(a) The department shall register a motor carrier under this subchapter if the carrier complies with Sections 643.052 and 643.053.
(a-1) The department may deny a registration if the applicant has had a registration revoked under § 643.252.

(a-2) The department may deny a registration if the applicant is owned, operated, managed, or otherwise controlled by or affiliated with a person, including a family member, corporate officer, entity, or shareholder, that the Department of Public Safety has determined has:
(1) an unsatisfactory safety rating under 49 C.F.R. part 385; or
(2) multiple violations of Chapter 644, a rule adopted under that chapter, or Subtitle C.
(a-3) The department may deny a registration if the applicant is owned, operated, managed, or otherwise controlled by or affiliated with a person, including a family member, corporate officer, entity, or shareholder, that:
(1) owned, operated, managed, or otherwise controlled a motor carrier that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has placed out of service for unacceptable safety compliance; or
(2) has unpaid administrative penalties assessed under this chapter or Subtitle E.
(b) The department shall issue a certificate containing a single registration number to a motor carrier, regardless of the number of vehicles requiring registration the carrier operates.
(c) To avoid multiple registrations of a single motor carrier, the department shall adopt simplified procedures for the registration of motor carriers transporting household goods as agents for carriers required to register under this chapter.