Texas License Plates

[jtur88]

Texas was the second-last state in the union to begin using license plates. Massachusetts was the first, in 1903. In 1917, Texas and South Carolina joined the list of states requiring plates, with only Florida remaining plateless until 1918.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by inezandmarc

So I don't understand. What do you do? Buy antique Texas plates off of eBay then try to register them with the state? Or when you order plates, are you allowed to order antique ones?

I have a 67 Impala four door hard top, and wanted either black plates with white lettering (ideal) or white plates with black lettering.

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

I have one like this on my late Daddy's '66 Mustang:

Originally Posted by catman

You can find lots of old plates on eBay.com. I doubt that you can use them on a vehicle legally, but don't really know.

Yes, you can legally use them.

If you register your older car (20 years or older) as a classic or antique you CAN use plates that were issued the year the car was made. Our 68's and 69 cars all have plates from the years they were made. It doesn't matter if the plate being used was used before or never issued. We have two sets that were NEVER issued back in 1968 and some that were (had the Huntsville Prison tissue paper still between the plates). There are many dealers that have them and sometimes they have booths set up at car events. I had a couple of biz cards from some in Texas from a recent event??? We also bought some from a car dealer (classics and antiques) in New Braunfels.

What you do is find the plate. Then you take the plate down to the county tax office and they inspect it, take a picture of it and send it to Austin. As long as the plate is in good condition (the white backgrounds are not totally yellowed, etc) they will okay it to be used on that car AS LONG AS IT IS REGISTERED AS A CLASSIC. You can't use a plate from 50 on a car that is a 65 or such. The plate has to match the year of production......... if the plates that year were black w/ white letters you have to have a plate that fits that description.