Texas Form VTR-60, the Application for Replacement License Plate(s) and/or Registration Sticker, is what you file with your county tax assessor-collector to replace plates or stickers that are lost, stolen, mutilated, or unreadable. The total fee is $6.50, and you submit the one-page form in person at your county tax office along with any plates or stickers you still have.1Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Replacement License Plate(s) and/or Registration Sticker (Form VTR-60)
When the Form Applies
Four situations qualify: plates or stickers that are lost, stolen, mutilated, or need replacement for cosmetic or readability reasons. You check the applicable box on the certification section and select which items you need replaced — current license plates, the plate registration sticker, the windshield registration sticker, or any combination.1Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Replacement License Plate(s) and/or Registration Sticker (Form VTR-60)
Your vehicle must be currently registered. Duplicate items are only issued for vehicles with active registration.2Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Motor Vehicle Registration Manual
If your plates were stolen, consider filing a police report before you go. The VTR-60 doesn’t require you to attach one, but a report on file protects you if someone uses your plates in a crime or racks up toll violations under your number.
What to Gather First
The form is short, but a few details aren’t always at hand:
- Your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) — the 17-character number visible through the windshield on the driver’s side dashboard, or on the driver’s door jamb sticker.
- Your current Texas license plate number. If you can’t remember it, check your insurance card, a prior registration receipt, or ask the county tax office to look up the title record.
- The vehicle’s year, make, and body style, matching what TxDMV already has on file.
Filling Out the Form
Download the form from the TxDMV website or pick one up at your county tax office. It has three sections on a single page.1Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Replacement License Plate(s) and/or Registration Sticker (Form VTR-60)
Applicant Information
Enter your full legal name (first, middle, last, and any suffix), your county of residence, mailing address, email, and phone number. The name and address must match what TxDMV has on file. If you’ve moved or changed your name since your last registration and haven’t updated your records, sort that out first, because the tax office will send you back if the form doesn’t match.
Vehicle Information
Fill in the VIN, current Texas plate number, and vehicle year, make, and body style. Check the boxes for the items you need replaced. Select as many as apply.
Certification and Signature
By signing, you confirm that the items are genuinely lost, stolen, mutilated, or in need of cosmetic or readability replacement. You also certify that you’ve turned in any plates or stickers still in your possession and that if you recover the originals, you won’t use or display them on any vehicle. Sign and date.
Where to Submit
Take the completed form to your local county tax assessor-collector’s office. That’s the only submission channel; TxDMV does not offer an online portal for the VTR-60 process.3Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Register Your Vehicle Every Texas county has a tax office that handles motor vehicle transactions.
Bring any plates or stickers you still have. Handing over a mutilated plate is part of the process. If your items were stolen or completely lost, confirm that on the form and go in empty-handed.
Fees
The replacement fee is $6.00 plus a $0.50 automation fee, for a total of $6.50.1Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Replacement License Plate(s) and/or Registration Sticker (Form VTR-60) Accepted payment methods vary by county; most tax offices take checks, money orders, and credit or debit cards. Do not mail cash. The fee is nonrefundable.
A duplicate of your paper registration receipt is a separate transaction with a $2 fee under Texas Transportation Code Section 502.058, available from TxDMV or the county assessor-collector who issued the original.2Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Motor Vehicle Registration Manual
How Long It Takes
For sticker replacements, TxDMV applies a two-business-day payment processing hold before the sticker is printed, then mails it, which can take up to three weeks.3Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Register Your Vehicle Some county offices can produce a sticker on the spot, depending on their equipment and workload. Replacement plates are manufactured and mailed, so expect a longer wait than for stickers alone. Ask your county tax office for a specific estimate when you file.
Driving While You Wait
Texas law makes it an offense to operate a vehicle on a public highway without properly displaying the registration insignia issued by TxDMV.4State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 502.472 If you’re pulled over, a court may dismiss the charge if you pay a reimbursement fee of up to $10 and show that you either fixed the problem before your first court appearance or that the vehicle was validly registered for the period when you were stopped.5State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code TRANSP 502.473 Keep your duplicate registration receipt or a copy of your VTR-60 submission in the vehicle as evidence that a replacement is in progress.
What the Form Doesn’t Cover
The VTR-60 is not the right document for changing your name or address on a Texas registration. Name changes through marriage, divorce, or court order go through the county tax office separately, with the original or certified copy of the authorizing document (marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order) and your current registration. Address changes follow a similar process. Handle these updates first, because the applicant information on the replacement form must match what TxDMV already has in its system.