A Summary of Truck Registration in Texas

In the past decade the population of Texas, as well as traffic volumes within Texas, have steadily increased. Registration of both passenger cars and light trucks has also increased to reflect the growing population. However, during the same period, registrations of heavy trucks and trailers have either remained the same or decreased. One reason for this disparity may be "jurisdiction shopping" by owners of heavy trucks and trailers. "Jurisdiction shopping" occurs when a company attempts to benefit from easier registration policies and procedures or lower taxes and fees by headquartering businesses or registering vehicles in other states or jurisdictions. There are other fees/taxes that fleet owners may be attempting to avoid. Other jurisdictions may also make it easier to register fleets, through permanent license plate and online registration. In many of these situations, the owners are not moving their headquarters operations. In other words, the vehicles are still based in Texas but are registered in another jurisdiction. In other situations, owners move their headquarters to other jurisdictions. The end result for Texas in both situations is lost revenue.