One easily avoidable way to get a ticket is driving with a long-expired registration sticker. In Texas, there are certain laws guiding when you must renew it before you’re at risk of getting pulled over.
You have up to 12 months after expiration to renew it online if you have not received a ticket, Texas DMV Media and Communications officer Adam Shaivitz tells MySA. After one year, you must go into the county tax office to renew it.
Yes, you can get pulled over for displaying an expired registration sticker after the grace period has passed. This is because state law considers the offense a misdemeanor.
As of September 2023, state-based owners of electric vehicles pay an additional $200 annual fee for electric vehicle registration renewals and a $400 fee at the time of new electric vehicle purchases for the initial two-year registration period.
Texas law Sec.502.044 (a-1) provides the following passenger cars or light trucks with an initial two-year registration period:
You can renew online by visiting the Texas DMV website,
Most Texas registrations, except in the rare initial exception listed above, last for just 12 months.
A police officer can issue a ticket for an expired vehicle registration, which can cost up to $200, according to the state DMV.
In Bexar County, it can go up to $224 if the sticker is for a trailer or if the one you’ve displayed is “fictitious or false,” according to the Bexar County Courthouse’s website. Keep in mind that after all this, you’d still have to renew the registration, which also costs money.