O.C.G.A. § 40-2-38.1 — Transporter license plate

(a) A person engaged in the business of the limited operation of a motor vehicle or trailer for any of the following purposes may obtain a transporter plate authorizing the movement of the vehicle for the speciﬁc purpose: (1) To facilitate the delivery of new or used motor vehicles, trucks, trailers, or buses between manufacturers, distributors, dealers, sellers, or purchasers; (2) To move a mobile office, a mobile classroom, a mobile or manufactured home, or a house trailer; (3) To drive a motor vehicle or pull a trailer that is part of the inventory of a dealer to and from a motor vehicle or trailer trade show or exhibition or to, during, and from a parade in which the motor vehicle or trailer is used; or (4) To drive special mobile equipment in any of the following circumstances: (A) From the manufacturer of the equipment to a facility of a dealer; or (B) From one facility of a dealer to another facility of a dealer. (b) This Code section shall not be construed to require a motor vehicle or trailer dealer to obtain transporter plates in order to transport vehicles for sale or lease. (c) A person may obtain a transporter plate by ﬁling an application with the department and paying the required fee. The fee for an initial transporter plate shall be $62.00 and the fee for all additional plates shall be $12.00. An application for a transporter plate must be on a form 209 40-2-38.1 MOTOR VEHICLES & TRAFFIC 40-2-38.1 provided by the department and must contain the information required by the department. The department is authorized to promulgate regulations consistent with this Code section. (d) Transporter plates issued under this Code section shall be distinguishable from dealer, wholesaler, manufacturer, or distributor plates, as provided for in Code Section 40-2-38. (e) During the year for which it is issued, a person may transfer a transporter plate from one vehicle to another so long as the vehicle is driven or pulled only for a purpose authorized by subsection (a) of this Code section. In order to obtain a transporter plate, an applicant must demonstrate to the department compliance with all applicable federal and state laws. (f) The license plates issued pursuant to this Code section shall be revoked and conﬁscated upon a determination after a hearing that an applicant has unlawfully used such license plates for purposes other than those expressly permitted by this Code section. (g) If a license plate issued pursuant to this Code section is lost or stolen, the dealer, manufacturer, distributor, or other party to whom the license plate was issued must immediately report the lost or stolen plate to local law enforcement agencies. If a replacement license plate is sought, the dealer, manufacturer, distributor, or other party to whom the license plate was issued shall ﬁle a notarized affidavit with the department requesting a replacement plate. Such affidavit shall certify under penalty of perjury that the license plate has been lost or stolen and that the loss has been reported to a local law enforcement agency. (h) This Code section shall not apply to farm tractors. (i)(1) The expiration of a license plate issued pursuant to this Code section shall be the last day of the registration period as provided in division (a)(1)(A)(ii) of Code Section 40-2-21, except that for the purposes of this subsection, the registration period shall be determined by the ﬁrst letter of the legal name of the business listed on the application for registration or renewal of registration. An application for renewal of registration shall not be submitted earlier than 90 days prior to the last day of the registration period. A penalty of 25 percent of the total registration fees due shall be assessed any person registering pursuant to this Code section who, prior to the expiration of such person’s registration period, fails to apply for renewal or if having applied fails to pay the required fees. (2) A transition period shall commence on October 1, 2007, and conclude on December 31, 2007, for all existing registrations and any new registration applications presented prior to January 1, 2008. On or after January 1, 2008, new applications for registration shall be 210 40-2-38.1 REGISTRATION/LICENSING OF MOTOR VEH. 40-2-39 submitted and remain valid until the expiration of such registration as speciﬁed in paragraph (1) of this subsection. (j) The commissioner shall adopt rules and regulations for the implementation of this Code section. History. Code 1981, § 40-2-38.1, enacted by Ga. L. 2006, p. 465, § 2/HB 1052; Ga. L. 2007, p. 652, § 5/HB 518; Ga. L. 2012, p. 155, § 1/HB 732; Ga. L. 2024, p. 1052, § 4(23)/SB 448, effective July 1, 2024. Amendments. The 2024 amendment, effective July 1, 2024, part of an Act to revise, modern- ize, and correct the Code, substituted “department” for “Department of Revenue” in subsection (c), and deleted “in any way” following “not” in subsection (h). 40-2-39. Registration and licensing of new motor vehicle dealers; temporary site permits; administrative ﬁnes; penalty. (a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) “Dealer” means any person engaged in the business of selling or leasing or offering to sell or lease new motor vehicles and who is licensed or otherwise authorized to utilize trademarks or service marks associated with one or more makes of motor vehicles in connection with such sales or leases. The term “dealer” shall not mean any person engaged solely in the business of selling used motor vehicles and shall not mean any person engaged in the solicitation, advertising, or ﬁnancing of the sale of new motor vehicles and shall not mean any person engaged solely in activities as a manufacturer or distributor of new motor vehicles. (2) “Distributor” means any person who, pursuant to a contract with a manufacturer, sells or offers to sell new motor vehicles to new motor vehicle dealers. (3) “Established place of business” means a permanent salesroom or sales office of a new motor vehicle dealer, which permanent salesroom or sales office is located in a permanent building on an open lot and which is marked by an appropriate sign and at which a permanent business of bartering, trading, or selling of new motor vehicles is carried on in good faith. (4) “Manufacturer” means any person who makes or assembles new motor vehicles. (5) “Motor vehicle” means every self-propelled vehicle intended primarily for use and operation on the public highways, except farm tractors and other machines and tools used in the production, 211 40-2-39 MOTOR VEHICLES & TRAFFIC 40-2-39 harvesting, and care of farm products and except construction equipment. (6) “New motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle which has been sold to a dealer and on which the original motor vehicle title has not been issued. (7) “Person” means every natural person, partnership, corporation, association, trust, estate, or any other legal entity. (8) “Temporary site” means a location at which new or used motor vehicles are sold or offered for