Title 40

Any person who shall make any false statement in any application for the registration of any vehicle, or in transferring any certificate of registration, or in applying for a new certificate of registration, shall be guilty of false swearing, whether or not an oath is actually admi…

(a) Except as otherwise provided for in Article 2B of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to make, sell, or issue any license plate or revalidation decal. (b) Any person, firm, or corporation violating subsection (a) of this Code section shall be…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, it shall be unlawful: (1) To remove or transfer a license plate from the motor vehicle for which such license plate was issued; (2) To sell or otherwise transfer or dispose of a license plate upon or for use on any motor vehicle o…

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any person who shall willfully mutilate, obliterate, deface, alter, change, or conceal any numeral, letter, character, county designation, or other marking of any license plate issued under the motor vehicle registration laws of this …

Any person who willfully covers any license plate with plastic, other material, or any part of his or her body in order to prevent or impede the ability of surveillance equipment to clearly photograph or otherwise obtain a clear image of the license plate is guilty of a misdemean…

A person who removes a license plate from a vehicle or affixes to a vehicle a license plate not authorized by law for use on it, in either case with intent to conceal or misrepresent the identity of the vehicle or its owner, is guilty of a misdemeanor. As used in this Code sectio…

(a) Any person owning or operating any vehicle described in Code Section 40-2-20 on any public highway or street without complying with that Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, provided that a person shall register his or her motor vehicle within 30 days after becoming…

Notwithstanding Code Section 40-2-8 or any other provision of law, a person who operates a vehicle which is required to be registered in this state and which has attached to the rear thereof a valid numbered license plate without having the required revalidation decal affixed upo…

(a) Any special, distinctive, or prestige license plate, except those provided for in Code Sections 40-2-61, 40-2-62, 40-2-74, 40-2-82, and 40-2-85.1 or as otherwise expressly provided in this chapter, shall contain a space for a county name decal. The provisions of this chapter …

(a)(1)(A) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (d) of this Code section and subsection (a) of Code Section 40-2-47, every owner of a motor vehicle, including a tractor or motorcycle, and every owner of a trailer shall, during the owner’s registration period in each year, reg…

(a) As used in this chapter, the term: (.1) “Initial registration period” means the 30 day period immediately following the date of purchase or other acquisition of a new or used motor vehicle, including tractors and motorcycles, or trailer. (.2) “Owner” shall have the same meani…

License plates and revalidation decals shall be issued only upon applications made to the local tag agent or the commissioner in accordance with the terms of this chapter. History. Ga. L. 1955, p. 659, § 6; Ga. L. 1957, p. 197, § 4; Ga. L. 1966, p. 508, § 6; Code 1981, § 40-2-21;…

(a) The tax collectors of the various counties of this state and the tax commissioners of those counties in which the duties of the tax collector are performed by a tax commissioner shall be designated as tag agents of the commissioner for the purpose of accepting applications fo…

Each tag agent shall give bond conditioned as the commissioner may require, and in such amount as the commissioner may deem necessary and proper, not exceeding $250,000.00, to protect the state adequately. Such bond shall be executed by a surety corporation licensed to do busines…

(a) The commissioner is authorized and directed to promulgate rules and regulations governing the processing by private persons, in any manner whatsoever, of applications for the registration of vehicles. (b)(1) The tax commissioner of each county shall be authorized to require a…

(a) All applicants to register a vehicle shall apply to the tag agent of the county wherein such vehicle is required to be returned for ad valorem taxation. (b)(1) Application shall be made by the owner of the vehicle upon a form prepared by the commissioner for such purposes set…

(a) This Code section shall be known and may be cited as the “Back the Blue Act.” (b) The General Assembly finds that: (1) It is in the best interest of this state to provide a mechanism to support a program that encourages the hiring and retaining of law enforcement officers and …

(a) No application shall be accepted and no certificate of registration shall be issued to any motor vehicle which was not manufactured to comply with applicable federal emission standards issued pursuant to 42 U.S.C.A. Section 7401 through Section 7642, known as the Clean Air Act…

(a) Initial applications for registration shall contain such information of ownership as the commissioner shall deem proper, and no vehicle shall be registered unless the commissioner shall be satisfied that the applicant for registration is entitled to have the vehicle registered…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any person purchasing or acquiring a vehicle shall register and obtain, or transfer, a license plate to operate such vehicle from the county tag agent in their county of residence no later than seven business days after the date o…

An applicant may purchase a vehicle license plate or revalidation decal by mail, by mailing a properly completed application form to the tag agent of the county of his or her residence along with a bank check or money order in the amount of the license fee and all ad valorem taxe…

(a) If the applicant meets the requirements set forth in this chapter, the commissioner shall issue to the applicant a license plate bearing a distinctive number or a distinctive number to be displayed electronically upon a license plate by a digital license plate provider pursua…

