Montana Code 61-4-130. Courtesy license plates — issuance — restrictions on use
61-4-130. Courtesy license plates — issuance — restrictions on use. (1) Upon application and payment of an annual fee of $150 a set, the department may issue up to two sets of courtesy plates to a dealer.
Terms Used In Montana Code 61-4-130
- 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
- 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
- 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)Courtesy license plates may be displayed only on a motor vehicle that the dealer loans, without charge or fee, exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, or educational purposes. A loan of a vehicle displaying courtesy license plates may not exceed 30 days in a year.
(3)A dealer shall maintain records detailing to whom a vehicle bearing courtesy plates has been loaned, the date of the loan, the date on which the vehicle bearing courtesy 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 dealer’s responsibility to ensure that courtesy plates are not used by an eligible person or entity for more than 30 days in a year.
(5)It is the responsibility of the person or entity to whom the vehicle bearing courtesy plates was loaned to carry, while operating or in actual physical control of the vehicle, adequate proof of the status of the person or entity under this section.
(6)If a dealer allows a person or entity to operate or retain actual physical control of a vehicle bearing courtesy plates in violation of this section, the department may suspend the right to use the courtesy plates for a period not to exceed 6 months.