Montana Code 61-14-101. Rulemaking authority — vehicle services
61-14-101. Rulemaking authority — vehicle services. (1) The department shall adopt rules for the registration of motor vehicles, including:
Terms Used In Montana Code 61-14-101
- Authorized agent: means a person who has executed a written agreement with the department and is specifically authorized by the department to electronically access and update the department's motor vehicle titling, registration, or driver records, using an approved automated interface, for specific functions or purposes on behalf of a third party. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Certificate of title: means the paper record issued by the department or by the appropriate agency of another jurisdiction that establishes a verifiable record of ownership between an identified person or persons and the motor vehicle specifically described in the record and that provides notice of a perfected security interest in the motor vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Dealer: means a person that, for commission or profit, engages in whole or in part in the business of buying, selling, exchanging, or accepting on consignment new or used motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, pole trailers, travel trailers, motorboats, sailboats, snowmobiles, off-highway vehicles, or special mobile equipment that is not registered in the name of the person. 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
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Manufacturer: includes any person engaged in the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, pole trailers, travel trailers, motorboats, sailboats, snowmobiles, or off-highway vehicles as a regular business. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Montana resident: means :
(a)an individual who resides in Montana as determined under 1-1-215; or
(b)for the purposes of chapter 3, a business entity that maintains a principal place of business or a registered agent in this state. 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
- Motorboat: means a vessel, including a personal watercraft or pontoon, propelled by any machinery, motor, or engine of any description, whether or not the machinery, motor, or engine is the principal source of propulsion. 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
- Nonresident: means a person who is not a Montana resident. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Off-highway vehicle: means a self-propelled vehicle designed for recreation or cross-country travel on public lands, trails, easements, lakes, rivers, or streams. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Owner: means each person who holds the legal title to a vehicle. 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
- Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
- 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
- Sailboat: means a vessel that uses a sail and wind as its primary source of propulsion. 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
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Snowmobile: means a self-propelled vehicle of an overall width of 48 inches or less, excluding accessories, that is designed primarily for travel on snow or ice, that may be steered by skis or runners, and that is not otherwise registered or licensed under the laws of the state of Montana. 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
- 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
- Used motor vehicle: includes any motor vehicle that has been sold, bargained, exchanged, or given away or had its title transferred from the person who first took title to it from the manufacturer, importer, dealer, wholesaler, or agent of the manufacturer or importer and that has been used so as to have become what is commonly known as "secondhand" within the ordinary meaning of that term. 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
- Vehicle identification number: means the number, letters, or combination of numbers and letters assigned by the manufacturer, by the department, or in accordance with the laws of another state or country for the purpose of identifying the motor vehicle or a component part of the motor vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Vessel: means every description of watercraft, unless otherwise defined by the department, other than a seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. See Montana Code 61-1-101
(a)(i) simultaneous registration of multiple motor vehicles that have common ownership;
(ii)defining the term “fleet” as used in 61-3-318 and 61-3-323; and
(iii)the issuance of fleet series license plates provided for in 61-3-325;
(b)verification of compliance with 61-6-301 before registering or renewing a registration of a vehicle or issuing new license plates required by 61-3-332(3);
(c)devising a method to place license plates on the 5-year reissuance cycle to minimize production peaks and valleys;
(d)early registration renewals when an owner of a motor vehicle presents extenuating circumstances; and
(e)automated mailing of license plates by the department or its authorized agent, including an agent under contract with the department pursuant to 61-3-338.
(2)The department shall adopt rules to procure compliance with all of the laws of the state regulating the issuance of motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer licenses relating to the use and operation of motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, or pole trailers before issuing the lettered license plates pursuant to 61-3-423.
(3)The department may adopt rules to establish vehicle brands or carried-forward brands according to 61-3-202.
(4)The department may adopt rules governing affidavit and bond for certificate of title pursuant to 61-3-208.
(5)The department may adopt rules for the implementation and administration of temporary registration permits, pursuant to 61-3-224, including issuance to:
(a)a Montana resident who acquires a new or used motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, motorboat, sailboat that is 12 feet or longer, snowmobile, or off-highway vehicle for operation of the vehicle or vessel prior to titling and registration of the vehicle or vessel under Title 61, chapter 3;
(b)the owner of a salvage vehicle or a vehicle requiring a state-assigned vehicle identification number to move the vehicle to and from a designated inspection site prior to applying for a new certificate of title under 61-3-107 or 61-3-212;
(c)the owner of a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer registered in this state for operation of the vehicle while awaiting production and receipt of special or duplicate license plates ordered for a vehicle under Title 61, chapter 3;
(d)a nonresident of this state who acquires a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer in this state for operation of the vehicle prior to its titling and registration under the laws of the nonresident’s jurisdiction of residence;
(e)a dealer licensed in another state who brings a motor vehicle or trailer designed and used to apply fertilizer to agricultural lands into the state for special demonstration in this state;
(f)a financial institution located in Montana for a prospective purchaser to demonstrate a motor vehicle that the financial institution has obtained following repossession;
(g)an insurer or its agent to move a motor vehicle or trailer to auction following acquisition of the vehicle by the insurer as a result of the settlement of an insurance claim;
(h)a nonresident owner to temporarily operate a quadricycle or motorcycle designed for off-road recreational use on the highways of this state when the quadricycle or motorcycle designed for off-road recreational use is equipped for use on the highways as prescribed in Title 61, chapter 9, but the quadricycle or motorcycle designated for off-road recreational use is not registered or is only registered for off-road use in the nonresident’s home state; or
(i)a new owner of a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, motorboat, sailboat that is 12 feet in length or longer, snowmobile, or off-highway vehicle for which the new owner cannot, due to circumstances beyond the new owner’s control, surrender a previously assigned certification of title.
(6)The department may adopt rules for the assessment and collection of registration fees on light vehicles under 61-3-321 and 61-3-562, including the proration of fees under 61-3-520 and criteria for determining the motor vehicle’s age.
(7)The department may adopt rules for imposing and collecting fees in lieu of tax, including:
(a)the proration of fees in lieu of tax under 61-3-520 on buses, trucks having a manufacturer‘s rated capacity of more than 1 ton, and truck tractors;
(b)criteria for determining the motor vehicle’s age; and
(c)criteria for determining the manufacturer’s rated capacity.
(8)The department may adopt rules, pursuant to Title 61, chapter 3, for the administration of fees for trailers, semitrailers, and pole trailers, including criteria for determining a trailer’s age and weight.
(9)The department shall adopt rules for generic specialty license plates issued pursuant to 61-3-472 through 61-3-481, including:
(a)the minimum and maximum number of characters that a generic specialty license plate may display;
(b)the general placement of the sponsor’s name, identifying phrase, and graphic; and
(c)any specifications or limitations on the use or choice of color or detail in the sponsor’s graphic design.
(10)The department may adopt rules governing dealers pursuant to the provisions of Title 61, chapter 4, including:
(a)the application and issuance of dealer licenses, including the qualifications of dealers, and the staggering of expiration dates pursuant to 61-4-101;
(b)the issuance of dealer, demonstrator, loaner, courtesy, and transit plates pursuant to 61-4-102, 61-4-128 through 61-4-130, 61-4-301, 61-4-307, and 61-4-308;
(c)the application and process for renewing a dealer license pursuant to 61-4-124; and
(d)governing the regulation of persons required to be licensed pursuant to Title 61, chapter 4, part 2.
(11)The department may adopt rules for local option tax appeals pursuant to 15-15-201.
(12)The department may adopt rules to implement any other provision of this title.