Government Agencies and Regulations

Complimentary marketing support available to travel planners includes the following:

• Informational brochures
• State highway maps
• Videos (in English, Spanish, French, German, or Japanese, and in PAL and NTSC formats)
• Itinerary planning
• Familiarization tours for the travel trade and media

For more information on tourism in Texas, visit TravelTex.com. For materials available to travel planners and information for the trade and media, visit travel.state.tx.us.

The Texas State Parks Pass is a $60 annual membership program that rewards loyal visitors to state parks with unlimited free entry to 120 state parks and state historic sites. The pass is available at most state parks and historic sites.

An out-of-state motor bus company must have Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) authority registered under the Single State Registration System (SSRS) program with the state where it is domiciled and select Texas as a state in which it will travel. Proper insurance and fees (up to $10 per bus) must be filed with the state where the company is registered. An SSRS receipt is issued and must be carried in the bus.

Group charters have free reciprocity. Commercial tours must buy trip permits or provide apportioned license tags. Companies should write to the address above to purchase a 72-hour permit for $25 or a 144-hour permit for $50. Permits may also be obtained from any Texas tax assessor-collector’s office; a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Vehicle Titles and Registration Division Regional Office; by calling the TxDOT Motor Carrier Division at 800-299-1700; or from independent permit companies providing 24-hour services. Tour companies based in states that are members of the International Registration Plan may obtain apportioned license tags and cab cards from their state. The base state collects and pays fees to other states traveled by the vehicle, so the vehicle’s driver does not have to purchase trip permits. The company must have a copy of its charter on board, and the charter must be on file with the secretary of state.

Motorcoaches that have a registered gross weight greater than 26,000 pounds or that have three or more axles, or vehicles used in combination (example: truck plus trailer), with the combined weight exceeding 26,000 pounds, are required either to be registered under the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) or to purchase a $50 trip permit. The trip permit is valid for only one trip into and out of Texas during the 20-day period following the date of purchase. If the company runs more than five trips a calendar year into the state, the motorcoach company must register under IFTA (applications are available from the comptroller). Each quarter the company reports the total miles traveled in Texas, total miles traveled in other IFTA jurisdictions, total fuel purchased in Texas, and total fuel purchased in other IFTA jurisdictions. These figures are used to compute tax overpayment or underpayment. If the bus buys fuel in Texas but consumes it out of state, the state owes the company a refund. If the bus buys fuel out of state to travel in Texas, the company owes the state. Commercial passenger vehicles (other than charter or tour buses, public schools, and private schools) may request a refund of the tax paid on diesel fuel used to travel fixed or scheduled routes between fixed points in Texas. The school fund benefit fee of .04875 cents per gallon is due on each gallon of diesel fuel refunded the motor fuels tax.