Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 27 - TAXATION AND FINANCE (§§ 27-1-1 — 27-117-15) › Chapter 19 - MOTOR VEHICLE PRIVILEGE AND EXCISE TAXES (§§ 27-19-1 — 27-19-NEW) › Article 5 - MERCHANDISE VENDORS' MILEAGE TAX [Repealed] (§§ 27-19-501 — 27-19-NEW) › Section 27-19-NEW - [Newly enacted section not yet numbered] [Effective 1/1/2025] [Registration of rental fleet of motor vehicles]

(1)
A corporation or other legal entity may register its rental fleet on an annual basis so that the registration of all motor vehicles in the fleet expires in the anniversary month established by the commissioner for rental fleets as provided for in Section
27-19-63
. A corporation or other legal entity desiring to register a rental fleet shall apply for such registration with the department. The application shall contain information necessary for the department to determine whether the group of motor vehicles for which registration is sought meets the definition of the term "rental fleet" and shall provide a list of all motor vehicles to be included in the fleet. Upon making an application to the department under this section, the applicant shall pay to the department a filing fee of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
(2)
Upon approval of the application for rental fleet registration and payment of all privilege taxes and fees on all motor vehicles in the fleet, the department or the tax collector shall issue a rental fleet registration card and license tag for each motor vehicle in the fleet. A rental fleet registration card must be carried in all fleet motor vehicles at all times and made available to any law enforcement officer on demand.
(3)
(a)
A motor vehicle added to a rental fleet during the registration year for fleets must be registered under the provisions of this section. To remove a motor vehicle from a rental fleet, the fleet registration card and the fleet license tag must be removed from the motor vehicle and, except as otherwise provided in this subsection, surrendered to the department or the tax collector, as the case may be. If the registration card or license tag is lost or stolen, the person registering the fleet shall submit a sworn statement giving the circumstances for the inability to surrender the card. Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b) of this subsection, the fleet license tag removed from a motor vehicle that is removed from a rental fleet may be transferred to and used on another motor vehicle that is added to the fleet during the registration year to replace the removed motor vehicle.
(b)
If a motor vehicle registered in a fleet is removed from the fleet, the rental fleet license tag removed from the motor vehicle may be transferred to and used on another motor vehicle that is added to the fleet during the registration year to replace the removed motor vehicle if:
(i)
the license tag is of the same tag series and vehicle type as that of a new license tag that would be required for the replacement motor vehicle,
(ii)
the county in which the license tag was issued is the same as the county in which the replacement motor vehicle is to be registered,
(iii)
the replacement motor vehicle is properly titled under Section
63-21-9
and
(iv)
the corporation or other legal entity requesting to transfer the license tag pays a transfer fee in the amount of Five Dollars ($5.00) to be distributed to the department or tax collector, as the case may be. Before transferring a rental fleet license tag under this subsection, a company owning or operating a rental fleet must notify the department or tax collector, as the case may be, of its request to transfer the license tag to another motor vehicle registered in the fleet during the registration year and provide information on a form prescribed by the department necessary to identify the motor vehicle that was removed from a fleet and from which the license tag was removed and to identify the replacement motor vehicle in the fleet for which the company requests to have the license tag transferred and used. A license tag may not be transferred to a replacement motor vehicle and the motor vehicle may not be operated with the license tag on the roads of this state until the department's motor vehicle registration system has been updated to indicate that the transferred license tag is assigned to and identified with the replacement motor vehicle in the rental fleet.
Added by Laws, 2024, ch. 409, HB 1286,§ 1, eff. 1/1/2025.