Unless otherwise exempted by law or this chapter, the owner
of any motor vehicle that is required to be titled, including
any motor vehicle required to be registered in accordance with
Transportation Code[,] Chapter 502, shall apply for a Texas
title in accordance with Transportation Code[,] Chapter
501 or 731.
(1)Motorcycles, [motor-driven cycles,]
autocycles, and mopeds.
(A)The title requirements for [of]
a motorcycle, [motor-driven cycle,] autocycle, and moped
are the same requirements prescribed for any motor vehicle.
(B)A vehicle that meets the criteria for a moped and
has been certified as a moped by the Department of Public Safety will
be registered and titled as a moped. If the vehicle does not appear
on the list of certified mopeds published by that agency, the vehicle
will be treated as a motorcycle for title and registration purposes.
(2)Farm vehicles.
(A)The term "motor vehicle" does not apply to implements
of husbandry, which may not be titled.
(B)Farm tractors owned by agencies exempt from registration
fees in accordance with Transportation Code[,] §502.453,
are required to be titled and registered with "Exempt" license plates
issued in accordance with Transportation Code[,] §502.451.
(C)Farm tractors used as road tractors to mow rights
of way or used to move commodities over the highway for hire are required
to be registered and titled.
(D)A farm trailer or farm semitrailer is any
trailer or semitrailer registered in accordance with Transportation
Code §502.146. Owners of farm trailers and farm semitrailers
with a gross weight of 34,000 pounds or less may apply for a Texas
title. Owners of farm trailers and farm semitrailers with a gross
weight in excess of 34,000 pounds shall apply for a Texas title. If
a farm trailer or farm semitrailer with a gross weight of 34,000 pounds
or less has been titled previously, any subsequent owner shall apply
for a Texas title for the farm trailer or farm semitrailer. [Farm
semitrailers with a gross weight of more than 4,000 pounds that are
registered in accordance with Transportation Code, §502.146,
may be issued a Texas title.]
(3)Neighborhood electric vehicles. The title requirements
of a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) are the same requirements
prescribed for any motor vehicle.
(4)Trailers, semitrailers, and house trailers. Owners
of trailers and semitrailers shall apply for [and receive]
a Texas title for any [stand alone (full)] trailer[,
including homemade or shopmade full trailers,] or [any]
semitrailer with [having] a gross weight in
excess of 4,000 pounds. Owners of trailers and semitrailers with [
having] a gross weight of 4,000 pounds or less may apply for
[and receive] a Texas title. If a trailer or semitrailer
with a gross weight of 4,000 pounds or less has been titled previously,
any subsequent owner shall apply for a Texas title for the trailer
or semitrailer. House trailer-type vehicles must meet the criteria
outlined in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph to be titled: [
.]
(A)The rated carrying capacity will not be less than
one-third of its empty weight.
(B)Mobile office trailers, mobile oil field laboratories,
and mobile oil field bunkhouses are not designed as dwellings, but
are classified as commercial semitrailers and must be registered and
titled as commercial semitrailers if operated on the public streets
and highways.
(C)House trailer-type vehicles and camper trailers
must meet the following criteria in order to be titled.
(i)A house trailer-type vehicle that is less than
eight feet six inches in width or less than 45 feet in length is classified
as a travel trailer and shall be registered and titled.
(ii)A camper trailer shall be titled as a house trailer
and shall be registered with travel trailer license plates.
(iii)A recreational park model type trailer that is
primarily designed as temporary living quarters for recreational,
camping or seasonal use, is built on a single chassis, and is 400
square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection
when in the set up mode shall be titled as a house trailer and may
be issued travel trailer license plates.
(5)Assembled vehicles. The title requirements
for assembled vehicles are prescribed in Subchapter L of this title
(relating to Assembled Vehicles).
[(A)An assembled vehicle is a vehicle
assembled from the three basic component parts (motor, frame, and
body), except that a motorcycle must have a frame and motor, and a
trailer or travel trailer will have no motor, and that is:]
[(i)assembled from new or used materials and parts
by someone not regulated as a motor vehicle manufacturer;]
[(ii)altered or modified to the extent that it no
longer reflects the original manufacturer's configuration; or]
[(iii)assembled from a kit even if a Manufacturer's
Certificate of Origin or Manufacturer's Statement of Origin is provided.]
