Temporary vehicle registration allows temporary movement of a vehicle under specific circumstances, including:
- The vehicle is not registered.
- The vehicle is registered in a state that does not have a reciprocity agreement with Texas.
- The vehicle is registered in a state that has a prorate agreement with Texas, but the vehicle does not have a prorate sticker or registration cab card for Texas.
- To increase weight, if the vehicle is not registered for its maximum allowable weight.
Four types of temporary registration permits are available to motor carriers: 72-hour, 144-hour, one-trip and 30 day.
One-trip temporary registration are only available to unladen vehicles with a route that either begins or ends in Texas. This permit only allows the vehicle to travel from a single origin to a single destination point and is valid for 15 days. The following vehicle types are not eligible for this permit:
- manufactured housing
- Texas-based charter buses carrying passengers and property
- any laden vehicle, meaning truck, trailer, etc.
- a fixed-load vehicle, regardless of whether the vehicle is of the conventional or unconventional type
- mobile offices, mobile laboratories and mobile bunkhouses (must have full registration or puchase 72-/144-hour temporary registration
A 30-day temporary permit is only available for private buses, trailers, and semitrailers with a gross weight not exceeding 10,000 pounds, and for light commercial vehicles not exceeding a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds. A commercial vehicle exceeding a gross weight of 10,000 pounds is eligible for this permit if operating unladen.
Apply for temporary permits through the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles new online Temporary Permits System. You may also apply at your county tax office or at one of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Regional Service Centers.
All Temporary Permits issued through the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles new online Temporary Permits System will include a permit tag and a registration receipt, which must both be printed and carried in the vehicle or the vehicle towing unit.
If your Oversize/Overweight (OS/OW) vehicle or vehicle combination requires a temporary permit(s), then you must obtain this prior to applying for your OS/OW permit in TxPROS. When you apply for your TxPROS permit, enter your temporary permit tag number in the appropriate license plate field.