Texas is ditching paper license plates for good. Law enforcement says the change will fight crime, stop theft, and make roads safer with instant metal tags.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Temporary paper license plates are now a thing of the past in Texas, and law enforcement is calling it a major step forward in fighting crime.
“This is a major problem,” said Lt. Brian Jones with the Arlington Police Department, who works in the traffic division. “They’re very easy to make, very easy to forge.”
For years, fake paper tags have fueled criminal activity — from tollway evasion to using untraceable getaway cars in violent crimes, including murder.
“What they did today was remove a powerful tool from the hands of criminals,” Jones said.
Under House Bill 718, Texas is officially phasing out paper tags. Starting July 1, dealerships must issue metal plates on the spot when a vehicle is purchased.
Congressman Craig Goldman was behind this initiative. In a statement to WFAA, he wrote, “July 1, 2025, has been the implementation date for HB 718, which we passed in May of 2023. This was to give the dealers of Texas and the DMV time to be ready for the change. As of today, I’m thrilled to know that paper license plates will no longer be issued and will be permanently removed from our roads on September 1st of this year.”
“Once that last wave is out,” Jones added, “we should no longer see paper tags on our roadways.” Paper tags expire after 60 days, which means in two months, they should be gone for good.
Gene Cole, general manager of the meiGroup, a car dealership, is ready for this change.
“You’d have people stealing them off the back of the cars,” Cole said. “If I left my demo parked here over the weekend, I would take my paper plate off because they were such high theft.”
Under the new system, metal plates will be color-coded to help officers quickly identify a vehicle’s status:
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Purple – for customers waiting on custom or specialty plates
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Blue – for dealers
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Green – for out-of-state buyers
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Red – for temporary registrations
The most common plate will still be the standard black-and-white Texas license plate, now issued immediately at the time of sale.
“This solves a lot of issues for everybody,” Cole said. “We’re very happy about it. We’re excited.”
“It’s going to make us all safer,” Jones said.
Though proponents of the bill say the new law will curb crime, some law enforcement officials believe thieves will adapt to target metal plates. For a breakdown on how to protect your plates, click here.