(a) The owner of a registered motor vehicle may obtain replacement license plates for the vehicle by:
(1) certifying that the replacement plates will not be used on any other vehicle owned or operated by the person making the statement;
(2) paying a fee of $6 plus the fee required by Section 502.356(a) for each set of replacement license plates, unless otherwise specified by law; and
(3) returning to the department each license plate in the owner's possession for which a replacement license plate is obtained.
(b) Replacement license plates may not be issued except as provided by this section.
(c) A county assessor-collector shall retain $2.50 of each fee collected under this section and forward the remainder of the fee to the department for deposit to the credit of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles fund.
(d) The fee required by this section applies to the issuance of license plates for a transferred used vehicle for which the registration and license plates were not transferred under Section 504.901.
(e) Replacement license plates may be used in the registration year in which the plates are issued and during each succeeding year of the registration period as set by rule if the registration insignia is properly displayed on the vehicle.
(f) Subsection (e) does not apply to the issuance of specialized license plates for limited distribution, including exempt plates for governmental entities and temporary registration plates.
(g) No fee is required under this section if a county assessor-collector determines that the owner of a registered motor vehicle did not receive license plates that were issued to the owner by mail.
(g) No fee is required under this section if the county assessor-collector determines that the owner paid for license plates for the same vehicle that were mailed to the owner but not received by the owner.