In a release, the Department of Motor Vehicles said it is redesigning the paper plates issued when a car is bought in Texas, adding a watermark, changing the print on the plate to make it easier to see and other security features to make it easier for officers to spot fakes. The changes have been developed in collaboration with law enforcement.
"The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles is setting a new standard for temporary tag security and design,” TxDMV Executive Director Daniel Avitia said. It is sorely-need upgrade, police have said for months, as Texas became the problem spot for paper tags nationally because of flaws in the temporary tag system. As a result of scam businesses gaining access and the ease at which someone could print their own Texas tag, at least 2 million fake Texas tags flooded the globe.
The problem was especially acute in Harris County, where officials estimated more than twice as many temporary tags, 6.7 million, were issued than title and registration transactions, 3.2 million. Some of that can be explained by people purchasing vehicles in Houston and then registering them in surrounding counties, but the suspicion is hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of those tags were illicit.
Officials earlier this year tightened rules for dealers, limiting how many temporary tags a new dealer can issue and redesigning the paper plates. The new designs will appear on cars tagged as of Dec. 9. Officials said the new design includes:Enhanced depiction of tag expiration date, vehicle year and make, and name of issuing dealer.Font selection and size that maximize readability.