Hon. Clifford 5. Roe Opinion No. O-6885 

County Attorney 

Panola County 

Carthage, Texas 

Rer Registration of out of State 

passenger automobiles in Texas. 

Dear Sir: 

We quote the following material parts of your letter 

of October 19, 1945, requesting an opikion of this department: 

I’. . . We are located near the Louisiana 

state line and license plates are much cheaper 

in Louisiana. Also many new people are coming 

to Carthage from various places due to the gas 

boom here. As a consequence, there are numerous 

out of state license plates seen daily, most of 

them however, are Louisiana license plates. 

*Some of the new people work here and stay 

at Carthage during the week and go to Louisiana 

on the week end or on occasional trips while 

others have moved in and brought their families 

with them. However, when most of these people 

are questioned, they say that they are not a 

resident of Texas and that they are only working 

here temporary, however many of these people 

have lived here for months and are wearing out 

our roads and bridges, but do not license their 

cars in Texas. . . . 

“If possible, I would like to know the following que st ions. 

“(1). When a person moves his family to 

Panola, County, how long does he have before 

required to register in Texas? 

“(2). If a man lives in Panola County Texas 

the greater portion of the time working and his 

family resides out of the state, does he have to 
Honorable Clifford 3. Roe, page 2 :* ': 

"(3). If a man works for a company who, 

owns leases an&property in Panola County, Texas, 

but does not have their main office in the state 

and said employee drives a Company car registered 

in Louisiana and goes back and forth at night, 

does this car have to be registered in Texas?" 

Article 6675a-2, Vernon's Annotated Statutes, in 

part provides: 

"Every owner of a motor vehicle, trailer 

or semi-trailer used or to be used upon the public highways of this State shall apply each year 

to the State Highway Department through the County 

Tax Collector of the county in which he resides 

for the registration of each such vehicle owned 

or controlled by him for the ensuing or current 

calendar year or unexpired portion thereof; e . *' 

'Article 827b of the Penal Code of Texas, comprising 

six sections; pertains to non-resident registration of motor 

vehicles registered in states outside of Texas. The material 

sections or portions thereof provide: 

"'Motor Vehicle' means every vehicle as 

herein defined which is self-propelled. 

"'Passengar Car' means any motor vehicle 

other than a motorcycle or a bus as defined in 

this Act designed or used primarily for the 

transportation of persons. 

" 'Owner t means any person who holds a 

legal title of a motor vehicle or who has the 

legal right of possession thereof or the legal 

rl.ght of control of said vehicle. 

"'Occasional Trip' means not to exceed 

five trips into this State during any calendar 

month nor to exceed five days on any one trip. 

"'Non-resident' means every resident of a 

state or country other than the State of Texas 

whose sojourn in this State, or whose occupation, 

or place of abode, or business in this State, If 

any, covers a total period of not more than one 

hundred and twenty~days in the calendar year. 
. 

Honorable Clifford 3. Roe, page 3 

“Sec. 2. A non-resident owner of a motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer which has been 

duly registered for the current year in the State 

or country of which the owner is a resident and 

in accordance with the laws thereof, may, in lieu 

of registering such vehicle as otherwise required 

by law, apply to 3$a: State Highway Department 

through a County Tax Collector for the registration thereof as provided by law, except that the 

privileges granted as otherwise provided for in 

this Act shall not apply to any motor vehicle, 

trailer, or semi-trailer operated within this 

State for the transportation of persons or property for compensation or hire. . . . 

“Sec. 3. The non-resident owner or operator 

of any passengar car shall within twenty-five days 

after commencing to operate such vehicle, or oausing or permitting it to be operated within this 

State apply ,to the Department, through any County 

Tax Collector, for the temporary registration 

thereof upon the appropriate official form stating 

therein the name and home address of the owner and 

the temporary address, if any, of the owner or 

operator while within this State, . . . 

"Sec. 4. The County Tax Collector shall file 

each application received , and issue to the owner 

a temporary registration certificate of distinotive 

form to be furnished by the Department containing 

the date it is issued, a brief description of the 

vehicle and a statement that the owner has procured 

temporary registration of such vehicle as a nonresident. Said certificate shall entitle the 

owner or operator of said vehicle to operate It In 

this State for a period not exceeding one hundred 

and twenty days from date of issuance of said 

certlfiaate. 

