Driver’s License and Vehicle Registration COVID-19 Waiver End Dates Announced by DPS, DMV

In March 2020, Governor Greg Abbott announced via two press releases that, due to the pandemic, certain rules related to expired driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations were suspended. Detailed information about these waivers can be viewed on TMCEC’s COVID-19 Update page, located at http://www.tmcec.com/calendar/covid-19-novel-coronavirus-update/. In both press releases, Governor Abbott gave the applicable agencies discretion on how long the waivers would last.

On December 15, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) separately announced that these waivers would end on April 14, 2021. DPS is in charge of administering driver’s licenses and DMV handles vehicle registrations. The DPS driver’s license announcement can be viewed at https://www.dps.texas.gov/director_staff/media_and_communications/pr/2020/1215a and the DMV vehicle registrations announcement at https://www.txdmv.gov/covid-19.

Now that the end is in sight, both agencies urge drivers to renew any expired driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations. The DMV announcement asks drivers to renew “by” April 14, 2021, which indicates that the waiver is still in effect on April 14 and expired registration citations may resume starting on April 15, 2021. As for DPS and driver’s licenses, in addition to the announcement, a letter dated December 15, 2020 became available at https://www.dps.texas.gov/DriverLicense/documents/extndExpDateDL.pdf. This letter indicates that the waiver period includes April 14. Thus, despite language from both agencies that the waivers end on April 14, it appears that they actually end at precisely 12:00 a.m. on April 15.