Section 217.6 - [Effective 11/14/2024] Title Issuance(a) Issuance. The department or its designated agent will issue a receipt and process the application for title on receipt of: (1) a completed application for title;(2) required accompanying documentation;(3) the statutory fee for a title application, unless exempt under: (A) Transportation Code, §501.138; or(B) Government Code, §437.217 and copies of official military orders are presented as evidence of the applicant's active duty status and deployment orders to a hostile fire zone; and(4) any other applicable fees.(b) Titles. The department will issue and mail or deliver a title to the applicant or, in the event that there is a lien disclosed in the application, to the first lienholder unless the title is an electronic record of title.(c) Receipt. The receipt issued at the time of application for title may be used only as evidence of title and may not be used to transfer any interest or ownership in a motor vehicle or to establish a new lien.(d) Temporary hold. The department shall place a hold on processing a title application for a motor vehicle if the department receives a request for a hold accompanied by evidence of a legal action regarding ownership of or a lien interest in the motor vehicle. The hold shall continue until a final, nonappealable judgment is entered in the action or the party requesting the hold requests that the hold be removed. (1) Evidence of a legal action regarding ownership of or a lien interest in a motor vehicle means evidence showing a legal action regarding ownership of or a lien interest in a motor vehicle filed in a district, county, statutory probate court, or bankruptcy court.(2) Legal actions filed in justice of the peace or municipal courts do not qualify as evidence for purposes of this section unless the case is related to Chapter 47, Code of Criminal Procedure, or Section 27.031, Government Code.(3) Legal actions regarding ownership of or a lien interest in a motor vehicle must be active on a court's docket. If the evidence presented in support of a request for a hold is a legal action that has been resolved through a final nonappealable judgment, additional evidence of post-judgment legal actions must be presented to place a hold on processing a title.(4) The department shall place a ten-day temporary hold on processing a title if a party seeking to obtain a 10-day temporary hold presents the VIN of the vehicle for which the hold is sought, and attests that the hold is being requested in order to commence a legal action disputing a title or lien interest in a motor vehicle and not for purposes of delay.(5) For the purposes of this subsection, a final nonappealable judgment is a judgment for which 30 days have passed from the day the judgment was entered without a notice of appeal being filed.43 Tex. Admin. Code § 217.6
The provisions of former §217.6 adopted to be effective March 4, 2010, 35 TexReg 1761; Current version Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 40, Number 10, March 6, 2015, TexReg 1100, eff. 3/12/2015; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 49, Number 45, November 8, 2024, TexReg 8995, eff. 11/14/2024