owned by units of
the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary headquartered in Texas and
used exclusively for conduct of United States Coast Guard or Coast
Guard Auxiliary business and operation, including search and rescue,
emergency communications, and disaster operations, must include a
statement by a person having authority to act for the United States
Coast Guard Auxiliary that the vehicle or trailer is used exclusively
in fulfillment of an authorized mission of the United States Coast
Guard or Coast Guard Auxiliary, including search and rescue, emergency
communications, or disaster operations.
(F) Motor vehicles owned and used by state-supported
institutions. If the applicant is exempt from the inscription requirements
under Education Code §51.932, the applicant must present a certification
that each vehicle listed on the application is exempt from the inscription
requirements under Education Code §51.932.
(3) Exception. A vehicle may be exempt from payment
of a registration fee, but display license plates other than exempt
plates if the vehicle is not registered under subsection (b) of this
section.
(A) If the applicant is a law enforcement office, the
applicant must present a certification that each vehicle listed on
the application will be dedicated to law enforcement activities.
(B) If the applicant is exempt from the inscription
requirements under Transportation Code, §721.003, the applicant
must present a certification that each vehicle listed on the application
is exempt from inscription requirements under Transportation Code, §721.003.
The applicant must also provide a citation to the section that exempts
the vehicle.
(C) If the applicant is exempt from the inscription
requirements under Transportation Code, §721.005 the applicant
must present a certification that each vehicle listed on the application
is exempt from inscription requirements under Transportation Code, §721.005.
The applicant must also provide a copy of the order or ordinance that
exempts the vehicle.
(b) Affidavit for issuance of exempt registration under
an alias.
(1) On receipt of an affidavit for alias exempt registration,
approved by the executive administrator of an exempt law enforcement
agency, the department will issue alias exempt license plates for
a vehicle and register the vehicle under an alias for the law enforcement
agency's use in covert criminal investigations.
(2) The affidavit for alias exempt registration must
be in a form prescribed by the director and must include the vehicle
description, a sworn statement that the vehicle will be used in covert
criminal investigations, and the signature of the executive administrator
or the executive administrator's designee as provided in paragraph
(3) of this subsection. The vehicle registration insignia of any vehicles
no longer used in covert criminal investigations shall be surrendered
immediately to the department.
(3) The executive administrator, by annually filing
an authorization with the director, may appoint a staff designee to
execute the affidavit. A new authorization must be filed when a new
executive administrator takes office.
(4) The letter of authorization must contain a sworn
statement delegating the authority to sign the affidavit to a designee,
the name of the designee, and the name and the signature of the executive
administrator.
(5) The affidavit for alias exempt registration must
be accompanied by a title application under §217.103 of this
title (relating to Restitution Liens). The application must contain
the information required by the department to create the alias record
of vehicle registration and title.
(c) Replacement of exempt registration.
(1) If a metal exempt license plate is lost, stolen,
or mutilated, a properly executed application for metal exempt license
plates must be submitted to the county tax assessor-collector.
(2) An application for replacement metal exempt license
plates must contain the vehicle description, original license number,
and the sworn statement that the license plates furnished for the
vehicle have been lost, stolen, or mutilated and will not be used
on any other vehicle.
(d) Title requirements. Unless exempted by statute,
a vehicle must be titled at the time the exempt registration is issued.
(e) Extended Registration of County Fleet Vehicles.
(1) Subsections (a)(2), (a)(3)(B), and (c) of this
section do not apply under this subsection.
(2) The owner of the exempt county fleet must file
a completed application for exempt county fleet registration on a
form prescribed by the department, and shall contain the following
information:
(A) vehicle description;
(B) name of the exempt agency;
(C) a certification by an authorized person stating
that the vehicle is owned by and used exclusively in the service of
the county;
(D) a certification that each vehicle listed on the
application has the name of the exempt agency printed on each side
of the vehicle in letters that are at least two inches high or in
an emblem that is at least 100 square inches in size and of a color
sufficiently different from the body of the vehicle as to be clearly
legible from a distance of 100 feet, unless the applicant complies
with the requirements under this section for each vehicle that is
exempt by law from the Cont'd... |
