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As things have been pretty crazy over the last handful of months, one of the things that were easy to overlook was your Texas vehicle registration. For me, I was working from home more and didn't really pay attention to the sticker on my windshield. I had received the renewal forms in the mail but didn't really pay attention to the dates. Most of the time I pay more attention to the actual sticker.

It was just the other day while I was driving to get lunch that I realized how out of date my registration was. I had a tiny panic sweep over me as I flashed back to a couple of years ago when I was pulled over for my sticker being out of date. I thought surely after receiving a warning before, this time it would mean a ticket if I got caught. I to get into an inspection station and then right over to the Randall County offices to get my vehicle back in check. While I was there, however, I found out that my fear of getting pulled over again was nothing I needed to worry about.

Through all the news I have digested since the pandemic hit, I had brushed over the fact that since March, Governor Greg Abbott had issued a waiver on vehicle registrations. And as of September 2020, the waiver is still in place across the state. This means that if your registration is out of date, you are ok. Law enforcement agencies across the state are aware of the waiver, and in most cases, won't pull you over or ticket you for expired registration.

Now, let's say the waiver gets lifted, what happens then? If Governor Abbott removes the waiver, announcements will be put out on social media and traditional media of the change. From that point, residents will have 60 days to obtain a state inspection and get their registration back up today. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles has an email alert you can sign up for to keep up the date with any changes.

So what if you were like me and went ahead and did your inspection and registration during this time? Well, all it means is that you paid a little earlier than you had to and you will be set if the waiver is lifted within the next year. There is nothing that says you can't renew your registration and get a new inspection, you just don't have to panic if you are behind.

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