TX Registration & Inspection Waiver?

[Kirk W]

Someone posted a question about returning to TX after having used the waiver of inspection to reregister their vehicles when out of state. They wondered what you are to do about the new inspection that you get once you return to TX, as the law requires. I sent in an inquiry to TX-DOT and received this reply. 

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Thank you for contacting us today.  I hope you are having a nice day!  It is my pleasure to assist you with how you can renew your registration prior to bringing your vehicle to Texas to get it inspected.

 

You can still renew your vehicle online by completing a self-certification. Click here to renew online.

 

Once your registration is processed and updated, a remark will be placed on your vehicle record indicating that an inspection is due.

 

Once you return to Texas, you must complete a vehicle inspection within three days.  After completing your inspection, it is important to keep the vehicle inspection report in your vehicle.

 

[ms60ocb]

That COMPLETE A VEHICLE INSPECTION WITHIN THREE DAYS is a question mark?

Is that 72  hours, 3 business days, (is saturday a business day). It makes a difference and no State Offical could answer my question so I assumed 3 business days and the case is you travel into Texas late Friday night and Monday is a holiday. Anyway on Thursday (139 hours later) the ice melted off the RV and the inspection was completed.

Clay

[Al F]

Since you have your vehicle registration sticker on your windshield good for however many months left on your registration, there is no visible way to determine if you need an inspection or not.  So unless you are stopped for some reason you should not have a problem. 

I would keep my last out of state fuel stop receipt handy so if stopped I could show I really was out of state x number of days ago. 

Also, while it is nice to request an opinion from TX-DOT, that is just a person's opinion, not a statement of fact.

A better source is to go to the Texas DPS website:  https://www.dps.texas.gov/rsd/vi/texasRegVeh.htm where you will find this info:

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I am returning to Texas.  How much time do I have to get my car inspected once I cross over the state line? The Department of Public Safety extends the time within which a certificate of inspection shall be obtained by a resident owner or operator of a Texas-registered vehicle, when the vehicle has no valid inspection certificate. The extension will be granted only on the first occasion of operation in this state during an inspection year and only until the resident owner or operator of the vehicle has arrived at his home, station, or destination in this state and for three days thereafter.

Far to many times I have seen where someone states I called or have an email from John Doe stating such and such, only to find, "Well that is that persons opinion and it is incorrect".  Here are the actual regulations and you did not follow the written regulations.  Or the officer says that is not what I "know" to be the true facts.   If you can hand the officer a print out from the website it would be far better.

[Big5er]

6 hours ago, Al F said:

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I am returning to Texas.  How much time do I have to get my car inspected once I cross over the state line? The Department of Public Safety extends the time within which a certificate of inspection shall be obtained by a resident owner or operator of a Texas-registered vehicle, when the vehicle has no valid inspection certificate. The extension will be granted only on the first occasion of operation in this state during an inspection year and only until the resident owner or operator of the vehicle has arrived at his home, station, or destination in this state and for three days thereafter.

 

Al, That plainly say that the Department of Public Safety (Texas Highway Patrol) extends you that time but can you please show me that language in Texas State Law where it would obligate every other law enforcement agency to do the same? What you posted is no different than what Kirk posted. Your quoted section is not "fact" either. 

Most agencies do allow the "3 days" but that is the first I have ever heard of "after" you arrive at your destination. I think you will find that someone, somewhere along the line dropped the ball because while the State law does allow for DPS to write a rule allowing such an extension (Section 548.103 of the Texas Transportation Code), no one ever got around to actually doing so....at least not that I can find.

[Kirk W]

49 minutes ago, Big5er said:

no one ever got around to actually doing so....at least not that I can find.

Somehow that doesn't surprise me. We often rely on the officer's discretion, but only so long as the result pleases us. I wonder who we should lean on to get that rule actually written and the issue clarified?

[Al F]

18 hours ago, Big5er said:

Al, That plainly say that the Department of Public Safety (Texas Highway Patrol) extends you that time but can you please show me that language in Texas State Law where it would obligate every other law enforcement agency to do the same? What you posted is no different than what Kirk posted. Your quoted section is not "fact" either. 

Most agencies do allow the "3 days" but that is the first I have ever heard of "after" you arrive at your destination. I think you will find that someone, somewhere along the line dropped the ball because while the State law does allow for DPS to write a rule allowing such an extension (Section 548.103 of the Texas Transportation Code), no one ever got around to actually doing so....at least not that I can find.

