Who handles vehicle registration in Texas, the DMV or the county, and can the DMV hire a vendor to print and mail stickers?

Plain-English summary

State Representative Joseph C. Pickett, who chaired the House Transportation Committee, asked the AG several questions about how registration duties are split between the Department of Motor Vehicles and county tax assessor-collectors. Texas law requires a vehicle owner to apply to register within thirty days of buying a vehicle or becoming a resident, and chapters 502 and 520 of the Transportation Code spread the work of running that system across both the Department and the counties.

The AG first walked through the statutory framework. The Legislature gave the Department jurisdiction over registration and titling and the power to adopt rules, plus specific tasks like setting the application method, posting forms, designing the registration insignia, and providing for automated and self-service registration. The counties have their own assigned roles: applications generally go through the county assessor-collector where the owner lives, the assessor-collector processes renewals through the Department's online system, and reviews and accepts or rejects the documents an applicant submits. Some duties overlap, such as collecting fees and refusing to register a vehicle when the owner owes the county money or is a habitual toll violator.

The AG then answered the specific questions. On what "registration services" means in section 520.0071, the term is undefined, but because the Board of the Department prescribes the duties of deputy assessor-collectors, the AG read "registration services" to mean the services the Board delegates by rule to those deputies. On "process a registration renewal" in section 520.005(d), again undefined, the AG used the ordinary meaning of "process," so it means working with a registrant and following the Department's procedures. On whether the Department itself may provide general registration services, the AG said yes: nothing in section 520.0071 bars the Department from providing services it has not delegated, and reading the Code as a whole shows the Legislature intended both the Department and the counties to provide various services. Which service belongs to whom depends on the particular statute and any Department rule.

Finally, the AG addressed printing, mailing, and vendor contracts. Because the statute requires the Department to "issue" registration insignia, and issuing means sending out or distributing, the Department necessarily has authority to print and mail them. A separate statute lets the Department authorize a business entity to perform a Department function under Board rules, so it may contract with a vendor to print and mail insignia if the Board adopts authorizing rules, though the AG noted it does not review specific contracts. And the AG found no statute requiring the Department to get county approval before contracting with a private vendor, while acknowledging that, depending on the contract, a vendor and a county might still need to work together.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2017. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion meant for those who asked

The requesting legislator (as the opinion described it): The opinion answered the committee chair's set of questions about the relative authority of the Department and the counties, concluding that both provide registration services and that the Department may print, mail, and contract out insignia.

The Department of Motor Vehicles (as the opinion described it): The opinion treated the Department as holding jurisdiction over registration, authority to print and mail insignia under its duty to "issue" them, and authority to contract with a business entity to perform that function if the Board adopts rules, without needing county approval.

County tax assessor-collectors (as the opinion described them): The opinion described them as the usual point of application, the processors of online renewals, and the reviewers of submitted documentation, with deputy assessor-collectors performing the registration services the Board delegates by rule.

Common questions

In Texas, does the DMV or the county handle vehicle registration?
Under this opinion, both. The AG read chapters 502 and 520 to assign registration roles to the Department of Motor Vehicles and to county assessor-collectors, with some overlapping duties.

Can the DMV print and mail registration stickers itself?
Yes. The opinion concluded that because the statute requires the Department to "issue" registration insignia, and issuing means sending them out, the Department has authority to print and mail them.

Can the DMV hire a private vendor to print and mail insignia?
The opinion said yes, if the Board of the Department adopts rules authorizing it, because a statute lets the Department authorize a business entity to perform a Department function. The AG did not review any specific contract.

Does the DMV need county approval to use a vendor?
No statute the AG found requires county approval before the Department contracts with a private vendor, though depending on the contract terms a vendor and a county might need to coordinate.

What does "registration services" mean in the statute?
The opinion read it to mean the services the Board of the Department delegates by rule to deputy county assessor-collectors, since the term is not defined in the Transportation Code.

