The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Texas year of manufacture plates law changes 2011

The same thing happened to me. I went to one office and they told me I couldn't do it, so I drove about 10 miles to another office and they registered it with no questions ask.

Good Morning Gentlemen,
I came across this topic and I am a relocated Texan but plan to return home once my career comes to an end and it concerns me because I have a invested interest in the matter. It seems that I do everything backwards from talking to thoughts to getting my plates done before the truck but I do try to do my homework if it evolves going to the court house, disputing a bill, and just maybe I might showing my lawyer that I know a little of what I am talking about. It concerned me enough to do some research and this is what I found.
6cylindersoverTexas, you are correct but I believe that having an antique vehicle is limited to parades, special events, Sunday drives.
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/vi/Misc/faq/veh_type.htm#antique
“Antiques & Classic Registered Vehicles
Vehicles registered as "Antiques" are exempted from the annual inspection. To see the restrictions on the use of antiques or to obtain more information on how to register your vehicle as an "Antique", see the TxDOT website.
Vehicles registered as "Classic" are required to have the annual safety inspection. These types of vehicles are inspected like any passenger vehicle. Certain items of inspection, however, may or may not be required to be inspected, depending on the age of the car. (For example, seatbelts and anchorages are only required if the vehicle was originally manufactured with them.)”
http://www.txdmv.gov/vehicles/license_plates/qualifying/plate.htm?id=134&cat=antique
ArmyMike,
There are several sites that you can find a pair of Texas plates but there are stipulations and I am in the process of getting mine done. The year of the plate will have to be the year of the truck, the plate have to be free and not reported lost or stolen. It will have to be serviceable and inspected in person to be deemed usable on your vehicle. Once you have found the plates for your vic, there is a tech help with in this site to help refurbish your plate or you can send it to a specialist to put it together for you. Good luck on your plates.
I can go on but I’ll end with agreeing that it depends on where and who you helps you at the time of registration of your classic, antique, or reconstructed or rebuilt vehicles. I myself have tried to keep in contact with my hometown office and tried to keep the lines of communication open so that it will be easier to get assistance then to be another person to be dealt with.
Here are my pictures of my plates.
http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/brdeight/1939%20Chevy%20Truck/Truck%20before/P1100429.jpg
http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/brdeight/1939%20Chevy%20Truck/Truck%20before/P4110021.jpg
Other links that might be helpful.
http://ftp.txdmv.gov/pub/txdot-info/vtr/plate_history.pdf
http://ftp.txdmv.gov/pub/txdot-info/vtr/specialty_list.pdf

Bread
“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.” -Albert Einstein-

Farm plates are good for only "farm" trucks. That means you must have a agriculture (Agg) exemption to qualify. If you will go to any county registration office, they will have a book showing the plates (color and sizes). I don't believe there was a challenge to anyone wanting commercial plates back then, just farm plates. You probably would need to see if they had specific "truck" plates. I tried to use non truck plates and was refused. I finally found truck plates and that passed inspection.

I was told I could use car or truck plates for my Suburban but I didn't get it clear whether that was the Suburban only or any truck. And like several have said, it depends on who you talk to.

On those lines, the girl I applied with didn't know I could register as 'antique'. I told her that's what I wanted and she registered them 'classic'. I had to get her supervisor to get it fixed.

I have owned three Suburbans and each came with truck plates. I was able to change the registration on each to car plates. It is a bit cheaper than truck plates. Check the TxDmv for the differences between classic and antique plates. My truck is registration as Classic which gives me more years between registration than the antique plates. However it restricts the mileage.

There should be no mileage restrictions on 'classic' registration. The differences are listed somewhere near the first of this thread.

I stand corrected. My registration is actually "antique" with no annual inspection and a long term registration. The milage is somewhat vague as it talks about parades, club meetings, and such. I suppose I could join an antique car club in Sacramento California and attend an annual meeting out there.

In my research on 1937 YOM Texas plates, I've found Farm plates, Commercial Vehicle plates, and plates with no special designation (e.g. Passenger vehicle plates); I haven't found any plates that are designated TRUCK per se. Back in the day, would pickups have been limited to Farm or Commercial vehicle plates only, or could a city dweller's pickup have had passenger/no-special-designation plates?

BTW, when I first brought my truck to Texas and called the DMV to ask about registering it, the lady on the phone told me to register it as an antique. When I told her I planned to drive it more often than antique status would allow, she said, "Oh hun, half the guys in our office drive their trucks with antique plates to work every day and the cops don't care."--Kinda funny that the lady at the DMV was encouraging me to break the law.

we have it way easier than this in maine... they call them Contemporary plates. An owner of an antique auto, may use registration plates that were issued in the same year the antique vehicle was manufactured, as long as the motor vehicle:
A. Is over 25 years old;
B Is registered as an antique vehicle;
C. Carries a valid antique motor vehicle registration certificate and plates... so as long as you can produce the reg, and current plates.. I keep mine under the seat.. your all set.. 15 bucks

I can assure you that it is not possible to register your truck using YOM FARM plates in Texas. Trucks currently registered with them are legal, but new applications will not be accepted for FARM plates. I have been to different DMV's and they all say the same. I had paid dearly for a nice set of FARM plates online and they would not allow their use. They now make nice garage art. YOM plates without FARM on them are pefectly fine.

Hope this helps everyone avoid wasting time and money trying to register with FARM plates in Texas.

I would think "Farm" plates would be allowed if you have a Ag. permit. They still issue "Farm" plates to those eligible for them.

Farm Plates

Have ya'll got this figured out yet or are ya repeating yerselves now?

*smirk*

-W

What's an ag permit?

Bill

Texas still issues new (modern) Farm plates for those who qualify for an Ag exemption. But, old, orignal, Year-of-Manufacture FARM plates will not be allowed.

Agriculture Permit.
I believe the requirement is now 10 acres in some kind of production by the owner or lessee. That will give you an Ag Permit and a tremendous reduction in taxes on that 10 acres less the acreage your home is on, a minimum of 1/2 acre. If you have a diesel tractor you can buy off road (red) diesel.
With that you can run Farm licenses on your farm truck.

Naw Wooger, always something new here for the inquiring mind.

If I had bought Farm plates with the plan on running them, and I was Ag exempt, I would try to register them and different county offices. I went to two different county offices and got two different responses. The State controls the rules on this but the county clerks administer them.

We seem to have gotten of topic here. Let's keep it about registering old trucks. Please keep it to what you know and avoid speculation.

Thanks

yeah we are lucky here in Texas. If you ever run in to trouble there are tax offices everywhere! i have a great set for my truck.

For those of you interested, here is a site that covers the history of the Texas license plates. I was having an argument with a young knucklehead, who swore Texas didn't require two plates until recently. I had to show her where she was wrong and in so doing found this site. Interesting.

History of Texas License Plates