61-3-301. Registration — license plate required — display. (1) (a) A person may not operate a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or travel trailer upon the public highways of Montana unless the motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or travel trailer is properly registered and has the proper license plates conspicuously displayed on the motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or travel trailer. A license plate must be securely fastened to prevent it from swinging and may not be obstructed from plain view.

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Terms Used In Montana Code 61-3-301

  • Custom vehicle: means a motor vehicle other than a motorcycle that:

    (a)(i) was manufactured with a model year after 1948 and that is at least 25 years old; or

    (ii)was built to resemble a vehicle manufactured after 1948 and at least 25 years before the current calendar year, including a kit vehicle intended to resemble a vehicle manufactured after 1948 and that is at least 25 years old; and

    (b)has been altered from the manufacturer's original design or has a body constructed from nonoriginal materials. See Montana Code 61-1-101

  • Department: means the department of justice acting directly or through its duly authorized officers or agents. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Domiciled: means a place where:

    (a)an individual establishes residence;

    (b)a business entity maintains its principal place of business;

    (c)the business entity's registered agent maintains an address; or

    (d)a business entity most frequently uses, dispatches, or controls a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer that it owns or leases. See Montana Code 61-1-101

  • Driver: means a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Golf cart: means a motor vehicle that is designed for use on a golf course to carry a person or persons and golf equipment and that has an average speed of less than 15 miles per hour. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Highway patrol officer: means a state officer authorized to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests for violations of traffic regulations. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Low-speed electric vehicle: means a motor vehicle, on or by which a person may be transported, that:

    (a)has four wheels;

    (b)has a maximum speed of at least 20 miles an hour and no greater than 40 miles an hour as certified by the manufacturer;

    (c)is propelled by its own power, using an electric motor or other device that transforms stored electrical energy into the motion of the vehicle;

    (d)stores electricity in batteries, ultracapacitors, or similar devices, which are charged from the power grid or from renewable electrical energy sources;

    (e)has a wheelbase of 40 inches or greater and a wheel diameter of 10 inches or greater;

    (f)exhibits a manufacturer's compliance with 49 CFR, part 565, or displays a 17-character vehicle identification number as provided in 49 CFR, part 565; and

    (g)is equipped as provided in 61-9-432. See Montana Code 61-1-101

  • Motor vehicle: means :

    (i)a vehicle propelled by its own power and designed or used to transport persons or property on the highways of the state;

    (ii)a quadricycle if it is equipped for use on the highways as prescribed in chapter 9; or

    (iii)a golf cart only if it is equipped for use on the highways as prescribed in chapter 9 and is operated pursuant to 61-8-391 or by a person with a low-speed restricted driver's license. See Montana Code 61-1-101

  • Motorcycle: means a motor vehicle that has a seat or saddle for the use of the operator and that is designated to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Peace officer: has the meaning as defined in 46-1-202. See Montana Code 1-1-207
  • person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, state agency, local government unit, another state government, the United States, a political subdivision of this or another state, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Pole trailer: means a vehicle without power designed to be drawn by another vehicle and attached to the towing vehicle by means of a reach or pole or by being boomed or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle and ordinarily used for transporting long or irregularly shaped loads such as poles, pipes, or structural members capable generally of sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting connections. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Quadricycle: means a four-wheeled motor vehicle, designed for on-road or off-road use, having a seat or saddle on which the operator sits. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Semitrailer: means a vehicle, with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that some part of its weight and that of its load rests on or is carried by another vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Street: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every publicly maintained way when any part of the publicly maintained way is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Street rod: means a motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle, that:

    (a)was manufactured prior to 1949 or was built to resemble a vehicle manufactured before 1949, including a kit vehicle intended to resemble a vehicle manufactured before 1949; and

    (b)has been altered from the manufacturer's original design or has a body constructed from nonoriginal materials. See Montana Code 61-1-101

  • Trailer: means a vehicle, with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that no part of its weight rests on the towing vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
  • Travel trailer: means a vehicle:

    (a)that is 46 feet or less in length;

    (b)that is of a size or weight that does not require special permits when towed by a motor vehicle; and

    (c)that is designed to provide temporary facilities for recreational, travel, or camping use and not used as a principal residence. See Montana Code 61-1-101

  • Vehicle: means a device in, on, or by which any person or property may be transported or drawn on a public highway, except devices moved by animal power or used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks. See Montana Code 61-1-101

(b)(i) Except as provided in 61-4-120, 61-4-129, and subsections (1)(b)(ii) through (1)(b)(iv) of this section, all motor vehicles must have one license plate displayed horizontally on the front and one license plate displayed horizontally on the rear of the motor vehicle.

(ii)A motorcycle, quadricycle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or travel trailer must have a single license plate displayed on the rear of the vehicle, which may be displayed horizontally or vertically if available space does not permit horizontal display.

(iii)A custom vehicle or a street rod registered under 61-3-320(1)(b) or (1)(c)(iii) may display a single license plate firmly attached to the rear exterior of the custom vehicle or street rod.

(iv)If a person is not able to comply with the requirement that a front license plate be displayed because of the body construction of the motor vehicle, the person may submit to the highway patrol an application for a waiver along with a $25 inspection fee. A certificate of waiver must be issued upon inspection of the vehicle by a highway patrol officer. The certificate must at all times be carried in the motor vehicle and must be displayed upon demand of a peace officer. Money collected from the inspection fee must be deposited in a highway revenue account in the state special revenue fund to the credit of the department of transportation.

(c)A person may not display on a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or travel trailer at the same time a number assigned to it under any motor vehicle law except as provided in this chapter.

(d)A low-speed electric vehicle or a golf cart operated by a person with a low-speed restricted driver‘s license must have special license plates, as provided in 61-3-332(9), displayed on the front and rear of the vehicle.

(2)A person may not purchase or display on a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or travel trailer a license plate bearing the number assigned to any county, as provided in 61-3-332, other than the county where the vehicle is domiciled or the county where the trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or travel trailer is domiciled at the time of application for registration.

(3)It is unlawful to:

(a)display license plates issued to one motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or travel trailer on any other motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or travel trailer unless legally transferred as provided by statute;

(b)repaint old license plates to resemble current license plates; or

(c)invert or reverse a license plate. License plates displayed horizontally must be readable from left to right. License plates displayed vertically must be readable from top to bottom.

(4)For the purposes of this section, “conspicuously displayed” means that the required license plates are obviously visible and firmly attached by two separate fasteners to:

(a)the front bumper and the rear bumper of a motor vehicle that is subject to subsection (1)(b)(i) and is equipped with front and rear bumpers; or

(b)a clearly visible location on the rear of a trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, travel trailer, or motor vehicle that is subject to subsections (1)(b)(ii) through (1)(b)(iv).