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Please review and distribute as appropriate.
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) is working to clarify policy on the collection of the 20% delinquent penalty which a customer must pay when they have been arrested or cited for operating a vehicle without valid registration.
Currently, Transportation Code §502.045 and Title 43 of the Administrative Code §217.28 allow for the collection of the 20% penalty at the time of registration renewal. We are aware customers are returning after renewal to pay the penalty when ordered by the court.
Future enhancements to the Registration and Title System (RTS) will be made to accommodate the collection of the penalty after time of renewal. Until this can be accomplished, counties will need to do the following workaround to collect the penalty after registration has been renewed:
• Collect the 20% penalty in “Additional Collections”
• Modify the registration expiration MONTH (if applicable)
• Issue a $6.50 replacement sticker
When a customer is sent back to the county by a court, counties should continue to collect the 20% penalty in “Additional Collections” under “Late Registration Penalty (REGPEN).” In instances where the customer’s registration expiration MONTH started over due to a valid reason being provided at time of late renewal, modification of the expiration back to the original MONTH and printing a replacement registration sticker is required.
In RTS, the county must select “Modify,” “Registration Correction” and adjust the MONTH as applicable to change the expiration back to the original MONTH. The county must require the customer to return the previously issued sticker before issuing a replacement registration sticker. The replacement fee must be collected in this instance. Counties should process all three events in one transaction using the “More Trans” functionality.
Please note: RTS currently cannot accommodate situations where modification of the expiration YEAR is required (This will also be addressed in the future enhancement of RTS). In this instance, counties should only collect the 20% penalty. Furthermore, counties should not collect additional MONTHS of registration fees to reconcile back to the original expiration.
Thank you,
Jeremiah Kuntz, Director
Vehicle Titles and Registration Division
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles
JK:TT:TM
If you have any questions concerning this communication, please contact your local TxDMV Regional Service Center.
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