23.3.702    MULTIPLE REGISTRATION

A person who is the owner, or one of the owners, of more than one motor vehicle subject to anniversary date registration may register all those vehicles at one time, regardless of the registration periods of the individual vehicles. Multiple registration shall be implemented as follows:

(1) During any anniversary registration period in which an owner registers any of his motor vehicles subject to anniversary date registration, the owner may register any, or all, of the other motor vehicles owned by him which are subject to anniversary date registration. A person may waive the opportunity for multiple registration in any anniversary registration period without waiving the right to accomplish it in a subsequent anniversary registration period. Any waiver of multiple registration in one year does not waive that right in subsequent years.

(2) A person may not accomplish multiple registration during an anniversary registration period in which one of his vehicles is not required to be registered.

(3) A person may not accomplish multiple registration for a motor vehicle whose anniversary registration period commences in the year following the year in which the multiple registration is sought to be accomplished.

(4) At the time of multiple registration, the person so registering the motor vehicles shall pay all fees and taxes due on all such motor vehicles offered for multiple registration. The fees and taxes due on such motor vehicles shall be computed for a full calendar year of 12 months.

The effect of this requirement is that persons availing themselves of multiple registration shall prepay the fees and taxes applicable to each such vehicle prior to the actual due date of such fees and taxes. Thereafter, fees and taxes on these motor vehicles will not be due again until the expiration of the actual anniversary registration period assigned to the individual motor vehicle in the succeeding year. For example:

(a) Driver "A" owns three motor vehicles. The first vehicle is assigned to the 4th (April) registration period; the second vehicle is assigned to the 6th (June) registration period; the third vehicle is assigned to the 9th (September) registration period. Driver "A" may, between April 1 and April 25, register all such vehicles, or the first vehicle (April) and either the second or third vehicle. In so doing Driver "A" shall pay all of the fees and taxes due on all of the second or third vehicle for the current year. The fees and taxes paid on the first vehicle are good until April 1 of the following year, while the fees and taxes paid on the second or third vehicle are good until June 1 or September 1 of the following year. Driver "All may elect to avail himself of multiple registration in the following year when the process will again be repeated.

(b) Driver "A" owns the same three vehicles as in (a) . Driver "A" chose to register only his first (April) vehicle in the 4th (April) registration period. He now feels that he would like to accomplish multiple registration for the remaining vehicles in May. Driver "A" cannot accomplish multiple registration in May but must wait until the anniversary period when his next motor vehicle is due for regis-tration, which is June. In June, Driver "A" is afforded the opportunity to accomplish registration for both the second (June) and third (September) vehicles in the same manners as shown in (a) . Driver "A" may not accomplish multiple registration for the first (April) vehicle for the following year. The reason for not affording multiple registration into the following year is the inability to determine the appropriate value of the motor vehicle in the following year or the appropriate mill levy to be applied to such vehicle.

(c) Driver "A" owns the same three vehicles as in (a) and registers all of such vehicles in the 4th (April) period as shown in (a) . However, in June, Driver "A" sells the third (September) vehicle. The purchaser of the third vehicle will have the benefit of purchasing a vehicle with taxes prepaid until September 1 of the following year. Driver "A" should take into account the prepayment of taxes in determining the price at which to sell the vehicle.

(5) At the time of multiple registration, individual registration slips must be completed for each motor vehicle registered and each motor vehicle must be issued the appropriate validation decal.

History: Sec. 61-3-315 MCA; IMP, 61-3-315 MCA; NEW, Eff. 9/4/75.