The latest update to the Motor Vehicle Title Manual (see link below) is now available via Registration and Title System workstations and at www.txdmv.gov.
Changes have been made throughout the manual due to the recent Supreme Court decision on same sex marriage, primarily to Chapters 16, 17, and 18, changing the terms husband and wife to spouse(s) in most instances.
Additionally, the following are brief summaries of the chapters updated in the September 2015 revision.
Chapter 14 -Vehicle Types
Chapter 14 was reorganized and consolidated for clarity. The following subsections were deleted: Multi-Purpose Type Vehicles, New, and Transfers.
Subsections labeled “Converted Trucks and Buses” and “Chopped, Cutaway, or Incomplete” were deleted as they were previously moved to the Assembled Vehicle Manual.
Section 14.2, “Motorcycles,” was updated with new definitions for “Enclosed Three Wheeled Motorcycles” and for “Autocycles” as a result of legislation passed during the 84th Legislative Session. Registration and Title Bulletin (RTB) #004-15 was distributed May 26, 2015, to provide guidance regarding autocycles.
Section 14.7, subsection “Definition,” includes a statutory update on the width and length of house trailer type vehicles and camper trailers.
Section 14.14, “Miscellaneous Vehicle Types,” is a consolidation of smaller sections of material in this chapter. Within this new section, “Implements of Husbandry” was updated to reflect legislative changes passed during the 84th Legislative Session.
Chapter 15 – Odometers
Section 15.7, “Correcting Odometer Errors,” was created, in part, from an existing section. In addition, the “Odometer Errors Caught by NMVTIS” subsection was created to provide guidance on the requirements for correcting odometer readings that are not a result of a data entry.
Chapter 23 – Foreclosure of Miscellaneous Liens
Section 23.1, “Mechanic’s Lien,” was updated to reflect legislative changes made during the 84th Legislative Session impacting the date of public sale as it relates to the copy of the foreclosure notice being filed with the county tax assessor-collector’s office. Detailed guidance was provided in RTB # 008-15.
Chapter 24 – Certified Copies
Section 24.5, “Owner Verification Procedures/Acceptable Identification,” was updated for consistency with the language used in Texas Administrative Rule and Chapter 6 of the manual. There were no substantive changes to this section.