[(B)A newly assembled vehicle, for
which a title has never been issued in this jurisdiction or any other,
may be titled if:]
[(i)it is assembled and completed with a body, motor,
and frame, except that a motorcycle must have a frame and motor, and
a trailer or travel trailer will have no motor;]
[(ii)it is not created from different vehicle classes,
(as established by the Federal Highway Administration, except as provided
by subparagraph (C) of this paragraph), that were never engineered
or manufactured to be combined with one another;]
[(iii)it has all safety components required by federal
law during the year of assembly, unless the vehicle qualifies and
is registered as a custom vehicle or street rod in accordance with
Transportation Code, §504.501;]
[(iv)it is not a vehicle described by paragraph (6)
of this section;]
[(v)for a vehicle assembled with a body, motor, and
frame, the applicant provides proof, on a form prescribed by the department,
of a safety inspection performed by an Automotive Service Excellence
(ASE) technician with valid certification as a Certified Master Automobile
and Light Truck Technician, certifying that the vehicle:]
[(I)is structurally stable;]
[(II)meets the necessary conditions to be operated
safely on the roadway; and]
[(III)is equipped and operational with all equipment
required by statute or rule as a condition of sale during the year
the vehicle was assembled unless it is being inspected pursuant to
Subchapter G of this chapter;]
[(vi)for a vehicle assembled with a body, motor, and
frame, the applicant submits a copy of the Certified Master Automobile
and Light Truck Technician's ASE certification;]
[(vii)the applicant submits a Rebuilt Vehicle Statement;
and]
[(viii)the applicant submits the following to establish
the vehicle's vehicle identification number:]
[(I)an Application for Assigned or Reassigned Number,
and Notice of Assigned Number or Installation of Reassigned Vehicle
Identification Number, on forms prescribed by the department; or]
[(II)acceptable proof, as established by the department,
of a vehicle identification number assigned by the manufacturer of
the component part by which the vehicle will be identified.]
[(C)Component parts from the following
vehicle classes may be interchanged with one another or used in the
creation of an assembled vehicle:]
[(i)2-axle, 4-tire passenger cars;]
[(ii)2-axle, 4 tire pickups, panels and vans;]
[(iii)6-tire dually pickups, of which the rear tires
are dual tires.]
[(D)The ASE inspection for a newly
assembled vehicle required under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph
is in addition to the inspection required by Transportation Code,
Chapter 548, except a vehicle that qualifies and is registered as
a custom vehicle or street rod in accordance with Transportation Code,
§504.501, is exempt from the inspection required under Transportation
Code, Chapter 548, for the duration the vehicle is registered as such.]
[(E)An assembled vehicle which has
previously been titled and/or registered in this or any other jurisdiction
is subject to subparagraph (B)(i) - (iv) of this paragraph, but is
not subject to subparagraph (B)(v) - (viii); however, it is subject
to the inspection required by Transportation Code, Chapter 548, except
a vehicle that qualifies and is registered as a custom vehicle or
street rod in accordance with Transportation Code, §504.501.]
[(F)An assembled vehicle will be
titled using the year it was assembled as the model year and "ASSEMBLED"
or "ASVE" as the make of the vehicle unless the body of the vehicle
is established to the department's satisfaction to be an original
body from a particular year and make. An assembled vehicle utilizing
an original body may be titled by the year and the make of the original
body but must reflect a "RECONSTRUCTED" remark. An assembled vehicle
not utilizing an original body may obtain a title with a "REPLICA"
remark featuring the year and make of the replica if the vehicle resembles
a prior model year vehicle. This subparagraph applies regardless of
how the vehicle's model year or make was previously identified in
this or any other jurisdiction.]
(6)Not Eligible for Title. The following are not eligible
for a Texas title regardless of the vehicle's previous title or [
and/or] registration in this or any other jurisdiction:
(A)vehicles that are missing or are stripped of their
motor, frame, or body, to the extent that [it materially alters]
the vehicle loses its original identity [manufacturer's
original design] or makes the vehicle unsafe for on-road operation
as determined by the department;
[(B)vehicles designed or determined
by the department to be a dune buggy;]
(B)[(C)] vehicles designed by
the manufacturer [or determined by the department to be]
for on-track racing only[, unless such vehicles meet
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for on-road use and
are reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration];
(C)[(D)] vehicles designed or
determined by the department to be for off-highway [off-road
] use only, unless specifically defined as a "motor vehicle"
in Transportation Code[,] Chapter 501; or
(D)[(E)] vehicles assembled,
built, constructed, rebuilt, or reconstructed in any manner with:
(i)a body or frame from a vehicle which is a "nonrepairable
motor vehicle" as that term is defined in Transportation Code[,]
§501.091(9); or
(ii)a motor or engine from a vehicle which is flood
damaged, water damaged, or any other term which may reasonably establish
the vehicle from which the motor or engine was obtained is a loss
due to a water related event.
The agency certifies that legal counsel
has reviewed the proposal and found it to be within the state agency's
legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office
of the Secretary of State on December 9, 2019
TRD-201904661 Tracey Beaver
General Counsel
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles
Earliest possible date of adoption: January 19, 2020
For further information, please call: (512) 465-5665
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