Have you fallen prey to the long, slow moving waiting lines and inconvenient weekday operating hours of the tax assessor-collector’s office when that pesky vehicle registration tag is up for renewal? But there’s a way to dodge that dreaded visit and get that sticker up to date without ever getting out of your car.
Vehicle inspections may be a thing of the past in Texas now, but vehicle registrations still need to be updated every year. Waiting to get it done can cost you big time – tickets, possible towing, court visits and so on – but a company shifting gears after the death of inspections could save you a lot of time while trying to avoid those burdens.
“If you go to H-E-B, you can’t be expired. You can be expired with us,” Texas Tag & Title owner Charissa Barnes tells MySA, noting customers don’t even need their renewal notice handy. “If you got to H-E-B, you can’t have a ticket for expired registration. You can have that with us.”
Though you’ll still have to go to court to pay any fines for failing to keep up with your registration. Why is Barnes able to do this? She is one of few tax collectors deputized by Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector Albert Uresti. This means her stations at 10480 Culebra Road (Far West Side) and 2960 Pat Booker Road (Far Northeast Side) can perform the same vehicle registration services as the assessor-collector’s office, along with title transfers and assisting new Texas residents register a vehicle in the state for the first time.
It’s a sleek and efficient process where drivers circle a small building with a drive-thru window. The process only takes five or six minutes, says Barnes. Plus, the tax assessor collector’s office shuts down at 4:30 p.m. most days and is only open on weekdays, cutting into people’s workday. Texas Tag & Title is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
“The actual registration renewal process is very simple. Many people load up their car with their kids, they’re on their phone, they’re watching YouTube, and they’re in line waiting to get their registration renewed,” Barnes said, explaining even a car or two ahead of you at the drive thru is more enjoyable from your car than a courthouse or the assessor-collector’s office with number ticket tags and fluorescent lighting.
Plus, state-mandated vehicle safety inspections may not be required anymore, but emissions testing will be required across Bexar County starting November 1. And Texas Tag & Title offers emissions testing right next door – a requirement after November if you want to renew your registration.