sale for which a temporary site permit has been issued by the department in accordance with paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of this Code section and which location is: (A) Used for a period not to exceed 96 hours in any 30 day period of time; (B) Used not more than three times in any calendar year; and (C) Located in the county in which the established place of business of the new motor vehicle dealer using the temporary site is located or an adjoining county. (9) “Trade shows” means the display or solicitation for sale of new motor vehicles at a location other than the established place of business at which the sales transaction is accomplished or at which delivery of the new motor vehicle is completed. (b)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any activity as a new motor vehicle dealer unless and until such person has registered with the commissioner and obtained a dealer’s number license plate under Code Section 40-2-38 for each established place of business at which the person engages in such activity. The commissioner shall not accept such application for registration and shall not issue a dealer’s number license plate unless and until the applicant establishes to the satisfaction of the commissioner, under criteria established by rules or regulations promulgated by the commissioner, that the applicant shall not engage in any activity of a new motor vehicle dealer except at an established place of business, a temporary site, or a properly licensed auto auction or licensed facility. This paragraph shall not be construed to prohibit a new motor vehicle dealer from delivering a vehicle off site if the transaction is initiated at an established place of business under this chapter. (2) It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any activity as a new motor vehicle dealer except at an established place of business which has been registered as such under this Code section and Code Section 40-2-38 or at a temporary site. 212 40-2-39 REGISTRATION/LICENSING OF MOTOR VEH. 40-2-39 (3) This subsection shall not apply to new motor vehicle trade shows and shall not be construed to prohibit new motor vehicle trade shows or properly licensed auctions. (4)(A) At least 60 days prior to the opening of a sale at a temporary site, a new motor vehicle dealer must make application to the department for a temporary site permit. (B) To be eligible for a temporary site permit, a new motor vehicle dealer must be registered with the department as required by Code Section 40-2-38. In order to obtain a temporary site permit, a new motor vehicle dealer must provide, on a form promulgated by the department, the following: (i) The address, including county, of the new motor vehicle dealer’s established place of business; (ii) The address, including county, of the temporary site location; (iii) The dates and hours of the temporary site sale; (iv) The number of temporary site sales already conducted by the new motor vehicle dealer during the calendar year in which the requested temporary site sale is to occur; and (v) The name, address, and contact person of any sponsors, promoters, and lending institutions involved in or to be represented at the temporary site sale. (C) As part of the application, a new motor vehicle dealer must submit written documentation demonstrating that the new motor vehicle dealer has complied with any licensing requirements applicable in the local jurisdiction in which the temporary site sale will occur and a copy of a written agreement with the owner of the real property where the sale is to occur. (D) A temporary site permit issued pursuant to this paragraph shall be valid only for the dates and hours of the sale as indicated in the application submitted to the department and must be prominently displayed at the temporary site at all times during the sale. No new motor vehicle dealer may purchase more than three temporary site permits within a calendar year. A temporary site permit is not transferable to any other dealer or location. (E) The ﬁling fee for each application for a temporary site permit shall be $100.00. (c) As an alternative to criminal or other civil enforcement, the commissioner, in order to enforce this Code section or any orders, rules, and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, may issue an adminis213 40-2-39 MOTOR VEHICLES & TRAFFIC 40-2-39 trative ﬁne not to exceed $1,000.00 for each violation, whenever the commissioner, after a hearing, determines that any person has violated any provisions of this Code section or any regulations or orders promulgated thereunder. If, after a hearing, the commissioner determines that any person has violated this Code section more than once, the commissioner may suspend a dealer’s registration for a period not to exceed ten days. Any hearing and any administrative review held pursuant to this Code section shall be conducted in accordance with the procedure for contested cases under Chapter 13 of Title 50, the “Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.” Any person who has exhausted all administrative remedies available and who is aggrieved or adversely affected by a ﬁnal order or action of the commissioner shall have the right of judicial review thereof in accordance with Chapter 13 of Title 50. All ﬁnes recovered under this subsection shall be paid into the state treasury. The commissioner may ﬁle, in the superior court (1) wherein the person under order resides; (2) if such person is a corporation, in the county wherein the corporation maintains its established place of business; or (3) in the county wherein the violation occurred, a certiﬁed copy of a ﬁnal order of the commissioner, whether unappealed from or affirmed upon appeal, whereupon the court shall render judgment in accordance therewith and notify the parties. Such judgment shall have the same effect and proceedings in relation thereto shall thereafter be the same as though the judgment had been rendered in an action duly heard and determined by the court. The penalty prescribed in this Code section shall be concurrent, alternative, and cumulative with any and all other civil, criminal, or alternative rights, remedies, forfeitures, or penalties provided, allowed, or available to the commissioner with respect to any violation of this Code section or any order, rules, or regulations promulgated pursuant thereto. For purposes of this subsection, the sale of each motor vehicle while not in compliance with temporary site permit requirements shall constitute a separate violation. (d) Any person who violates any provision of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a ﬁne not to exceed $1,000.00 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed 12 months, or both. History. Code 1981, § 40-2-36.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1988, p. 854, § 1; Code 1981, § 40-2-39, as redesignated by Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 2; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1179, § 6; Ga. L. 2005, p. 321, § 3/HB 455; Ga. L. 2006, p. 72, § 40/SB 465.