Montana Code 61-4-225. Loaner license plates — issuance — restrictions on use
61-4-225. Loaner license plates — issuance — restrictions on use. (1) On application and payment of an annual fee of $25 for a set, the department may issue loaner plates to a new motor vehicle dealer as defined in 61-4-201.
Terms Used In Montana Code 61-4-225
- 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
- Manufacturer: means a person who manufactures or assembles a line-make of new motor vehicles and distributes them directly or indirectly through one or more distributors to one or more new motor vehicle dealers in this state or who manufactures or installs on previously assembled truck chassis special bodies or equipment that, when installed, forms an integral part of the new motor vehicle and that constitutes a major manufacturing alteration, but does not include a person who installs a camper on a pickup truck. See Montana Code 61-4-201
- Motor vehicle: includes a motorboat and a personal watercraft as defined in 23-2-502, a snowmobile as defined in 23-2-601, and an off-highway vehicle as defined in 23-2-801. See Montana Code 61-4-201
- 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
- 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)Loaner license plates may be displayed only on a new motor vehicle:
(a)that remains on a manufacturer‘s statement of origin;
(b)that is in the inventory of the dealer and held primarily for resale; and
(c)that the dealer loans to a customer while the dealer is repairing the customer’s vehicle.
(3)A dealer shall maintain records detailing to whom a vehicle bearing loaner plates has been loaned, the date of the loan, the date on which the vehicle bearing loaner plates is to be returned, and the actual date of the vehicle’s return. These records must include the name, address, and telephone number of the person or entity to whom the vehicle has been loaned and the name of a contact person who will oversee the actual operation and use of the vehicle. The records are subject to audit by the department.
(4)It is the responsibility of the person or entity to whom the vehicle bearing loaner plates was loaned to carry, while operating or in actual physical control of the vehicle, written proof that the person or entity is authorized to operate or be in actual physical control of the vehicle.
(5)If a dealer allows a person or entity to operate or retain actual physical control of a vehicle bearing loaner plates in violation of this section, the department may suspend the dealer’s right to use the loaner plates for a period not to exceed 6 months.