Texas ends paper license plates, following years of fraud

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Following years of widespread fraud and abuse that touched every state, Texas is eliminating most temporary paper license plates and replacing them with new color-coded metal ones. The change starts Tuesday.

"This is huge," said Sgt. Jose Escribano, who drove the fight to stop paper tag fraud. "It's almost like I'm taking a breath of fresh air."

In February, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles unveiled four new limited-use metal plates which motorists will soon start seeing on the road. Escribano carries around a laminated "cheat sheet," as he calls it, to familiarize himself with the new system:

• Red: Temporary Registration Plate (valid between 15-30 days, replaces 30-day and one-trip)
• Purple: Buyer Provisional Plate (used if a plate type is not available in a dealer's inventory)
• Green: Out-of-State Buyer (valid for 60-days, replaces buyer temp tag)
• Blue: Dealer Temporary Plate (valid for vehicle demonstrations, transit from dealer/auction/mechanic, loaner cars, charities)

Scroll through to see Texas' new temporary license plates. (Courtesy: TxDMV)

The TxDMV has dedicated a section of its website to offering resources on the transition for consumers, auto dealers, law enforcement and county tax offices.

The switch from paper to metal is the result of a 2023 law, known as House Bill 718. The law aims to stop the widespread proliferation of fraudulent tags that had ballooned, by law enforcement estimates, into a $200 million underground market. Since 2017, KXAN has investigated concerns over Texas' temporary tags. Illegally counterfeited paper plates -- or real ones accessed by infiltrating the TxDMV system -- are frequently bought and sold online.

The new metal plates are meant to deter counterfeiting and be easier for law enforcement to trace.

For years, the state's paper plate problem has been a thorn in the side of law enforcement, who complain it's given criminals anonymity by allowing them to turn their vehicles into untraceable "ghost cars," able to effectively hide in plain sight. Beyond toll scofflaws, bogus tags have been tied to organized crime, human smuggling, drugs, burglaries and killings, Escribano said.

'Paper's gone and it needed to be gone'

A sergeant with the Travis County Constable Office Pct. 3, Escribano is considered one of the leading experts in the country on this type of fraud. For years, he blasted Texas' paper tag problem as "a big mess" and a danger to law enforcement and the public -- not just here but across the country, including New York City, where police were warned to be on the lookout.

"Paper's gone and it needed to be gone," Escribano stressed during a recent patrol of Austin.

Driving near North Lamar Boulevard, Escribano noted he isn't seeing as many phony tags as he used to, especially during the height of the problem.

"Sometimes, I would drive down here and just about every car you saw had a paper tag on it, which was crazy," he said. "You guys put the word out, and you don't see as many, which is good."

"I think we accomplished something," he added.

Over a stretch of a handful of blocks, Escribano stopped to inspect several paper tags -- one fixed to a car with blue masking tape.

None, he said, were legitimate.

"That's an altered tag," he said after typing a plate number into his laptop and catching a different expiration date than the one listed.

"That's a fake," he said of another.

"It's a year expired and he shouldn't have it. You're not a dealer. You can't have that authorized agent tag on your car," he said of a third plate tied to Houston, "or you're going to have to do some explaining."

Because all of the cars were parked, he moved on.

His concern now: How criminals will pivot away from paper and if authorities are ready. Anecdotally, some in law enforcement, like Central Texas deputy David Kohler, told KXAN in 2022 that they were seeing an increase in the theft of “hard” aluminum license plates following efforts to crack down on temporary tag abuse.

“We have victims who call and report their license plates — either the front, or the back or sometimes both — have been stolen off their vehicle,” Kohler said at the time. “The primary reason [for the theft] is to conceal their criminal activity.”

Some paper tags still valid

Temporary tags issued as of June 30 are still valid for the next 30-60 days. Escribano said after Sept. 1, there shouldn't be any on the road except in limited circumstances, such as ones issued during a private sale along with 72-hour and 144-hour permits issued to commercial vehicles.

For now, he feels "very positive with this change." He worries some law enforcement agencies may not be properly trained yet on the new tags and wishes his team could have had input on the new plate designs.

"The department has collaborated with all impacted stakeholders for more than two years to implement the House Bill 718 requirements, ensuring the smoothest possible transition," said TxDMV spokesman Adam Shaivitz. "Given the complexity of the process changes, unique operational challenges may arise following the implementation date. However, the processes and systems have been carefully designed to provide maximum flexibility, enabling the department to address any challenges quickly and efficiently."

Approximately one million new plates were received by auto dealers, or were in transit, as of three weeks ago, Shaivitz said. Under the new law, those plates are required to be securely stored.

More than 32,000 auto dealership employees were trained on the new system as of last month, Shaivitz said.

Asked if auto dealers across the state are prepared and ready for the change, the Texas Automobile Dealers Association -- which represents more than 1,200 franchised dealerships in nearly 300 communities -- told KXAN weeks ago: "We aren't going to comment at this time." The Texas Independent Automobile Dealers Association also didn't respond to a similar request for comment.

Escribano is also concerned about a continued rise in fraudulent vehicle inspections. Between May and December last year, there were 585 cases of emissions fraud in Travis County, data shows. Between January and May 31 of this year, there were 305.