2025 Texas sessionsRegular and both called sessions have ended. This index covers House and Senate bills, not resolutions. Statuses come from official reports.

2025 · Regular session · Senate bill

SB503

SB503 requires an online, searchable statewide registry of livestock marks and brands, with owner-identifying information withheld from the general public.

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Official caption: Relating to the establishment of an electronic registry of livestock marks and brands.

Signed by governorSource-checked explanation published

Official report lists Senate author(s): Perry. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.

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Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.

Bill highlights

Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.

SB503 requires an online, searchable statewide registry of livestock marks and brands, with owner-identifying information withheld from the general public.
County clerks must keep electronic mark-and-brand records and accept electronic filings and renewals; acceptance was previously optional.
The law adds other generally accepted identification methods alongside earmarks, brands, tattoos and electronic devices for cattle, hogs, sheep and goats.
The recurring renewal rule is updated to require recording or rerecording within six months after September 1, 2031, and every tenth year afterward, even for previously recorded marks and brands.
Signed May 3, 2025, the act took effect September 1, 2025.

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What does it do?

SB503 requires an online, searchable statewide registry of livestock marks and brands, with owner-identifying information withheld from the general public. The Texas Animal Health Commission must establish and maintain it on its website and create a process for law enforcement to obtain identifying information for law-enforcement purposes. A public brand search is not permission to publish owners’ personal information. Registry and privacy rules.

County clerks must keep electronic mark-and-brand records and accept electronic filings and renewals; acceptance was previously optional. For cattle or horse records, the clerk must send an electronic copy to the commission within 30 days, replacing the former delivery to the authorized livestock-inspection association. Commission rules must also provide a way to transfer older county records into the system. Filing remains with the county clerk, even when done electronically. County filing and transfer duties.

The law adds other generally accepted identification methods alongside earmarks, brands, tattoos and electronic devices for cattle, hogs, sheep and goats. A person may authorize an agent in writing to record a mark. The person recording it must note the date and designate where on the animal it will be placed. The act does not require every animal to receive an electronic tag. Identification and agent provisions.

The recurring renewal rule is updated to require recording or rerecording within six months after September 1, 2031, and every tenth year afterward, even for previously recorded marks and brands. That is not a new statewide renewal deadline in September 2025. Separately, recording a mark or brand for an animal becomes an additional basis for treating a person as its caretaker and presuming control under Agriculture Code Chapter 161. Renewal cycle and caretaker rule.

Signed May 3, 2025, the act took effect September 1, 2025. The commission must adopt implementing rules as soon as practicable; the act does not state a fixed registry launch date. This describes the legal requirement, not a claim that the live registry has been independently tested here. History; Implementation timing.

What changed along the way?

The introduced, Senate committee, engrossed, House committee and enrolled texts have identical operative provisions. Both committees reported it without amendments, and the official index lists no floor amendments. The registry, privacy limits, electronic filing requirements and renewal update were not additions made by an unlisted floor amendment. All versions; Amendment index.

For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.

Official bill versions

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?

A searchable statewide record can make it easier to compare livestock identifiers and support law-enforcement work, while the public-information restriction protects identifying data in this registry. Counties must change record handling and transmit both new and historical records through the prescribed process. The law does not guarantee recovery of stolen livestock or eliminate county filing responsibilities. Registry design and county duties.

The February 23 fiscal note estimates $3,890,748 in general-revenue costs for fiscal 2026–27: $2,595,374 in 2026 and $1,295,374 in 2027. It assumes five additional state positions and includes technology costs of $1,935,000 in 2026 and $685,000 in 2027. Those technology amounts are already included, not extra amounts to add to the total. Later annual technology costs decline to $435,000 in fiscal 2029–30. Only indexed fiscal note.

Local costs are undetermined, not estimated at zero: county clerks must process and transmit records, including older records, and the note could not calculate that workload’s cost. The five-position and dollar figures are planning assumptions, not proof of actual hiring or spending. Local and state estimate limitations.

Official sources

Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.