When you quoted me you conveniently left out the part where I included the "FACT" which is the link to the official TX-DOT website where the statement came from.  A person could print that out including the URL for fact in case they needed to provide reference for the info to the officer.    Here is the link again:  https://www.dps.texas.gov/rsd/vi/texasRegVeh.htm

 

[chirakawa]

7 hours ago, Al F said:

When you quoted me you conveniently left out the part where I included the "FACT" which is the link to the official TX-DOT website where the statement came from.  A person could print that out including the URL for fact in case they needed to provide reference for the info to the officer.    Here is the link again:  https://www.dps.texas.gov/rsd/vi/texasRegVeh.htm

 

That's not the TX-DOT website.  The DOT has nothing to do with vehicle inspections.

[Big5er]

chirakawa is right. You got your acronyms mixed up, but I left nothing "out" when I referenced your statement. The "fact" that it is posted on anyones "official website" does not make it the LAW. The only thing that does is make it their POLICY. And DPS's policy is not binding on any other agency.

I simply asked you to supply a legal reference for what you located on their website, which you haven't done. Just because DPS says (on their official website) that they will give you three plus days doesn't mean there is a LAW that actually establishes a grace period that would require every other agency to extend the same grace period. 

Testy much?

[Barbaraok]

Big5er,

You are mistaking LAW for administrative regulation.   Almost all laws are written with the proviso that the lead agency covered by that law will promulgate appropriate regulations to implement the law.  So DPS is the lead agency in terms of vehicle inspections and thus promulgated the regulations.  So putting the information on their website is putting forward what the regulation is suppose to be - - in this case, that you have 3 days after you return home to get the vehicle inspection.

[Big5er]

Barbara, you are almost right. DPS has the authority to write a rule granting the 3 day exception. But putting their policy on their website has NO effect on any other agency. Police officers enforce the LAW, not an something written on a web site. If they (DPS) had written the rule as required/authorized in 548.103 then we wouldn't be having this discussion. You are absolutely right that many (not "almost all") laws are written to allow the primary agency to write rules. But we require those rules to be written into LAW, and the repository for those rules is the Texas Administrative Code. IF DPS had done so that would make the 3 day exemption a LAW.  Until it is actually written into LAW it is not an exemption that is mandated by anything other than their website. And cops do not enforce "things written on websites". 

Texas LAW (Section 502.407) specifies a 5 day grace period for vehicle registration. Texas LAW, not a posting on DPS's website, needs to specify a 3 day grace period for inspections if you expect every agency to honor one. 

 

[Barbaraok]

So you want to tilt at windmills.  Be my guest.  

[Big5er]

Gee, I am so glad I have your permission.

The question and clarification was asked. Al posted a web site he stated was "fact" of an answer. Well, no it isn't. He went further to state Kirks answer was just one person's opinion. Well, if it is "facts" you want, then let's be specific. I'm sorry the real facts don't sit well with the two of you. 

I just believe if you are going to post "facts" for other people about the law you should know what you are talking about. And so far, on this topic, your "facts" are lacking. I only asked for  legal reference to the facts being posted here. Rather than supplying one, your stance is to rely on a statement posted on a website. 

I seriously doubt anyone will ever be issued a citation for it but if it ever happened I wouldn't want to stand up in court and say "But some people on Escapees told me the web site said I could do it".

Safe travels.

[mptjelgin]

1 hour ago, Big5er said:

I seriously doubt anyone will ever be issued a citation for it but if it ever happened I wouldn't want to stand up in court and say "But some people on Escapees told me the web site said I could do it".

While I wouldn't stand up in court and say "But some people on Escapees told me the web site said I could do it" I would absolutely stand up and show the current content from both the official Texas DPS website and the official Texas "Two Steps. One Sticker" website which quote exactly the same language. These are the sources of information that the State of Texas has provided to us poor old civilians and one would hope that they carry some weight.

Hopefully a judge would be more reasonable than whatever exceptional LEO that decided (in this fantasy scenario) to write a citation inside of this 3-day period. 

Here's hoping that the inspection requirement is eliminated in the next legislative session. It was close to being done away with this last time.

[ms60ocb]

49 minutes ago, mptjelgin said:

Here's hoping that the inspection requirement is eliminated in the next legislative session. It was close to being done away with this last time.

If not resolved maybe better define my original question of 3 Days. 72 Hours or 3 Business day (M-F)?  I have no problem stopping at Texarkana, Tyler, Fort Stockton, El Paso or ??? if a business day.

Clay