There is much confusion about expired registration violations in Texas. The laws don’t really make a lot of sense in the fact that, in some cases, even if your case is dismissed, the court is still allowed by law to charge you a fee. This article goes into depth on the statutes that allow for this fee and how they operate. If you have been charged with an expired registration ticket and would like to discuss your particular case with an experienced attorney after reading this article, feel free to contact our traffic ticket attorneys at 214-321-4105.
Sec. 502.407. OPERATION OF VEHICLE WITH EXPIRED LICENSE PLATE.
Texas Expired Registration Ticket
(a) A person commits an offense if, after the fifth working day after the date the registration for the vehicle expires:
(1) the person operates on a public highway during a registration period a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer that has attached to it a license plate for the preceding period; and
(2) the license plate has not been validated by the attachment of a registration insignia for the registration period in effect.
(b) A justice of the peace or municipal court judge having jurisdiction of the offense may:
(1) dismiss a charge of driving with an expired motor vehicle registration if the defendant:
(A) remedies the defect not later than the 20th working day after the date of the offense or before the defendant’s first court appearance date, whichever is later; and
(B) establishes that the fee prescribed by Section 502.045 has been paid; and
(2) assess a reimbursement fee not to exceed $20 when the charge is dismissed.
Sec. 502.045. DELINQUENT REGISTRATION.
(a) A registration fee for a vehicle becomes delinquent immediately if the vehicle is used on a public highway without the fee having been paid in accordance with this chapter.
(b) An applicant for registration who provides evidence to establish good reason for delinquent registration and who complies with the other requirements for registration under this chapter may register the vehicle for a 12-month period that ends on the last day of the 11th month after the month in which the registration occurs under this subsection.
(c) An applicant for registration who is delinquent and has not provided evidence acceptable to establish good reason for delinquent registration but who complies with the other requirements for registration under this chapter shall register the vehicle for a 12-month period without changing the initial month of registration.
(d) A person who has been arrested or received a citation for a violation of Section 502.472 may register the vehicle being operated at the time of the offense for a 12-month period without change to the initial month of registration only if the person:
(1) meets the other requirements for registration under this chapter; and
(2) pays an additional charge equal to 20 percent of the prescribed fee.
(e) The board by rule shall adopt a list of evidentiary items sufficient to establish good reason for delinquent registration under Subsection (b) and provide for the evidence that may be used to establish good reason under that subsection.
(f) The board by rule shall adopt procedures to implement this section in connection with the delinquent registration of a vehicle registered directly with the department or through other means.
Understanding the Statutes
In all honesty, the statute doesn’t really make a lot of sense. Why dismiss a case and charge a person a fee for that? The only explanation would be that it covers the cost of having to process the case through the system, but that still seems flimsy in our opinion. Either way, the legislature has clearly outlined some basic steps for dismissal. First, if you are cited for expired registration, you have until the first appearance date or 20 days after the citation was issued to get it resolved. In most cases, 20 days will be the longer time period as most courts require a 10 to 15 day appearance date. What is an appearance date? Click here to understand what an appearance date is.
Once the registration has been renewed, you still have to make sure to pay the late fee associated with the expired registration. If you do not pay the late fee, then you are not entitled to the dismissal. Make sure you tell the registration office that you got a ticket so they will add this fee to your registration sticker price.
After these two steps are taken, you can then take your registration receipt to court or give it to your traffic ticket attorney to obtain the dismissal. Just remember that even if your ticket lawyer gets your case dismissed, it will come with a $20.00 dismissal fee as required by law. We have seen many clients upset about having to pay this fee when we get their case dismissed and we understand their frustration. But it is a law and we will not be able to have that fee waived.
If you have an expired registration ticket that you would like our office to take a look at, please feel free to call us at 214-321-4105. We would be glad to help in any way that we can.
