61-3-303. Registration -- process -- fees. (1) A Montana resident who owns a motor vehicle operated or driven upon the public highways of this state shall register the motor vehicle in the office of the county treasurer in the county where the owner permanently resides or, if the vehicle is owned by a corporation or used primarily for commercial purposes, in the county where the vehicle is permanently assigned.
     (2) (a) Except as provided in subsection (3), the county treasurer shall register any vehicle for which:
     (i) as of the date that the vehicle is to be registered, the owner delivers an application for a certificate of title to the department, its authorized agent, or a county treasurer; or
     (ii) the county treasurer confirms that the department has an electronic record of title for the vehicle as provided under 61-3-101.
     (b) To register a vehicle, the county treasurer shall update the electronic record of title maintained by the department under 61-3-101 by entering the fees paid and recording any changes to the recorded data.
     (3) (a) A county treasurer shall register a motor vehicle for which a certificate of title and registration were issued in another jurisdiction and for which registration is required under 61-3-701 after the county treasurer examines the current out-of-jurisdiction registration certificate or receipt and receives payment of the fees required in 61-3-701. The county treasurer may ask the vehicle owner to provide additional information, prescribed by the department, to ensure that the electronic record of registration maintained by the department is complete.
     (b) A county treasurer may register a motor vehicle for which the new owner cannot present the previously issued certificate of title only as authorized by the department under 61-3-342.
     (4) The department or the county treasurer shall determine the amount of fees, including local option taxes or fees, to be collected at the time of registration for each light vehicle subject to a registration fee under 61-3-560 through 61-3-562 and for each bus, truck having a manufacturer's rated capacity of more than 1 ton, and truck tractor subject to a fee in lieu of tax under 61-3-529. The county treasurer shall collect the registration fee, other appropriate fees, and local option taxes or fees, if applicable, on each motor vehicle at the time of its registration.
     (5) A person who seeks to register a motor vehicle, except a mobile home or a manufactured home as those terms are defined in 15-1-101(1), shall pay to the county treasurer:
     (a) the registration fee, as provided in 61-3-311 and 61-3-321 or 61-3-456;
     (b) except as provided in 61-3-456 or unless it has been previously paid, the motor vehicle fees in lieu of tax or registration fees under 61-3-560 through 61-3-562 imposed against the vehicle for the current year of registration and the immediately previous year; and
     (c) a donation of $1 or more if the person has indicated on the application that the person wishes to donate to promote awareness and education efforts for procurement of organ and tissue donations in Montana to favorably impact anatomical gifts; and
     (d) a donation of $1 or more if the person has indicated on the application that the person wishes to donate to promote education on, support for, and awareness of traumatic brain injury.
     (6) The county treasurer may not issue a registration receipt or license plates for the vehicle to the owner unless the owner makes the payments required by subsection (5). Except as provided in 61-3-560 through 61-3-562, the department may not assess or impose and the county treasurer may not collect taxes or fees for a period other than:
     (a) the current year; and
     (b) except as provided in subsection (9), the immediately preceding year if the vehicle was not registered or operated on the highways of the state, regardless of the period of time since the vehicle was previously registered or operated.
     (7) The department may make full and complete investigation of the registration status of the vehicle. A person seeking to register a motor vehicle under this section shall provide additional information to support the registration to the department if requested.
     (8) Revenue that accrues from the voluntary donation provided in subsection (5)(c) must be forwarded by the respective county treasurer to the department of revenue for deposit in the state special revenue fund to the credit of an account established by the department of public health and human services to support activities related to awareness and education efforts for procurement of organ and tissue donations for anatomical gifts.
     (9) (a) Except as provided in subsection (9)(b), the fees in lieu of tax, taxes, and fees imposed on or collected from the registration of a travel trailer, motorcycle, or quadricycle or a trailer, pole trailer, or semitrailer that has a declared weight of less than 26,000 pounds are required to be paid only once during the time that the vehicle is owned by the same person who registered the vehicle. Once registered, a vehicle described in this subsection (9)(a) is registered permanently unless ownership of the vehicle is transferred.
     (b) Whenever ownership of a vehicle described in subsection (9)(a) is transferred, the new owner is required to register the vehicle as if it were being registered for the first time, including paying all of the required fees in lieu of tax, taxes, and fees.
     (10) Revenue that accrues from the voluntary donation provided in subsection (5)(d) must be forwarded by the respective county treasurer to the department of revenue for deposit in the state special revenue fund to the credit of the account established in 2-15-2218 to support activities related to education regarding prevention of traumatic brain injury.

     History: En. Sec. 5, Ch. 75, L. 1917; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 207, L. 1919; re-en. Sec. 1759, R.C.M. 1921; amd. Sec. 22, Ch. 113, L. 1925; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 181, L. 1929; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 158, L. 1931; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 158, L. 1933; re-en. Sec. 1759, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 72, L. 1937; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 195, L. 1953; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 256, L. 1955; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 223, L. 1957; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 245, L. 1963; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 290, L. 1967; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 296, L. 1967; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 214, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 74, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 55, L. 1977; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 521, L. 1977; amd. Sec. 43, Ch. 566, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 53-114(1), (3); amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 502, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 712, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 23, Ch. 614, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 433, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 503, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 16, Ch. 516, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 421, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 21, Ch. 611, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 724, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 131, Ch. 27, Sp. L. November 1993; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 88, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 257, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 22, Ch. 200, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 20, Ch. 496, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 94, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 24, Ch. 515, L. 1999; amd. Secs. 60, 83(2), Ch. 477, L. 2003; amd. Secs. 28, 47(2)(a), Ch. 592, L. 2003.