Ronorable,R. C. glagle, Jr.
Criminal histrict Attorney
Grayson County
Sherman, Texas
Dear Sir: Opinion No., 0-2065-A
Re: Registration of motor
vehicles brought into
State by non-residents
for the purpose of sale
or tyade.
We have had before us for reconsideration our
Opinion No. 0-2065, approved April 1, 1940, .dfrected to
You in reply to your letterof iltarch5, 3.940.~Your let-
-ter of requestread in part as ~follows:
“I ::&&I
/anx,ionS~'
'to have 'you submit ‘~OUI’
opinion on tirticle 14134, Chapter ~8, Title
17 of the Penal Code. of .Texas, 192.5,as
amended by Chapter 77, ,Acta of th8 First
Called Ge.sSion of the Fortieth Legislature.
This article ~presents a serious situation
.to the.Tax Collector of this County. Be-
ing a'bordeallne county, numberous automo-"
biles are brought into Grayson County,
sold, and many times taken again out of
the state for Pe-Sale. We have an automo-
bile dealer .t&,thec$?~&&tythat operate@
agencies in (&J$homa. Whenthis concern
makes a:trade for: an .Oklahoma car here in
Texas and then immediately removes the car
out of this St6’te for m-sale in Oklahoma,
must the car in question be registered in,
Texas? On the other hand, if an Oklahoma car
is bought in Texas, is the endorsed Certlfi-
cate of Title from Oklahoma, alone, sufficient
evidence of sale and transfer of ownership?
If the T 3QrSed
:',., certificate is sufficient,
may the ax Collector legally acknowledge
. .
Honorable R. C. Slagle, Jr., page 2 0-2065~
change of ownership by registering automo-
bile in buyer's name without the prescribed
bill of sale properly executed.5
Your request presents two questions:
First, whether or not Texas registration of a car
is necess.ary 5heiB p,.Texas automobile dealer who also operates
agencies in Ohahoma makes a trade for an bklshoma 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 its non-resident
owner a
Second, whether or not an endorsed Oklahoma Certi-
ficate 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 of Texas
registration of the automobile in the buyer's name withbut
the necessity of a properly executed bill of sale.
Article 667sa-2, Vernon's Annotated ~dvil Statutes,
provides for the registration of each motor vehicle used or
to be ussd upon the public highways of this State. Applica-
tion for registration is to be made to the County Tax Col-
lector of the County.in which the applicant resides. To this
requirement of r#$$5tration are appended certainexdeptions.
.One such exemption-from registration is that owners of certain
farm tractors, farm trailers, farmsemi-trailers, and imple-
ments of husbandry, operated or moved temtiorarily upon .the
highways are not required to register such vehicles. Another
exemptionfrom registration m,ay'be found in Article 827b,
Vernon's Annotated Renal Code, which contains provisions with
respect to the registration of motor vehicles owned by non-
residents and operated upon the highways of this State. Sec-
tion 5 of this Article~oontains this significant sentence:
"And provided, further, that any non-
resident owner of a privately owned motcr
vehicle may be permitted to make an occasional
tr~ip into this State with suoh vehicle under
the privileges of this Act without obtaiging
such temporary registration certificate.
An "occasional trip' is defined in Section 1 of
Article 827b to mesn "not to exceed five trips into this
Honorable R. C. “lagle, Jr., page.3 0- 206.5~
state during py calender month, nor to’ exceed five days’ on
any one trip. In other words, regardless of purpose, a
non-resident of this State may make an “occasional trip”
into this State in hismotor vehicle without obtaining Tex-
as registration of such vehicle, Re .m~y..,lawfully bring his
car into the, State for the purpodd af ‘S’alS while on an aoc-
casianal trip,!’ without the necessity-of registgring it in
thisstate. yee &merican Lloyds of Dallas v. crengo (CCA,
19261,282.5. W. 9.57 writ tiefused. ae call to your atten-
tion, 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
a motor 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.
We have found no exeplptlons applicable to a re~sident
automobile dealer or his agents driving a used 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,,he au omobile must be re istered in
this State. Article 667Sa-l-15, t ernonts Annotated f 1~5.1 gtatu-
tes; 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 a properly executed
bill of sale. In this connection you, call our attention to
Articles 1434 and 1435 of the Penal Code, vinich have required
the execution of a bill of sale by the transferor tc the trans-
feree 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. Con-
sequently, we must lbok to the Certificate of Title Act
and other pertinent statutes.
Section 60 of the Certificate of Title Act, Ar-
ticle 1436-1, Vernon’s Annotated Penal Code, reads as fol-
lows :
“The’ movieions of this Act sha’ll
awlv to motor vehicles not reauired ‘to be
tered OF licensed 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 re-
quired under this Act to procure a certlfi-
cate 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 when being
sold to the Texas dealer “required to be registered or licensed?”
We have 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 27 haa no applioatlon. This aeo-
tion 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 n tho ‘Oortifioate of Tltlo
Aot. ICa bslievo the Certifloote of i! itle Aot’r definition of
an “importer,” nrmely, ‘
Iany person rxoept a manufacturer, who
brings any wed motor vehftole into this State for the purpose
of sale within this &ate is more nearly applicable to the non-
resident 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 we believe Article 667.5a-3, Vernon’s Anno-
tated Civil Statutes, is applicable and expressly covers
your second question. This Article provides in part as fol-
lows :
“4t 4t Q. It is expressly provided that the
owner OF a vehicle 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 trans-
fer receipts, If any, issued for the registra-
tion 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 ap-
plication for the renewal of the registration of
the vehicle, provided said receipt or receipts shall
be accepted by the County Tax Collector as an ap-
plication 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 ve-
hicle. W4b 3k.”
Your seaand question is therefore anawered In aocord-
anco with Article 6675a-3 to the offoot that the new dea;ler-
owner of the used autbmoblle in queatlon should present to the
County !f!w Go~eotor upon making rpplioatian for Texas regiatra-
tion 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 OS aale for the automobil-a in @es-
tian will not be neodsaary pravldad the foreign license and
. . .
Honorable R. C. Slagle, Jr., page 6 0-2065~
transfer receipts and such other evidence the appl ic ant
may produce show him to be the rightful owner of the auto-
mobile.
Yours very truly
ATTORNEYGENDRALOF TEXAS
:
qr '~ James D. Smullen
Assistant
JDS:RS--pam
APPROVEDFEB 3, 1941
CIROVERSELLERS
FIRST ASSISTANT
ATTORNEYCIENERAL
APPROVEDOPINION
BY BWB, CHAIRMAN