(1) Registration plates assigned to a vehicle by the Department of Transportation shall remain with the vehicle to which the plates are assigned and are valid only during the registration period for which the plates are issued except as provided in this section.

(2) The department may allow registration plates to be transferred to another vehicle if:

(a) The department receives an application;

(b) The applicant pays the plate transfer fee under ORS § 803.575; and

(c) The applicant complies with the registration qualifications described in ORS § 803.350.

(3) The department shall transfer registration plates under this section if the applicant and the vehicle qualify for the plates and the plates are:

(a) Legible and capable of being used for identification purposes; and

(b) Any of the following:

(A) From a current issue of registration plates;

(B) Customized registration plates described under ORS § 805.240;

(C) Oregon Trail commemorative registration plates issued under section 113, chapter 741, Oregon Laws 1993;

(D) Special registration plates issued under ORS § 805.255, 805.260, 805.263, 805.266, 805.278 or 805.283;

(E) Group registration plates issued under ORS § 805.205;

(F) Veterans’ recognition registration plates issued under ORS § 805.105;

(G) Pacific Wonderland registration plates issued under ORS § 805.287;

(H) Registration plates issued through the special registration program under ORS § 805.222; or

(I) Registration plates that are no longer currently issued that the department determines may still be transferred.

(4) Notwithstanding ORS § 803.400, when registration plates are transferred from one vehicle to another vehicle owned by the same person, the registration period represented by the plates also transfers with the plates. When registration plates are transferred from one vehicle to another vehicle not owned by the same person, the remaining registration period represented by the transferred plates ceases for both the vehicle receiving the transferred plates and the vehicle from which the plates were removed.

(5) The owner of a registered vehicle to which a plate is assigned may replace a registration plate. The following apply to this subsection:

(a) To replace a plate under this subsection, the owner must apply to the department for replacement of the plate in a form prescribed by the department and pay the replacement plate fee established under ORS § 803.575.

(b) The department, in lieu of replacement, may issue duplicate plates for the same fee as charged for replacements.

(c) The plates issued under this subsection are valid only for the period of the plates replaced.

(d) The replaced plates may not be considered customized plates when they are replaced, if:

(A) The original plates were from plates currently issued;

(B) The original plates were not customized plates; and

(C) The replacement plates are a duplicate of the original plates.

(e) When a vehicle is assigned a pair of plates and the owner wishes to replace a single plate, the department may replace a single plate rather than replace both plates.

(6) A county may replace a registration plate that is from a specially designed government series with a registration plate that is from a regular series. The following apply to this subsection:

(a) To replace a plate under this subsection, the county must apply to the department for replacement of the plate in a form prescribed by the department and pay the replacement plate fee established under ORS § 803.575.

(b) The plates issued under this subsection are valid only for the period of the plates replaced.

(7) If the department retired the vehicle’s registration under ORS § 819.030 because the vehicle is totaled or substantially altered, a person may apply under subsection (2) of this section to transfer the registration plates to another vehicle.

(8) Subject to subsections (2) and (4) of this section, after the department authorizes the use of special interest plates under ORS § 805.210, a person may apply to transfer the plates to either:

(a) A vehicle that was previously determined by the department to qualify as a vehicle of special interest; or

(b) A vehicle approved by the department as a vehicle of special interest at the time of application.

(9) If a person described in subsection (8) of this section provides the department with only one special interest registration plate for transfer and the department’s vehicle records show the special interest registration plate belongs to a vehicle record with no owner matching an applicant, the applicant shall provide proof, as determined by the department by rule, that the plate is no longer used on the vehicle it is currently showing being registered to in the department’s vehicle records. [1983 c.338 § 259; 1985 c.16 § 100; 1985 c.174 § 5; 1985 c.243 § 3; 1985 c.570 § 3; 1987 c.158 § 163; 1993 c.741 § 120; 2001 c.827 § 3; 2003 c.409 § 8; 2005 c.71 § 1; 2015 c.540 § 3; 2015 c.806 § 17; 2018 c.114 § 10; 2019 c.17 § 3; 2021 c.630 § 126; 2023 c.400 § 21]