Ronorable,R. C. glagle, Jr.

Criminal histrict Attorney Grayson County Sherman, Texas

Dear Sir: Opinion No.,0-2065-A Re: Registration ofmotor vehicles brought into State by non-residents for thepurpose of sale
or tyade.

Wehave had before us for reconsideration our Opinion No. 0-2065, approved April 1,

### 1940,.dfrectedto You in reply toyour letterof iltarch 5, 

### 3.940.~

Your let- -terof requestread inpart as~follows:

“I ::&&I /anx,ionS~'

'tohave 'yousubmit ‘~OUI’ opinion on tirticle14134,Chapter 

### ~8,Title 17 of the Penal Code.of .Texas,

### 192.5, as amended by Chapter 

### 77,,Actaof th8 First Called Ge.sSionof the Fortieth Legislature. This article~presentsa serious situation .to the.Tax Collector of this County. Being a'bordeallne county, numberous automo-" biles are brought intoGrayson County, sold, and many times taken again out of the state for Pe-Sale. We have an automobile dealer .t&,the c$?~&&ty

that operate@ agencies in (&J$homa. Whenthis concern makes a:trade for:an.Oklahomacar here in Texas and then immediately removes the car out of this St6’te for m-sale in Oklahoma, must the car inquestion be registered in, Texas? On the other hand, if anOklahoma car isbought inTexas, is the endorsed Certlficate of Title from Oklahoma, alone, sufficient evidence of sale and transfer of ownership? If the T :',.,

3QrSed certificate is sufficient, may the axCollector legally acknowledge. .

Honorable R. C. Slagle, Jr., page 

### 20-2065~

change of ownership by registering automobile inbuyer's name without theprescribed bill of sale properly executed.5

Your request presents two questions:
First, whether ornot Texas registration of a car isnecess.ary5heiBp,.Texasautomobile dealer who also operates agencies inOhahoma makes a trade for anbklshoma car in this State, and immediately thereafter removes the car to Oklahoma for the purpose of re-sale. We assume that the car in question will be brought into Texas by itsnon-resident
ownera
Second, whether ornot an endorsed Oklahoma Certificate of Title is alone sufficient evidence of sale and transfer of ownership in order that a county tax collector may legally acknowledge such change for the purpose ofTexas registration of the automobile inthe buyer's name withbut the necessity of aproperly executed bill of sale.

Article 667sa-2, Vernon's Annotated ~dvil Statutes, provides for the registration of eachmotor vehicle used or tobe ussd upon the public highways of this State. Application for registration is tobe made to the County Tax Collector of the County.in which the applicant resides. To this requirement of r#$$5tration are appended certainexdeptions. .Onesuch exemption-from registration is that owners of certain farm tractors, farm trailers, farmsemi-trailers, and implements ofhusbandry, operated ormoved temtiorarilyupon .the highways arenot required to register suchvehicles. Another exemptionfrom registration m,ay'befound inArticle 827b, Vernon's Annotated Renal Code, which contains provisions with respect to the registration ofmotor vehicles owned by nonresidents and operated upon the highways of this State. Section 5 of this Article~oontains this significant sentence:

"And provided, further, that anynonresident owner of aprivately owned motcr vehicle may be permitted tomake an occasional tr~ipinto this State with suoh vehicle under theprivileges of this Act without obtaiging such temporary registration certificate.

An "occasional trip' is defined in Section 1 of Article 827b tomesn "not to exceed five trips into thisHonorable R. C. “lagle, Jr., page.3 0- 

### 206.5~

.. state during

any one trip. py calender month, nor to ’ exceed five days’ on In other words, regardless of purpose, a non-resident of this State maymake an “occasional trip” into this State in hismotor vehicle without obtaining Texas registration of such vehicle,
car into the, State for the Re.m~y..,lawfully bring his purpodd af ‘S’alS while on an aoccasianal trip,!’ without the necessity-of registgring it in thisstate. yee &merican Lloyds of Dallas v. crengo (CCA, 

### 19261,282.5.W. 

### 9.57writ tiefused. ae call to your attention, however, that gectioli 15.df Article 82j’b, Penal Code, requires that there be displayed at all times upon such automobile the re@stratlon number plates assigned to such vehicle for the current year by the St&te of the owner’s residence.

A decidedly different question is presented when the new dealer-owner of the automobilb, a resident of Texas, drives the car over the highways of the State after the sale to him for the purpose of re,-sale .fn the 8tBte of Oklahoma.

In Opinion No. ,O-‘891 this department held that when
amotor vehicle la upon the public highways 

### for any purpose or any length of time, unless there be.an express exemption it muat be registered as required by law.

Wehave found no exeplptlons applicable to are~sident automobile dealer or his agents driving aused automobile into another State for the purppss of re-sale.

