State begins ‘point of sale’ for stickers

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is now introducing Point of Sale Sticker Printing (POSSP) and a new design for vehicle registration stickers.  The new registration stickers feature several improvements to deter sticker theft and streamline the state’s inventory control.

The new process was piloted in Caldwell and Bastrop Counties and will be implemented in 185 counties across the state beginning August 25.  This initial phase involves counties that do not process transactions through subcontractor stations (e.g. grocery stores) or automobile dealerships.  These latter types of transactions will be piloted in McLennan, Williamson, Angelina, and Harris Counties over the next few months, with full statewide implementation expected to be completed by early 2005.

Registration stickers will now be printed at the point of sale.  Information specific to the registered vehicle will be printed directly on the sticker, which will help deter theft.  TxDOT switched from license plate stickers to windshield stickers for most passenger vehicles about a decade ago to cut down on theft, and the new method will enhance these efforts. (Plate stickers are still used for motorcycles, trailers, and some other types of vehicles.) Each sticker will show the last eight digits of the vehicle identification number, the license plate number, county of registration, and registration month and year.

Because each windshield and plate sticker is vehicle-specific, it is important for customers who own more than one vehicle to be sure they apply the sticker to the correct one.   Also, customers should carefully follow instructions for peeling and applying the sticker.  The new windshield sticker must be peeled from the back of the form; otherwise, it could be damaged and a replacement sticker would be necessary.  Plate stickers should be peeled from the front of the form.

When the POSSP method is completely implemented, the new type of sticker will be issued for all registration renewals, including in-person, mail-in, and Internet transactions. POSSP prints the sticker on the customer’s receipt, so stapling stickers and maintaining manual sticker books will no longer be necessary.  This also eliminates the manufacturing and storage of 400,000 pre-printed sticker books annually for the current system.

In the past, yearly windshield stickers were printed in mass quantities based on projections of annual vehicle registrations.  POSSP will eliminate the waste of excess stickers resulting from this process each year.  As each sticker is printed “on demand” for a specific vehicle rather than pre-printed and later assigned to a vehicle, any internal accounting of the blank forms used for the POSSP is now optional rather than required.  Registration transactions will be tracked through the state’s automated Registration and Title System in much the same was as the previous method.

“This new method is a significant improvement in Texas registration processes,” said Jerry Dike, director of TxDOT’s Vehicle Titles and Registration Division.  “It also offers greater protection by making the stickers worthless if they’re stolen.”