1. The owner of every motor vehicle as defined in section 301.010 which is required to be registered in this state, except:

(1) Motor vehicles having less than one hundred fifty thousand miles, for the ten-year period following their model year of manufacture, excluding prior salvage vehicles immediately following a rebuilding process and vehicles subject to the provisions of section 307.380;

(2) Those motor vehicles which are engaged in interstate commerce and are proportionately registered in this state with the Missouri highway reciprocity commission, although the owner may request that such vehicle be inspected by an official inspection station, and a peace officer may stop and inspect such vehicles to determine whether the mechanical condition is in compliance with the safety regulations established by the United States Department of Transportation; and

(3) Historic motor vehicles registered pursuant to section 301.131;

(4) Vehicles registered in excess of twenty-four thousand pounds for a period of less than twelve months;

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shall submit such vehicles to a biennial inspection of their mechanism and equipment in accordance with the provisions of sections 307.350 to 307.390 and obtain a certificate of inspection and approval and a sticker, seal, or other device from a duly authorized official inspection station. The inspection, except the inspection of school buses which shall be made at the time provided in section 307.375, shall be made at the time prescribed in the rules and regulations issued by the superintendent of the Missouri state highway patrol; but the inspection of a vehicle shall not be made more than sixty days prior to the date of application for registration or within sixty days of when a vehicle’s registration is transferred; however, if a vehicle was purchased from a motor vehicle dealer and a valid inspection had been made within sixty days of the purchase date, the new owner shall be able to utilize an inspection performed within ninety days prior to the application for registration or transfer. Any vehicle manufactured as an even-numbered model year vehicle shall be inspected and approved pursuant to the safety inspection program established pursuant to sections 307.350 to 307.390 in each even-numbered calendar year and any such vehicle manufactured as an odd-numbered model year vehicle shall be inspected and approved pursuant to sections 307.350 to 307.390 in each odd-numbered year. The certificate of inspection and approval shall be a sticker, seal, or other device or combination thereof, as the superintendent of the Missouri state highway patrol prescribes by regulation and shall be displayed upon the motor vehicle or trailer as prescribed by the regulations established by him. The replacement of certificates of inspection and approval which are lost or destroyed shall be made by the superintendent of the Missouri state highway patrol under regulations prescribed by him.

2. For the purpose of obtaining an inspection only, it shall be lawful to operate a vehicle over the most direct route between the owner’s usual place of residence and an inspection station of such owner’s choice, notwithstanding the fact that the vehicle does not have a current state registration license. It shall also be lawful to operate such a vehicle from an inspection station to another place where repairs may be made and to return the vehicle to the inspection station notwithstanding the absence of a current state registration license.

3. No person whose motor vehicle was duly inspected and approved as provided in this section shall be required to have the same motor vehicle again inspected and approved for the sole reason that such person wishes to obtain a set of any special personalized license plates available pursuant to section 301.144 or a set of any license plates available pursuant to section 301.142, prior to the expiration date of such motor vehicle’s current registration.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 307.390, violation of this section shall be deemed an infraction.