As part of your vehicle registration you are issued a set of general-issue license plates. The plate number is assigned to you by TxDMV and cannot be personalized.
As of November 1, 2016, the State of Texas no longer requires automatically replacing your plates after 7 years. However, you may apply at your county tax office for replacement plates if your license plates need to be replaced for cosmetic or readability reasons. If you decide not to keep your license plates when you sell or dispose of your vehicle, the plates should be disposed of by defacing the front of the plate with permanent black ink, or similar method, in order to prevent their fraudulent use.
When a new general-issue license plate design is released, it takes several years before all registered vehicle owners receive the plates.
Introduced in July 2012, "The Texas Classic" is designed to provide Texans the highest public safety protection.
It is the first license plate in the country to feature two, high-visibility security threads embedded into the plate sheeting, making it easier for law enforcement to spot legitimate plates.
This was the first digital, general-issue license plate, and also the first to use full color and full-plate graphics. When it was launched in June 2009, it began the seven-character plate number.
After 33 years, Texas' growth exhausted the six character alpha-numeric plate patterns. The new passenger vehicle plate patterns began with two letters, followed by a number and then a letter and three numbers.
The plate design was selected by Texans in an online e-Vote. Unfortunately, the plate design was not favored by law enforcement, and some Texans complained the plate's colors clashed with their vehicle color.
This license plate was introduced in 2000, and 31.5 million sets of these plates were manufactured before a new general-issue license plate was launched in 2009. These plates represent the last of a Texas era. The design has the distinction of being the last stamped plate in Texas history, and also the last general-issue plate issued with six characters.
The design of this plate features a little bit of everything, including a space shuttle, oil derrick, and cowboy on a horse. When it was launched in 2000, it became the first Texas plate to use three colors - blue, red and black.
