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Vehicle documents and registration offenses
Summary of the topic
Every traffic stop turns on three documents: the registration, the driver's license and the evidence of financial responsibility. Chapters 502 and 504 of the Transportation Code cover registration and plates, Chapter 521 covers the license and any restriction on it, and Chapter 601 covers insurance. Most of these offenses are fine-only misdemeanors, so the marks come from knowing the few that carry a class and from the procedural rules that decide whether a citation may be issued.
Section 521.021 requires a license to operate a motor vehicle on a highway, and section 521.027 lists the exempt persons, such as members of the armed forces operating official vehicles. Section 521.025 requires the driver to carry a license of the right class and display it on demand, with a defense for a driver who later produces a valid license in court. Section 521.457 covers driving while license invalid. The default grade is a Class C misdemeanor, and it rises to Class B with a previous conviction, with no insurance, or where the suspension was for an intoxication-related offense. It becomes Class A where an uninsured driver causes a collision with serious bodily injury or death. A person who did not receive actual notice of the suspension has an affirmative defense, except where the suspension followed a conviction under section 521.341. Section 521.451 makes it a Class A misdemeanor to display or possess a fictitious or altered license, or to lend a license to another person.
On registration, section 502.472 covers operating an unregistered vehicle, section 502.473 covers failing to display the registration insignia, and section 504.943 requires two plates on a motor vehicle. Section 502.475 grades the display of a wrong or fictitious insignia, with a fictitious insignia always a Class B misdemeanor. Section 502.410 makes false information on a registration application a third degree felony, and section 31.11 of the Penal Code covers altering a vehicle identification number.
Under section 601.051 a driver must have financial responsibility, and section 601.053 requires the driver to show evidence of it on request. Section 601.191 sets the fine at $175 to $350, and an officer may not issue the citation without first attempting to verify the coverage.
Provisions this topic covers
- Tex. Transportation Code chs. 502, 521 and 601
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