You pass a state trooper and realize your inspection sticker is expired, but he does not seem to care. Sweat rolls down your forehead as you sneak a glance at the body in your backseat. Unfortunately, I can’t help you with the body in your back seat situation, but I do hope you have renewed your current inspection sticker in accordance with the new Texas law.

Texas vehicular inspection and registration stickers are now combined.The new stickers will not have an extra cost, but will change the location of where fees are paid.  Drivers must renew their registration after having their car inspected at a inspection station. The registration sticker itself will serve as proof for both the car’s registration and inspection.

“The new law just made it where the state could save money on those stickers instead of selling them,” Luke Mason, Canyon Auto employee, said. “You only pay us $7 for a sticker now, but starting March 2016, you’ll have to get your sticker 90 days prior before your registration. Until then, they just want you to get your sticker before you get your tags. When you come in to get your inspection, we do everything we did before, but instead of writing on a sticker and putting it on your window, we print off a piece of paper that we sign and date. The inspector gives it to the owner of the vehicle. Then, they take it to the registration office and give them the paper with the insurance card. That’s how you get your tags. It’s not too big of a difference.”

One benefit of the new sticker is the expiration dates end at the same time, rather than having the registration sticker end in one month and inspection sticker in a different month. Because of the one sticker, there will be less clutter in the driver’s windshield of the vehicle. Inspection fraud and theft will decrease because the inspection sticker is no longer needed.

“I think it’s less time consuming and a lot quicker,” Mason said. “I know on the inspection sticker side, it goes about five minutes faster. I think they’re saving a few million dollars over the stickers. I know on our side of the sticker, we like it a lot more. We enjoy having a sticker out in five minutes. It’s a lot harder for the tags at the registration office because they have a lot of people come in to get tags without their piece of paper, and they have to tell them to get the inspection first. I know a lot of customers are not happy about it.”