In coordination with the Department of Education, the department shall establish parameters for the design of and a selection process for a license plate which commemorates the United States of America’s semiquincentennial. The design of such plate shall be selected from designs …

(a)(1) Upon compliance with the provisions of this chapter and the payment of the license fee required by law, the tag agent shall accept the application for registration and, except as otherwise provided for in this chapter, if the license plate or revalidation decal applied for…

(a) All county tag agents accepting license applications shall endeavor to submit to the commissioner on at least a weekly basis reports of license applications handled and remit with such reports related sums of money to which the state is entitled. All tag reports of license ap…

The commissioner shall have in his possession on or before December 1 of each year, for distribution, the license plates and revalidation decals provided for in this chapter. History. Ga. L. 1931, p. 7, § 84; Ga. L. 1931, p. 213, § 3; Code 1933, § 68-209; Code 1981, § 40-2-32; Co…

(a) The commissioner shall furnish to each tag agent such number of motor vehicle license plates, revalidation decals, and decals as he may deem necessary for issuance by such agent, together with such forms and other supplies as are necessary to enable such agent to perform the …

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, all vehicles of the type required to be registered by Code Section 40-2-20 owned by the State of Georgia or any municipality or other political subdivision of this state shall be registered with the commissi…

(a)(1) Manufacturers, distributors, and dealers engaged in the manufacture, sale, or leasing of vehicles required to be registered under Code Section 40-2-20 shall register by electronic means with the commissioner, making application for a distinguishing dealer’s number, specify…

(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 vehicl…

(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 m…

(a)(1) An owner or lessee of any real property shall not authorize more than five used motor vehicles within any 12 month period displayed or parked on such real property for the purpose of selling or advertising the sale of such used motor vehicles by the owner or lessee of such …

Unless otherwise permitted under this chapter, every vehicle required to be registered under this chapter, which is in use upon the highways, shall at all times display the license plate issued to the owner for such vehicle, and the plate shall be fastened to the rear of the vehi…

(a) As used in this Code section, the term “authentic historical Georgia license plate” means a license plate originally issued in the year 1989 or earlier and originally required to be displayed on motor vehicles operated upon the streets and highways of this state in the year 1…

(a) A license plate or revalidation decal, when issued, shall be transferred from one vehicle to another vehicle of the same class acquired by the same person as provided in this chapter. Any use of a license plate or revalidation decal by any other person or persons in any manne…

(a) Upon an applicant’s compliance with all laws relevant to the registration of his vehicle, the appropriate licensing authority shall issue to such applicant a certificate of registration for his vehicle. If a registration certificate issued under this chapter is lost, stolen, mu…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, the owner of a motor vehicle shall immediately report the theft, loss, or mutilation of a license plate or revalidation decal to the appropriate law enforcement agency or official, including but not limited to a munic…

(a) No person shall transfer a license plate or decal from one vehicle to any other motor vehicle which is a “salvage” or “rebuilt” motor vehicle as provided in Chapter 3 of this title unless the owner of such vehicle submits satisfactory proof to the commissioner that the motor …

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, the owner of any trailer, including: (1) Any leased or rented trailer and including single pole and twin-beam trailers and other trailers used in commercial logging or commercial trailers used for the haulin…

As used in this article, the term: (1) “Fleet” means 100 or more motor vehicles or trailers. (2) “Fleet registration plan” means the method of registering the motor vehicles of a fleet as provided in this article. History. Code 1981, § 40-2-50, enacted by Ga. L. 1998, p. 1179, § 1…

(a) A corporation or firm which has an established place of business in this state or which is controlled by a parent corporation which has an established place of business in this state and which owns or operates under a lease agreement a fleet which is not required to be register…

(a) Within 30 days of receipt of a validated fleet enrollment form, the owner or operator of the enrolled fleet shall register and obtain licenses to operate the motor vehicles by submitting properly completed certificates of title for each vehicle in a fleet and any supporting docum…

(a) Upon electronic submission of all applicable requirements of this article, the department shall send notification of such to the county tag agent. Upon receipt of such notification from the department, the county tag agent shall issue to the applicant a fleet motor vehicle licen…

(a) The department or its designated agent may perform an audit of any fleet registrant to ensure compliance with the requirements of this article which may include, without limitation, examination of records of all vehicles in a fleet, additions to or deletions from a fleet since t…

An enrollment of a fleet in the fleet registration plan shall be terminated by the department in the event: (1) The department determines on the basis of an audit that fees for registration and licensing are not paid as required for 5 percent or more of the total vehicles in the fle…

(a) Any county tag agent with a satisfactory application for registration pursuant to Code Section 40-2-26 which indicates preference for a digital license plate shall inform the commissioner of such request. Upon a request by a digital license plate provider, the department shal…