Background and statutory framework

A vehicle owner must apply for registration within thirty days of purchase or becoming a resident, and chapters 502 and 520 of the Transportation Code establish the procedures, assigning responsibilities to the Department and to county assessor-collectors (Tex. Transp. Code § 502.040(a); §§ 502.001-.492, 520.001-.0093). The Department has jurisdiction over registration and titling and may adopt administering rules (Tex. Transp. Code §§ 520.004, 502.0021(a), 520.003(a)). Among its specific tasks, the Department sets the application method, posts and supplies forms, prepares insignia designs and the registration period, issues receipts and insignia, and may provide for automated and self-service registration (Tex. Transp. Code §§ 502.040(b), 502.0021(b), 502.00211, .044(c)-(d), 502.059(d)). Applications generally go through the county assessor-collector where the owner resides, and the assessor-collector processes renewals through the Department's online system and reviews submitted documentation (Tex. Transp. Code §§ 502.040(b)(1), 520.005(d), 502.043(c-1), .046(b)). The Department and counties share some duties, including collecting fees and refusing registration when an owner owes county money or is a habitual toll violator, while the Department must provide reasonable, adequate, efficient services and set uniformity standards (Tex. Transp. Code §§ 502.191(a), 502.010(a)(1), .011(a), 502.010(b), 520.004(1)-(2)).

Section 520.0071(b) lets a county assessor-collector deputize a person or business entity to perform registration services under Board rules, and the Board prescribes those deputies' duties, so "registration services" means what the Board delegates by rule (Tex. Transp. Code §§ 520.0071(b), 520.0071(a)(2), 520.0071). Reading the Code as a whole shows both the Department and counties provide registration services, and the Department is not barred from providing undelegated services (In re Ford Motor Co., 442 S.W.3d 265, 280 (Tex. 2014)). "Process" a renewal carries its ordinary meaning of working with a registrant under established procedure (Jaster v. Comet II Constr., Inc., 438 S.W.3d 556, 563 (Tex. 2014)). Because the Department must "issue" insignia, which means to send out or distribute, it has authority to print and mail them, and it may adopt rules on issuance by mail (Tex. Transp. Code §§ 502.044(d), 502.197(c)). The Department is expressly authorized to contract for renewal notices, and a broader provision lets it authorize a business entity to perform a Department function, including issuing insignia, if the Board adopts rules; the AG does not construe specific contracts (Tex. Transp. Code §§ 502.1515, 1001.013(a); Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. KP-0099 (2016); 43 Tex. Admin. Code § 217.29(f)(5), (h) (2016)). No statute requires county approval before such a contract (Tex. Transp. Code § 502.040(b)).

Citations

Statutory and regulatory provisions:

• Tex. Transp. Code §§ 502.001-.492, 502.010(a)(1), 502.010(b), 502.011(a), 502.0021(a), 502.0021(b), 502.00211, 502.040(a), 502.040(b), 502.040(b)(1), 502.043(c-1), 502.044(c)-(d), 502.044(d), 502.046(b), 502.059(d), 502.1515, 502.191(a), 502.197(c)
• Tex. Transp. Code §§ 520.001-.0093, 520.003(a), 520.004, 520.004(1)-(2), 520.005(d), 520.0071, 520.0071(a)(2), 520.0071(b)
• Tex. Transp. Code § 1001.013(a)
• 43 Tex. Admin. Code § 217.29(f)(5), (h) (2016)

Texas Attorney General opinions:

• Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. KP-0099 (2016)

Cases:

• Jaster v. Comet II Constr., Inc., 438 S.W.3d 556 (Tex. 2014)
• In re Ford Motor Co., 442 S.W.3d 265 (Tex. 2014)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/ken-paxton/kp-0129
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2017/kp0129.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from the official PDF. Minor extraction artifacts were corrected; the linked PDF is authoritative.

KEN PAXTON
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

January 18, 2017

The Honorable Joseph C. Pickett Opinion No. KP-0129
Chair, Committee on Transportation
Texas House of Representatives Re: Administration and procedures related to
Post Office Box 2910 motor vehicle registration (RQ-0119-KP)
Austin, Texas 78768-2910

Dear Representative Pickett:

    You ask several questions concerning the relative authority of the Department of Motor Vehicles ("Department") and county assessor-collectors with regard to providing vehicle registration services. [1] Texas law requires that within thirty days of purchasing a vehicle or becoming a Texas resident, the owner of a motor vehicle must apply for the registration of the vehicle. TEX. TRANSP. CODE § 502.040(a). Chapters 502 and 520 of the Transportation Code establish procedures for the registration of vehicles in Texas, assigning various responsibilities to the Department and to county assessor-collectors. See id. §§ 502.001-.492, 520.001-.0093. Answering your questions first requires a review of the relevant statutes addressing both parties.

