.- -~. 

THEATTORNEY GENERAL 

OF-XAS 

GERALD C. MANN 

Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr. 

Director 

Department of Public Safety 

Austin, Texas 

Attention: J. B. Draper, Chief 

Certificate of Title Division 

Dear Sirs Opinion No. O-3154 

Re: Registration of new motor vehicles 

by county tax collector when application for certificate of title has 

been made in another county. 

8% acknowledge receipt of your letter of February 10, 1941, in 

which you request the opinion of this department upon the following situation: 

"This Department desires an opinion whether it is permissible, under the facts 

set forth, for the county tax collectors to permit caners of newmotor vehicles 

to register in one county and file applications for Certificates of Title in 

another county." 

The letter which ycu enolosed from Mann Fuller, Tax AssessorCollector of Gregg County states that the Humble Oil Company seeks to register motor vehicles in Gregg County and send their manufacturers' certificates 

to their hcme office in order to apply for certificate of title in the ccunty 

in tiich it is located. Mr. Fuller also states that he has been advised by 

the Tax Collector of Rtisk &unty that he has followed this procedure in the 

registration of motor vehioles and has permitted applicants for new license 

plates to send their manufacturers' certifiaates to their hcme offices. 

I% enclose e. copy of Opinion No. O-2050 rendered by this department which reveals that the registration lawsof Texas per&t registration of a 

motor vehicle by either the perecn having legal title, legal possession, or 

legal control of said motor vehicle. In other words, a motor vehicle may be 

registered in the county of dcmioile of the person having legal possession or 

legal control of said vehicle although the person holding legal title to said 

vehicle resides in another county. 

The Texas Certificate of Title Aot is contained in Vernon's hnnptated Penal Code of Texas and designated Article 1436-l+ Section 63(b) reads 

as followsr 

"The department or any agent thereof, shall not after the first of January, 

1942, register or renew the registration of any motor vehicle, unless and until the owner thereof shall make application for and he granted an official 

certificate of title for such vehicle or present satisfactory evidence that 

a certificate oftitleibr such vehicle has been previously issued to such 

owner by the Department. Provided, however, this shall not apply to 
,-. 

Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr., page 2 (O-3134) 

automobiles which mere purohased prior to January 1, 1936." 

Since the above section, by its own terms, does not become operative 

until January 1, 1942, the clear inference is that neither the Dspartment of 

Public Safety nor any of its agents shall require, prior to January 1, 1942, 

that application for and granting of an official certificate cftitle be made 

before the vehicle is registered. Fxther, it appears that Article 1436-l res that application for certificate of title bs made by the "onnor" in the 

county of his domicile and section 4 of said artiole defines the term "owner* 

as fcllcwsr 

"The term 'comer' includes any person, firm, association, or ocnpcraticn other 

than a manufacturer, importer, distributor, or dealer claiming title to, or having a right to operate pursuant to R lien on a motor vehicle after the first 

sale as herein defined, except the federal government and any of its agencies, 

and the State of Texas, and any governmental subdivision or agenty thereof not 

required by law to register or lioense motor whioles owned or used thereby 

in this State." 

Frcm the provisions above referred to it is clear that the requiranents 

of Article 6675a, Vernon's Revised civil Statutes, the registration law, and of 

Article 1436-1, the certificate cftitle act, not only are act aprallel but 

bear no similarity whatever. Furthermore, it appears that by the specific tenas 

of Article 1436-1, a tax collector is prohibited from requiring that application 

for oertificate of title be made before registration of motor vehicles, up to 

January 1, 1942. After January 1, 1942, a tax collector should require that 

certificate of title be ussed upon a vehicle before it is registered, unless 

that vehicle was purchased prior to January 1, 1936, but he cannot require that 

certificate cftitlebe issued in the same ocunty in which the vehicle is sought 

to be registered. The procedure followed by the tax colleotor of Rusk County is 

proper and complies with both the registration laws and the oertificate of title 

1RW. Depending upon the fact situation existent at the time, motor vehicle may 

bo registered in the county of the domicile of the holder of legal title or in 

the county of domicile of the person in legal possession or legal control of the 

vehicles. 

It is therefore the opinion of this department that prior to January 1, 

1942, tax oclleotcrs should register new motor vehicles without requiring the 

production of a manufacturer's certificate and application for certificate of 

title. It is further the opinion of this department that, dependent uponthe 

fact situation, motor vehicies may 

for certificate of title issued in 

RCsdbregw 

Enclosure 

4PPROVED FEB 21, 1941 

/d GERALD C. MAEN 

A!ITOBBEY GEEEP-ALOFTEXAS 

be registered in one county and appiicaticn 

either the same county or in another county. 

Yours verytruly 

AT'IOREEYGEEER4LOFTEXAS 

By /s/Ross Carltcn 

Approved Ross Carltcn 

Opinion Committee Assistant 

By B W B Chairman