The temporary tags are going metal in an attempt to prevent fraud.
SAN ANTONIO — Temporary paper license plates are soon to be no more in Texas. The goal is to cut down on fraudulent plates that are easy to duplicate.
House Bill 718 says paper tags will no longer be issued beginning July 1, replacing them will be metal ones that are much harder to copy.
“This a family-owned business, so we buy and sell cars and we flip them,” said George Abdallah, general manager of Adam Sports Car on Hildebrand Road in San Antonio.
Abdallah says getting rid of the temporary paper license plates and replacing them with metal ones is a good way to help cut down on cars criminals can cash in on.
“That will help a lot, I think, because anyone that has paper plates on the streets, they could just take a picture, print it out and anyone could use those plates,” he said.
Most buyers will receive a general issue license plate that is black and white.
There will be four other plates of different colors too: Purple for provisional buyers that are interested in a car but haven’t committed to its purchase. Blue for a dealer temporary tag that can be used in test drives or loaner cars. Green for out-of-state buyers who buy a vehicle in one state but will register it in another. And red for limited use with restrictions on how the vehicle will be used such as utility work or only operating in the daytime.
Abdallah, who also talks about buying and selling cars on TikTok, says going from one plate to four could leave some dealers dumbfounded, at least when the law first goes into effect in July.
“There could be little mistakes that happen at first but once we get to know more about the system, it will be easier for all of us dealers,” he said.
Once the state stops issuing the paper tags at the beginning of July, the ones that remain and are still legitimate will expire September 1.