Tex.
Transp. Code Section 502.452
Limitation on Issuance of Exempt License Plates; Seizure of Certain Vehicles
(a)
The department may not issue exempt license plates for a vehicle owned by the United States, this state, or a political subdivision of this state unless when application is made for registration of the vehicle, the person who under Section 502.453 has authority to certify to the department that the vehicle qualifies for registration under that section also certifies in writing to the department that there is printed on each side of the vehicle, in letters that are at least two inches high or in an emblem that is at least 100 square inches in size, the name of the agency, department, bureau, board, commission, or officer of the United States, this state, or the political subdivision of this state that has custody of the vehicle. The letters or emblem must be of a color sufficiently different from the body of the vehicle to be clearly legible from a distance of 100 feet.(b)
The department may not issue exempt license plates for a vehicle owned by a person other than the United States, this state, or a political subdivision of this state unless, when application is made for registration of the vehicle, the person who under Section 502.453 has authority to certify to the department that the vehicle qualifies for registration under that section also certifies in writing to the department that the name of the owner of the vehicle is printed on the vehicle in the manner prescribed by Subsection (a).(c)
A peace officer listed in Article 2.12 (Who Are Peace Officers), Code of Criminal Procedure, may seize a motor vehicle displaying exempt license plates if the vehicle is:(1)
operated on a public highway; and(2)
not identified in the manner prescribed by Subsection (a) or (b), unless the vehicle is covered by Subsection (f).(c)
A peace officer listed in Article 2A.001 (Peace Officers Generally), Code of Criminal Procedure, may seize a motor vehicle displaying exempt license plates if the vehicle is:(1)
operated on a public highway; and(2)
not identified in the manner prescribed by Subsection (a) or (b), unless the vehicle is covered by Subsection (f).(d)
A peace officer who seizes a motor vehicle under Subsection (c) may require that the vehicle be:(1)
moved to the nearest place of safety off the main-traveled part of the highway; or(2)
removed and placed in the nearest vehicle storage facility designated or maintained by the law enforcement agency that employs the peace officer.(e)
To obtain the release of the vehicle, in addition to any other requirement of law, the owner of a vehicle seized under Subsection (c) must:(1)
remedy the defect by identifying the vehicle as required by Subsection (a) or (b); or(2)
agree in writing with the law enforcement agency to provide evidence to that agency, before the 10th day after the date the vehicle is released, that the defect has been remedied by identifying the vehicle as required by Subsection (a) or (b).(f)
Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to a vehicle to which Section 502.451 (Exempt Vehicles)(f) applies.(g)
For purposes of this section, an exempt license plate is a license plate issued by the department that is plainly marked with the word “exempt.”(1)
owned by and used exclusively in the service of:(A)
the United States;(B)
this state;(C)
a county, municipality, or school district in this state; or(D)
an open-enrollment charter school;(2)
owned by a commercial transportation company and used exclusively to provide public school transportation services to a school district under Section 34.008 (Contract with Transit Authority, Commercial Transportation Company, or Juvenile Board), Education Code;(3)
designed and used exclusively for fire fighting;(4)
owned by a volunteer fire department and used exclusively in the conduct of department business;(5)
privately owned and used by a volunteer exclusively in county marine law enforcement activities, including rescue operations, under the direction of the sheriff’s department;(6)
used by law enforcement under an alias for covert criminal investigations; or(7)
owned by units of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary headquartered in Texas and used exclusively for conduct of United States Coast Guard or Coast Guard Auxiliary business and operations, including search and rescue, emergency communications, and disaster operations.(b)
An application for registration under this section or Section 502.0025 (Extended Registration of Certain County Fleet Vehicles) must be made by a person having the authority to certify that the vehicle meets the exemption requirements prescribed by Subsection (a). An application for registration under this section of a fire-fighting vehicle described by Subsection (a)(3) must include a reasonable description of the vehicle and of any fire-fighting equipment mounted on the vehicle. An application for registration under this section of a vehicle described by Subsection (a)(5) must include a statement signed by a person having the authority to act for a sheriff’s department that the vehicle is used exclusively in marine law enforcement activities under the direction of the sheriff’s department. An application for registration under this section of a vehicle described by Subsection (a)(7) must include a statement signed by a person having authority to act for the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary that the vehicle or trailer is used exclusively in fulfillment of an authorized mission of the United States Coast Guard or Coast Guard Auxiliary, including search and rescue, patrol, emergency communications, or disaster operations.
Source:
Section 502.452 — Limitation on Issuance of Exempt License Plates; Seizure of Certain Vehicles, https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TN/htm/TN.502.htm#502.452 (accessed Apr. 13, 2024).