In further answer to your first question, it ‘is our opinion and you are advised 

### that when

### unbar the facts described in your letter the new dealer-owner of the used automobile decides to drive it to Oklahoma over the highways of this State 

### for the purpose of re-sale t,,heau omobile must be re istered in this State. 

### Article 667Sa-l-15, ternonts Annotated f1~5.1gtatutes; Article 807b, Penal Code.

Your second question is oonoerned with what muniment of title will be sufficient to wldenue snle ‘and transfer of ownership; and whether an endorsed Oklahoma Certificate of Title would alone be sufficient without aproperly executed bill of sale. In this connection you, call our attention to Articles 1434 and 

### 1435of the Penal Code, vinich have required the execution of abill of sale by the transferor tc the transferee when the latter makes application for registration in Texas.. -

Honorable R. C. Slagle, Jr., Page 4 o-2065-~

In Opinion No. O-1491, this department held that the Certificate of Tit.16 Act, Article 1436-1, Vernon’s Annotated Penal Code, supercedes Articles 1434 and 1435 of Vernon’s Annotated Penal Code, lnrsmch as the Certificate .of Title Act covers the same general subject matter. Consequently, wemust lbok to the Certificate of Title Act and other pertinent statutes.

Section 60 of the Certificate of Title Act, Article 1436-1, Vernon’s Annotated Penal Code, reads as follows :

“The’ movieions of this Act sha’ll

awlv to motor vehicles not reauired ‘to be tered OFlicensed the laws thUsState then effective, not to motor vehicles owner or opqrated by the Federal Government or any of its agencies, the State of Texas, or any municipal government unless such motor vtihlple- 1s sold to a person required under this Act to procure 

### a certlficate of title, in which even the provisions hereof shall be fully operative as to such motor vehicle, ” (Underscoring 

### ours)

Ia the 

### wed motor vehiole in question whenbeing sold to the Texas dealer 

### “required to be registered 

### or licensed?” Wehave determined in answer to your firat question that it is not so require& to be nlloenaed or reglatersd.” As a result the literal lan ua&e of Seotion 60 oi the CsrtWoate of Title Hot la 

### 8atirfle iI

### Inmolar 88 ths #ale 

### or trade by’the Oklahoma resident to the 

### ‘hxrr dealer lb oonoernsd; that la, the vshiolo iu not required to br rrglrterrd or 

### llomsed In this State and the Certifloate of Title Aot in 4&B,, :Wbl&~%g: has no application to this tranaaq$ion.

Other 8sotloncr of the CIrtlfioate of Title Aot bear out this oonolurlon, Section 27haa no applioatlon. This aeotion 1s direoted on1 to automobilor.kqulred to be registered
or liosns’ed in this &a, ‘I and the prohibition 

### la only againat the “oyner” aa that term is defined i!n tho‘Oortifioate of Tltlo Aot. ICabslievo the Certifloote of itle Aot’r definition of
an “importer,” nrmely, ‘Iany person rxoept 

### amanufacturer, who brings any wed motor vehftole into this State for the purpose of sale within this &ate is morenearly applicable to the nonresident In question,Honorable R. C. hlagle, Jr., Page 5 0-2065-A

For similar and other reasons Sections 28, 29, 33, 51 and 52 will not apply.

However webelieve Article 667.5a-3, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, is applicable and expressly covers your second question. This Article provides in part as follows :

“4t4tQ. It is expressly provided that the

owner OFavehicle previously registered in any State for the preceding or curent year may, in lieu of filing an application as thereinbefore directed, present the license receipt and transfer receipts, If any, issued for the registration or ‘transfer of the vehicle for the preceding calendar year, and said receipt or receipts shall be accepted by the County Tax Collector as an application for the renewal of the registration of the vehicle, provided said receipt 

### or receipts shall be accepted by the County Tax Collector as an application for the renewal of the registration of the vehicle, provided said receipts show that the applicant is the rlghtfuly 

### owner thereof. Provided, however, that shou,ld an owner or a claimed owner of A motor vehlole or automobile offer to register same, but has lost or misplaced the registration receipt or transfer, then upon his Surnlehlng satlafactory evidence to the TPX Collector by affidavit or otheo?wSaa,,that he 1s the real owner of same, then shall it become the duty of the Tax Colloctor~ to date 

### each registration rooslpt Ineuod for the vehicle the same date that application Is made for regietrat&on of such vehicle. W4b3k.”

Your seaand question is therefore anawered In aocordanco with Article 6675a-3 to the offoot that the new dea;lerowner of the used autbmoblle in queatlon should present to the County !f!w Go~eotor upon 

### making rpplioatian for Texas regiatration of the same and IlOonse and tranaSar rscaipta from the foreign State oevering the automabile in question, together with any ether 

### evldenccr (ruah aa 

### the endorsed Certificate of Title from tha foreip 

### @ato) aufflciant to satf,sSy the Tax Collector of lagal own@rahip of the automobile,

You are further advised that under thq aircumstsncos described in your letter presentctlcn ta thQ Iax kollectOr of a properly crxeauted bill OSaale for the automobil-a in @estian will not be neodsaary pravldad the foreign license and. . .

Honorable R. C. Slagle, Jr., page 

### 60-2065~

transfer receipts and such other evidence the mayproduce show him to be the rightful owner mobile.
Yours very applicant of the autotruly
ATTORNEY

GENDRAL

OFTEXAS

: qr '~ James D. Smullen Assistant JDS:RS--pam

APPROVED

FEB

### 3, 1941 CIROVER

SELLERS FIRST ASSISTANT ATTORNEY

CIENERAL
APPROVED

OPINION BYBWB,CHAIRMAN