No person shall operate or park any motor vehicle or trailer
upon any street or highway of this City, unless such motor vehicle
or trailer has properly displayed a valid license plate or plates
or temporary permit issued to the lawful owner of the vehicle by the
Department of Revenue of the State of Missouri, except that any person
who is a non-resident of the State of Missouri may operate or park
any motor vehicle or trailer upon any street or highway of this City,
provided the motor vehicle or trailer has been duly registered for
the current year in the State, Country or other place of which the
owner is a resident, provided that at all times such motor vehicle
or trailer is being operated or parked upon the streets or highways
of this City, the valid license plate or plates or temporary permit
is properly displayed on such vehicle or trailer.
[Ord. No. 2020-018, 11-5-2020]
No motor vehicle or trailer shall be operated on any highway
of this City unless it shall have displayed thereon the license plate
or set of license plates issued by the Director of Revenue or the
State Highways and Transportation Commission and authorized by Section
301.140, RSMo. Each such plate shall be securely fastened to the motor
vehicle or trailer in a manner so that all parts thereof shall be
plainly visible and reasonably clean so that the reflective qualities
thereof are not impaired. License plates shall be securely fastened
to all motor vehicles except trucks, tractors, truck tractors or truck
-tractors licensed in excess of twelve thousand (12,000) pounds on
the very front and rear of such vehicles not less than eight (8) inches
nor more than forty-eight (48) inches above the ground, with the letters
and numbers thereon right side up. Plates displayed from behind a
windshield or window shall not comply with this requirement and shall
be deemed to have its reflective qualities impaired. The license plates
on trailers, motorcycles, motortricycles, autocycles, and motorscooters
shall be displayed on the rear of such vehicles either horizontally
or vertically, with the letters and numbers plainly visible. The license
plate on buses, other than school buses, and on trucks, tractors,
truck tractors or truck-tractors licensed in excess of twelve thousand
(12,000) pounds shall be displayed on the front of such vehicles not
less than eight (8) inches nor more than forty-eight (48) inches above
the ground, with the letters and numbers thereon right side up, or
if two (2) plates are issued for the vehicle pursuant to Subsection
(3) of Section 301.130, RSMo., displayed in the same manner on the
front and rear of such vehicles. The license plate or plates authorized
by Section 301.140, RSMo., when properly attached, shall be prima
facie evidence that the required fees have been paid.
No person shall operate a motor vehicle or trailer on which
there is displayed on the front or rear thereof any other plate, tag
or placard bearing any number except the plate furnished by the Director
of Revenue or the placard herein authorized, and the official license
tag of any municipality of this State, nor shall there be displayed
on any motor vehicle or trailer a placard, sign or tag bearing the
words "license lost", "license applied for", or words of similar import,
as a substitute for such number plates or such placard.
A.
In
event of the loss, theft, mutilation or destruction of any certificate
of ownership, number plate, tab or set of tabs issued by the Director
of Revenue, the lawful holder thereof shall, within five (5) days,
file with the Director of Revenue, an affidavit showing such fact,
and shall, on the payment of a fee of eight dollars and fifty cents
($8.50), obtain a duplicate or replacement of such plate, certificate,
tab or set of tabs. Any duplicate certificate issued for any "motor
vehicle primarily for business use", as defined in Section 301.010,
RSMo., shall be issued only to the owner of record.
B.
Upon
filing affidavit of lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed certificate
of registration, the Director of Revenue shall issue to the lawful
owner a duplicate or replacement thereof upon payment of a fee of
eight dollars and fifty cents ($8.50).
C.
Vehicle
owners who elect not to transfer or renew multi-year plates shall
be charged a fee equal to that charged for a lost plate in addition
to the registration fee prescribed by law at the time the new plate
or plates are issued.
No person shall show, exhibit, display or have in possession
for the purpose of sale any motor vehicle bearing or displaying thereon
any number or license plates, except those of the dealer or owner
so displaying said motor vehicle; provided however, that where the
motor vehicle is placed on consignment with a dealer by the owner
thereof, there may be displayed a number or license plate issued to
the owner thereof.
The plates issued pursuant to Section 301.560, RSMo., may be
displayed on any motor vehicle owned and held for resale by the motor
vehicle dealer or manufacturer, and used by a customer who is test
driving the motor vehicle, or is used by an employee or officer, but
shall not be displayed on any motor vehicle or trailer hired or loaned
to others or upon any regularly used service or wrecker vehicle. Motor
vehicle dealers may display their dealer plates on a tractor, truck
or trailer to demonstrate a vehicle under a loaded condition.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate in this City
a motor vehicle or trailer required to be registered as provided by
law unless a certificate of ownership has been applied for as provided
in Section 301.190, RSMo.
A.
In
the event of a sale or transfer of ownership of a motor vehicle or
trailer for which a certificate of ownership has been issued, the
holder of such certificate shall endorse on the same an assignment
thereof, with warranty of title in form printed thereon, and prescribed
by the Director of Revenue, with a statement of all liens or encumbrances
on such motor vehicle or trailer, and deliver the same to the buyer
at the time of the delivery to him/her of such motor vehicle or trailer;
provided that, when the transfer of a motor vehicle, trailer, boat
or outboard motor occurs within a corporation which holds a license
to operate as a motor vehicle or boat dealer pursuant to Sections
301.550 to 301.575, RSMo., the provisions of subdivision (3) of Subsection
(6) of Section 144.070, RSMo., shall not apply.
B.
The
buyer shall then present such certificate, assigned as aforesaid,
to the Director of Revenue, at the time of making application for
the registration of such motor vehicle or trailer, whereupon a new
certificate of ownership shall be issued to the buyer, the fee therefor
being that prescribed in Subsection (5) of Section 301.190, RSMo.