    The Legislature has given the Department "jurisdiction over the registration and titling of ... motor vehicles in compliance with the applicable statutes." Id. § 520.004. The Department may adopt rules to administer chapters 502 and 520 of the Transportation Code, relating to vehicle registration. Id. §§ 502.0021(a), 520.003(a). Alongside this general authority, the Legislature has tasked the Department with a number of specific responsibilities. For example, section 502.040 requires that the Department establish the method and process for making an application for registration. Id. § 502.040(b) ("The application must be ... made in a manner prescribed by the [D]epartment."). The Department must "post forms on the Internet and provide each county assessor-collector with a sufficient supply of any necessary forms on request." Id. § 502.0021(b). It must prepare the designs and specifications for the registration insignia, designate a registration period, and "issue a registration receipt and registration insignia that are valid until the expiration of the designated period." Id. §§ 502.00211, .044(c)-(d). By rule, the Department "may provide for the use of an automated registration process, including: (1) the automated on-site production of registration insignia; and (2) automated on-premises and off-premises self-service registration." Id. § 502.059(d).

    The Legislature has also involved county assessor-collectors in the vehicle registration process. An applicant for registration must generally make the application "through the county assessor-collector of the county in which the owner resides." Id. § 502.040(b)(1). "Each county assessor-collector shall process a registration renewal through an online system designated by the [D]epartment." Id. § 520.005(d). The county assessor-collector reviews the documentation submitted along with an application and rejects or accepts that documentation. See, e.g., id. §§ 502.043(c-1) ("A county assessor-collector shall accept a receipt or evidence provided under Subsection (c) as an application for renewal of the registration if the receipt or evidence indicates the applicant owns the vehicle."), .046(b) ("The county assessor-collector shall examine the evidence of financial responsibility to determine whether it complies" with the statutory requirements.).

    The Department and county assessor-collectors also have some related and overlapping responsibilities. For example, Department officers and employees and county assessor-collectors or their deputies are all authorized to collect registration fees. Id. § 502.191(a). And both the Department and county assessor-collectors may register a vehicle or "may refuse to register a motor vehicle" upon receiving information that the owner of the vehicle owes money to the county or is a habitual toll violator. Id. §§ 502.010(a)(1), .011(a). [2] The Department is required to "provide services that are reasonable, adequate, and efficient" and to "establish standards for uniformity and service quality for counties ...." Id. § 520.004(1)-(2). Considering this framework established in the Transportation Code, we address your specific questions.

    You first ask what the term "registration services" means as used in subsection 520.0071(b). Request Letter at 1-2. Subsection 520.0071(b) of the Transportation Code authorizes a county assessor-collector to "deputize an individual or business entity to perform ... registration services in accordance with rules adopted" by the Board of the Department. TEX. TRANSP. CODE § 520.0071(b) (emphasis added). The term "registration services" is not defined within the Transportation Code. However, the Legislature has expressly required the Board of the Department (the "Board") to prescribe the duties and obligations of deputy county assessor-collectors who perform registration duties. Id. § 520.0071(a)(2). Thus, "registration services" as used in section 520.0071 include those services that, consistent with the relevant statutes, the Board of the Department delegates by rule to the deputy county assessor-collectors.

    You also ask about the meaning of the phrase "process a registration renewal" as used in subsection 520.005(d). Request Letter at 1-2. Subsection 520.005(d) requires a county assessor-collector to "process a registration renewal through an online system designated by the [D]epartment." TEX. TRANSP. CODE § 520.005(d). The term "process" is likewise not defined in the statutes; however, a common understanding of the verb "process" is to "deal with (someone) using an official and established procedure." NEW OXFORD AMERICAN DICTIONARY 1392 (3d ed. 2010); see Jaster v. Comet II Constr., Inc., 438 S.W.3d 556, 563 (Tex. 2014) (using dictionary definitions to determine the common meaning of a word). Thus, processing a renewal would involve working with a vehicle registrant and following the procedures established by the Department to register vehicles.

    You next ask whether the Department has authority to provide general registration services. Request Letter at 1-2. Your question implies that because a county assessor-collector has authority to perform registration services, the Department may not have such authority. Id. at 2. However, while the Board of the Department has authority to assign registration services to deputy county assessor-collectors under section 520.0071, nothing in that provision suggests that the Department is prohibited from providing registration services that it has not delegated pursuant to that provision. See TEX. TRANSP. CODE § 520.0071. As previously discussed, analyzing the relevant Transportation Code provisions as a whole indicates that the Legislature intended both the Department and the county assessor-collectors to provide various registration services. See In re Ford Motor Co., 442 S.W.3d 265, 280 (Tex. 2014) ("In determining a statute's meaning, we consider statutes as a whole rather than their isolated provisions." (quotation marks omitted)). Whether a specific registration service belongs to the Department, the county assessor-collectors, or both will require analyzing the applicable statute in the Transportation Code and any relevant Department rules.