"Sec. 5. f . . Nothing in this Act shall prevent 

a non-resident owner of a motor vehicle from operating 

at will such vehicle in this State for the sole purpose of marketing farm products raised exclusively 

by him, nor a resident of an adjoining State or country from operating a privately owned and duly registere, vehicle, not operated for hire in this State 

at v P 11, for the purpose of going to and from his 

place of>egtiIar-employment and the making of trips 

for the purpose of purchasing goods, wares and 
. , 

Honorable Clifford S. Roe, page 4 

merchandise. And provided, further, that any 

non-resident owner of a privately owned motor 

vehicle may be permitted to make an occasional 

trip into this State wifh such vehicle under 

the privileges of this Aat without obtaining 

such temporary registration certificate. Any 

person violating any provision of this Section 

shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; and 

upon conviation thereof shall be fined in any 

sum not exceeding Twenty-five ($25.00) Dollars. 

"sec. 6. If any person shall operate any 

such vehiole or any owner thereof shall operate 

or permit to be operated, any such vehicle withln 

this State for a period of more than twenty-five 

days without applying for the temporary registration theP@~,as herein prescribed, unless otherwiae provided for in this Act, he shall be Ueemed 

guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon convlotion, 

shall be fined in any 8um not exceeding Twenty-five 

($25 .OO) l?ollara e If any person shall operate any 

such vehiole or if any owner thereof shall operate 

or permit to be operated any such vehicle within 

this State after the expiration date of any certificate issued for such vehicle under the provlslons of this Act withoat registering the vehiole 

under the laws governing the registration of the 

vehicles by the resident8 of this State or without 

having display-e% thereon license number plates duly~ 

assigned therefor under the provisions of said laws, 

he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon 

conviction, shall be fined in any sum not exceeding 

Twenty-five ($25.00) Dollars." 

We find no conflict in the statutes to which you refer 

in our oonsideration of your request. We cannot, however, answer 

your questions categorically, since eaoh involves questions of 

both~ law and fact. From the faots presented, we must assume that 

you are eonoerned primarily with Texas registration by such passenger car "owners" 

under Section 4. 

other than temporary registration as ErovideSf 

We likewise assume that all of such owners 

maintain their domicile or legal residence in the adjoining State 

of Louisiana. 

In our Opinion No. O-1023 approved July 10, 1939, we 

held that the term "resides.*I" for registration purposes, as used 

in Article 6675a-2, supra, means legal residence with this statute 

fixing the situ8 for registration purposes. 

The above quoted pro+isions ~of Article 827b of the Penal 

Code are applicable to the owners of such foreign registered motor 
Honorable Clifford S. Roe, page 5 

vehicles. Such owners under the provisions of Section 3 have 

twenty-five days before they are required to take out a temporary registration certificate provided for under Section 4. 

In our Opinion No. 0-981 approved August 9, 1939, and 

in Opinion No. O-1043 approved July 8, 1939, we held in effect 

that in the event such non-reaident owner desires to remain 

In this State for a longer period than the additional 120 days 

authorized by such temporary permit, it la necessary for his 

vehicle to be duly registered in the State of Texas. In construing the statutes above referred to, we also held in Opinion 

No. O-2050 approved in limited conference March 18, 1940, that 

the definition of "non-resident" above quoted, controls and 

such owner is considered a "resident" for registration purposes 

of the county where he remains In Texas exceeding the 120 day 

period during any calendar year. 

The above quoted provisions of Section 5, Article 82711, 

do not require such motor vehicles, assuming they are duly 

registered in the State of Louisiana, to be registered where 

they meet the requirements of that section. 

In answer to your questions , under the facts stated and 

assumed herein, it is our opinion that such "owners" of passenger 

cars defined In Art, 82711 of the Penal Code and duly registered 

in an adjoining State have twenty-five days before they are required to register in Panola County for a temporary registration 

certificate. If the car "owner", legally in Texas under such 

temporary registration certificate, remains in Texas longer than 

the total period of 120 days in the calendar year, he is, at the 

end of such period, residing in a county of this State for reg-~ 

lstratlonpurposes and such owner's vehicle 1s subject to registration in accordance with Art. 6675a-2, V.A.C.S. The passenger 

car of such "owner" residin 

quirements of Sec. 5, Art. 8 

in Louisiana, which meets the re271, of the penal Code of being operated for the purpose of going to and from the owner's place of 

regular employment In Texas, is not required to be registered 

during such statutory defined operation. 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

WmK~LJort 

APPROVED NOV. 7, 1945 

!Tis:%ss%Y 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

By; /s/Urn. J. R. King 

- Assistant. 

APPROVED 

Opinion Committee