C.
If
such motor vehicle or trailer is sold to a resident of another State
or Country, or if such motor vehicle or trailer is destroyed or dismantled,
the owner thereof shall immediately notify the Director of Revenue.
Certificates when so signed and returned to the Director of Revenue
shall be retained by the Director of Revenue and all certificates
shall be appropriately indexed so that at all times it will be possible
for him/her to expeditiously trace the ownership of the motor vehicle
or trailer designated therein.
D.
It
shall be unlawful for any person to buy or sell in this City any motor
vehicle or trailer registered under the laws of this State unless
at the time of delivery thereof there shall pass between the parties
a certificate of ownership with an assignment thereof as provided
in Section 301.210, RSMo., as amended, and the sale of any motor vehicle
or trailer registered under the laws of this State, without the assignment
of such certificate of ownership, shall be presumed fraudulent and
void unless the parties have executed a written agreement for delayed
delivery of certificate of ownership as provided in Subsection 5 of
Section 301.210, RSMo.
Upon the transfer of ownership of any motor vehicle or trailer,
the certificate of registration and the right to use the number plates
shall expire and the number plates shall be removed by the owner at
the time of the transfer of possession, and it shall be unlawful for
any person other than the person to whom such number plates were originally
issued to have the same in his/her possession whether in use or not,
unless such possession is solely for charitable purposes; except that
the buyer of a motor vehicle or trailer who trades in a motor vehicle
or trailer may attach the license plates from the trade-in motor vehicle
or trailer to the newly purchased motor vehicle or trailer. The operation
of a motor vehicle with such transferred plates shall be lawful for
no more than thirty (30) days, or no more than ninety (90) days if
the dealer is selling the motor vehicle under the provisions of Section
301.213, RSMo., or no more than sixty (60) days if the dealer is selling
the motor vehicle under the provisions of Subsection 5 of Section
301.210, RSMo. As used in this Section, the term "trade-in motor vehicle
or trailer" shall include any single motor vehicle or trailer sold
by the buyer of the newly purchased vehicle or trailer, as long as
the license plates for the trade-in motor vehicle or trailer are still
valid.
A.
License
plates issued to owners of motor vehicles registered pursuant to the
monthly series system of registration as provided in Section 301.030,
RSMo., shall be removed on the sale or transfer of ownership of such
vehicles. The plates, if still current, may thereafter be retained
and preserved by the person to whom issued, to be fastened to such
other motor vehicles as such person shall thereafter register in the
person's name.
B.
It
shall be unlawful to fasten voided plates to any motor vehicle.
Upon the sale of a motor vehicle or trailer by a dealer, a buyer
who has made application for registration, by mail or otherwise, may
operate the same for a period of thirty (30) days, or no more than
ninety (90) days if issued by a dealer selling the motor vehicle under
the provisions of Section 301.213, RSMo., or no more than sixty (60)
days if issued by a dealer selling the motor vehicle under the provisions
of Subsection 5 of Section 301.210, RSMo., after taking possession
thereof if during such period the motor vehicle or trailer shall have
attached thereto, in the manner required by Section 301.130, RSMo.,
number plates issued to the dealer. Upon application and presentation
of proof of financial responsibility as required under Subsection
4 of Section 301.140, RSMo., and satisfactory evidence that the buyer
has applied for registration, a dealer may furnish such number plates
to the buyer for such temporary use. In such event, the dealer shall
require the buyer to deposit the sum of ten dollars and fifty cents
($10.50), to be returned to the buyer upon return of the number plates,
as a guarantee that said buyer will return to the dealer such number
plates within thirty (30) days, or no more than ninety (90) days if
issued by a dealer selling the motor vehicle under the provisions
of Section 301.213, RSMo., or no more than sixty (60) days if issued
by a dealer selling the motor vehicle under the provisions of Subsection
5 of Section 301.210, RSMo.
Motor vehicles and trailers in the course of delivery from a
manufacturer to a dealer, or from one dealer to another, may be operated
on the highways without number plates being attached thereto, provided
they bear on the front and on the rear, substantially as provided
for number plates, a placard displaying the words "In Transit" and
the number of the certificate issued as herein provided in letters
and figures not less than three (3) inches high with a stroke not
less than three-eighths (⅜) of an inch wide; and provided further,
that the operator of each motor vehicle shall carry, and exhibit on
request, a certificate bearing the seal of the Director of Revenue
and his/her facsimile signature, countersigned with the genuine signature
of the manufacturer or dealer selling such motor vehicle, or his/her
authorized agent. Such certificate shall bear a number and shall show
the date and place of issue and the destination of the motor vehicle,
and shall be of such form as the Director of Revenue shall determine.
It shall be unlawful for any person to display such placard or to
use such certificate except as provided in Section 301.170, RSMo.
No dealer shall advise any purchaser of a motor vehicle or trailer
that such purchaser may drive such a motor vehicle or trailer without
compliance with the foregoing license requirements.
A.
Motor
vehicles not previously registered in Missouri and operated for the
first (1st) time on the public highways of this State may be initially
registered for less than a twelve (12) month period at the Director's
option, when in his/her judgment such fractional registration period
shall tend to fulfill the purpose of the monthly series registration
system.
B.
Upon
expiration of the initial fractional registration periods, motor vehicles
so registered shall thereafter be registered for twelve (12) month
periods as provided in Section 301.030, RSMo.
C.
Application
for registration of a motor vehicle not previously registered in Missouri,
operated for the first (1st) time on the public highways of this State,
and previously registered in another State shall be made within thirty
(30) days after the owner of such motor vehicle has become a resident
of this State.
