Montana Code 61-3-317. New registration required for transferred motor vehicle — grace period — penalty — display of proof of purchase
61-3-317. New registration required for transferred motor vehicle — grace period — penalty — display of proof of purchase. (1) The new owner of a transferred motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer has a grace period of 40 calendar days from the date of purchase to make application for a certificate of title and pay the registration fees, fees in lieu of tax and other fees required by this chapter, and local option taxes, if applicable. However, the motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer may not be operated upon the streets and highways of this state during this period unless a temporary registration permit has been issued for and is properly displayed on the motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer as permitted by 61-3-224.
Terms Used In Montana Code 61-3-317
- 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
- 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
- Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. Source: Federal Reserve
- 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
- 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
- Registration decal: means an adhesive sticker produced by the department and issued by the department, its authorized agent, or a county treasurer to the owner of a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, motorboat, sailboat, personal watercraft, or snowmobile as proof of payment of all fees imposed for the registration period indicated on the sticker as recorded by the department under 61-3-101. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Registration receipt: means a paper record that is produced and issued or, if authorized by the department, an electronic record that is transmitted by the department, its authorized agent, or a county treasurer to the owner of a vehicle that identifies a vehicle, based on information maintained in the electronic record of title for the vehicle, and that provides evidence of the payment of all fees required to be paid for the registration of the vehicle for the registration period indicated in the receipt. 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
- Temporary registration permit: means a paper record:
(a)issued by the department, an authorized agent, a county treasurer, or a person, using a department-approved electronic interface after an electronic record has been transmitted to the department, that contains:
(i)required vehicle and owner information; and
(ii)the purpose for which the record was generated; and
(b)that, when placed in a durable license-plate style plastic pouch approved by the department and displayed as prescribed in 61-3-224, authorizes a person to operate the described motor vehicle, motorboat, sailboat that is 12 feet in length or longer, snowmobile, or off-highway vehicle for:
(i)40 days from the date the record is issued or until the vehicle is registered under Title 23 or this title, whichever first occurs; or
(ii)90 days from the date the record is issued for a permit issued pursuant to 61-3-303(4)(b). 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
- 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
(2)If the motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer was not purchased from a licensed motor vehicle dealer as provided in this chapter, it is not a violation of this chapter or any other law for the purchaser to operate the motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer upon the streets and highways of this state without a current registration receipt or registration decal during the period allowed under 61-1-101(81)(b) if at all times during that period a temporary registration permit issued under 61-3-224 is properly displayed.