    You also ask whether the Department has express or implied authority to print and mail registration insignia or to contract with a vendor to perform those actions. Request Letter at 1-2. [3] You tell us that "[s]pecific statutory authority to print and mail registration insignia is not expressly granted to any entity in the Transportation Code." Id. at 2. However, the Legislature requires that the Department "issue a registration receipt and registration insignia." TEX. TRANSP. CODE § 502.044(d) (emphasis added); see also id. § 502.197(c) (authorizing the Department to adopt rules addressing the "issuance of registration receipts and insignia by mail"). A common understanding of the verb "issue" is to "send out or distribute officially." BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 908 (9th ed. 2009). Necessary steps in the process of issuing or distributing registration insignia would include printing and mailing the insignia. Thus, the Department has statutory authority to print and mail registration insignia.

    You next ask whether the Department has authority to contract with a vendor to perform the printing and mailing of registration insignia. Request Letter at 2-3. You note that the Department is expressly authorized to "enter into a contract with a private vendor to produce and distribute motor vehicle registration renewal notices." TEX. TRANSP. CODE § 502.1515; Request Letter at 3. You also point out that the Department has no similar express authority to contract with a private vendor to print and mail registration insignia for online registration. Request Letter at 1, 3. However, the Department "may authorize a business entity to perform a [D]epartment function in accordance with rules adopted" by the Board of the Department. TEX. TRANSP. CODE § 1001.013(a). Because Department functions include issuing registration insignia, subsection 1001.013(a) authorizes the Department to contract with a business entity to perform that function if the Board adopts rules authorizing the Department to do so. See id. § 502.044(d). Whether any specific contract that the Department enters into complies with the Transportation Code and any other relevant procurement statutes would have to be analyzed separately. This office does not construe or approve specific contracts through the opinions process. Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. KP-0099 (2016) at 1.

    In your final question, you ask whether a Department contract with a private vendor to perform registration services or to print and mail registration insignia would require the contractor to work with or be approved by a county. Request Letter at 1, 3. As discussed previously, the Department has general "jurisdiction over the registration and titling of ... motor vehicles in compliance with the applicable statutes." TEX. TRANSP. CODE § 520.004. We find no current statute within the Transportation Code that requires the Department to seek county approval before entering into a contract with a private vendor to perform a Department function. While the Legislature has allocated responsibility to both the Department and the county assessor-collectors to provide various registration services, no provision in the Transportation Code confers mandatory duties exclusively upon counties that extend beyond the Department's jurisdiction over registration. See id. § 502.040(b) (requiring that applications for registration generally be made through the county assessor-collector "in a manner prescribed by the [D]epartment"). Depending on the terms of the contract and the specific functions delegated to the private vendor, it is possible that the vendor and the county would need to work together in the performance of registration services.

                                SUMMARY

                  Under chapters 502 and 520 of the Transportation Code, both the Department of Motor Vehicles and county assessor-collectors provide various motor vehicle registration services.

                  Pursuant to section 502.044 of the Transportation Code, the Department has statutory authority to print and mail registration insignia.

                  Section 1001.013 of the Transportation Code authorizes the Department to contract with a business entity to perform a Department function, including issuing registration insignia.

                  No statute of which we are aware requires the Department to seek county approval before entering into a contract with a private vendor to perform a Department function.

                                       Very truly yours,

                                       KEN PAXTON
                                       Attorney General of Texas

JEFFREY C. MATEER
First Assistant Attorney General

BRANTLEY STARR
Deputy First Assistant Attorney General

VIRGINIA K. HOELSCHER
Chair, Opinion Committee

[1] See Letter from Honorable Joseph C. Pickett, Chair, House Comm. on Transp., to Honorable Ken Paxton, Tex. Att'y Gen., at 1 (July 22, 2016), https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinion/requests-for-opinion-rqs ("Request Letter").

[2] "A county may contract with the [D]epartment to provide information to the [D]epartment necessary to make a determination" about whether the owner of a vehicle owes the county money such that registration could be refused. TEX. TRANSP. CODE § 502.010(b).

[3] The Department's current rules on registration renewals made online require the county assessor-collector to "mail renewal registration validation stickers." 43 TEX. ADMIN. CODE § 217.29(f)(5), (h) (2016) (Tex. Dep't of Motor Vehicles, Vehicle Registration Renewals via Internet).