Colorado § 42-3-115 - Registration upon transfer - rules - definitions - repeal.

§ 42-3-115. Registration upon transfer - rules - definitions - repeal.

(1) Repealed.

(2) (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (2), the transferee, before operating or permitting the operation of a motor vehicle upon a highway, shall register the vehicle.

(b) A transferee may operate a motor vehicle on the highway before registering it if:

(I) The vehicle is exempt from registration pursuant to section 42-3-103 or 42-3-104; or

(II) The vehicle has been temporarily registered pursuant to section 42-3-203 (3); or

(III) (A) The transferee has purchased the motor vehicle within the last thirty-six hours from a person who is not a motor vehicle dealer under part 1 of article 20 of title 44;

(B) The vehicle was purchased either on a Saturday, on a Sunday, on a legal holiday, or between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m.;

(C) The vehicle is being driven from the place where the transferor stored the vehicle to the place where the transferee intends to store the vehicle;

(D) The owner possesses, in the vehicle, a bill of sale that shows the time and date of sale and that is signed by both the buyer and seller; and

(E) The owner possesses, in the vehicle, proof of insurance as required by section 42-4-1409.

(3) If a title to or interest in a motor vehicle is transferred by operation of law, as upon inheritance, devise, or bequest, order in bankruptcy of insolvency, execution, sale, repossession upon default in performing the terms of a lease or executory sales contract, chattel mortgage, secured transaction, or otherwise, the registration thereof shall expire, and the vehicle shall not be operated upon the highways unless the vehicle is registered; except that a person repossessing the vehicle pursuant to rights granted by a mortgage or applicable law may operate the vehicle upon the highways from the place of repossession to the vehicle's new place of storage, either upon displaying upon such vehicle the number plates issued to the former owner or without displaying number plates but under a written permit obtained from the department or the police authorities with jurisdiction over such highways and upon displaying upon such vehicle a placard bearing the name and address of the person authorizing and directing such movement, plainly readable from a distance of one hundred feet during daylight.

(4) The owner of a motor vehicle who has made a bona fide sale or transfer of such owner's title or interest and who has delivered possession of such vehicle and the certificate of title, properly endorsed, to the purchaser or transferee shall not be liable for any damages thereafter resulting from negligent operation of such vehicle by another.

(5) (a) [Editor's note: This version of subsection (5)(a) is effective until January 1, 2028.] Except as otherwise provided in subsections (5)(b), (5)(c), and (5)(d) of this section, on and after January 1, 2022, whenever the owner of a motor vehicle that is Class C personal property, as described in section 42-3-106 (2)(c), transfers or assigns the owner's title or interest, the number plates issued to the owner for the vehicle expire and shall not be transferred by the department to any other motor vehicle. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (5)(d) of this section, whenever the owner of a motor vehicle that is Class B personal property, as described in section 42-3-106 (2)(b); Class D personal property, as described in section 42-3-106 (2)(d); or Class F personal property, as described in section 42-3-106 (2)(e), transfers or assigns the owner's title or interest, the number plates issued to the owner for the vehicle expire and shall not be transferred by the department to any other motor vehicle. An owner of a motor vehicle whose number plates expire due to the operation of this subsection (5)(a) who wishes to retain the same combination of letters or numbers displayed on the expired license plates retains the priority right to use the combination and may, after surrendering the expired plates to the department, apply for personalized license plates with the combination in the manner specified in section 42-3-211 when registering another motor vehicle.

(5) (a) [Editor's note: This version of subsection (5)(a) is effective January 1, 2028.] Upon request of the owner of a motor vehicle, the department may transfer a number plate from one motor vehicle to another motor vehicle if at least one person is listed as an owner on the certificate of title for each motor vehicle.

(b) Subsection (5)(a) of this section does not apply to the transfer or assignment of an owner's title or interest in Class B, Class C, and Class D personal property that has number plates:

(I) That are personalized license plates issued in accordance with section 42-3-211, distinctive special license plates, group special license plates, or special alumni license plates issued in accordance with section 42-3-214; or

(II) That have a valuable registration number that has been reserved for use under the "Laura Hershey Disability Support Act", part 2 of article 88 of title 8.

(III) This subsection (5)(b) is repealed, effective January 1, 2028.

(c) In accordance with section 42-12-301 (6), subsection (5)(a) of this section does not apply to the transfer or assignment of an owner's title or interest in Class C personal property that is a horseless carriage.

(d) (I) Subsection (5)(a) of this section does not apply to number plates issued to a fleet operator that are easily legible and in good condition, and a fleet operator may transfer such number plates from one fleet vehicle to another when the fleet operator transfers or assigns the owner's title or interest in the fleet vehicle from which the number plates are being transferred.

(II) This subsection (5)(d) is repealed, effective January 1, 2028.

Source: L. 2005: (2) amended, p. 800, § 1, effective July 1; entire article amended with relocations, p. 1098, § 2, effective August 8. L. 2006: (2)(b)(II) amended, p. 1510, § 68, effective June 1. L. 2017: (2)(b)(III)(A) amended, (SB 17-240), ch. 395, p. 2065, § 49, effective July 1. L. 2018: (2)(b)(III)(A) amended, (SB 18-030), ch. 7, p. 141, § 15, effective October 1. L. 2019: (1) repealed, (HB 19-1138), ch. 231, p. 2319, § 2, effective January 1, 2020. L. 2021: (5) added, (SB 21-069), ch. 419, p. 2780, § 3, effective September 7. L. 2022: (5)(a) and (5)(b) amended, (HB 22-1388), ch. 475, p. 3461, § 4, effective January 1, 2023. L. 2023: (5)(a) amended and (5)(d) added, (HB 23-1022), ch. 105, p. 379, § 1, effective January 1, 2024. L. 2024: (5)(b)(II) amended, (HB 24-1360), ch. 324, p. 2167, § 12, effective July 1. L. 2026: (5)(a) amended, (HB 26-1053), ch. 347, p. 2107, § 1, effective January 1, 2028; (5)(b)(III) and (5)(d)(II) added by revision, (HB 26-1053), ch. 347, pp. 2107, 2110, §§ 1, 8.

Editor's note: (1) This section is similar to former § 42-3-126 as it existed prior to 2005, and portions of the former § 42-3-115 were relocated to § 42-3-212.

(2) Subsection (2) was originally numbered as § 42-3-126 (2), and the amendments to it in Senate Bill 05-014 were harmonized with § 42-3-115 (2) as it appears in House Bill 05-1107.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 21-069, see section 1 of chapter 419, Session Laws of Colorado 2021. For the legislative declaration in HB 24-1360, see section 1 of chapter 324, Session Laws of Colorado 2024.

ANNOTATION

Annotator's note. Since § 42-3-115 is similar to § 42-3-126 as it existed prior to the 2005 amendment to article 3 of title 42, which resulted in the relocation of provisions, relevant cases construing former provisions similar to that section have been included in the annotations to this section.

The registration of vehicles is primarily a taxing scheme whereby the owner of a vehicle is assessed an annual fee in lieu of an ad valorem tax on his vehicle. Sifuentes v. Weed, 186 Colo. 109, 525 P.2d 1157 (1974).

Taxing scheme applies to vehicles to be operated on Colorado highways. The taxing scheme applies, with some exceptions, to all vehicles which are owned by Colorado residents and are primarily designed to be operated on Colorado highways. Sifuentes v. Weed, 186 Colo. 109, 525 P.2d 1157 (1974).

If the vehicle is not to be operated on Colorado highways, the owner is not required to pay the ownership tax. Sifuentes v. Weed, 186 Colo. 109, 525 P.2d 1157 (1974).

The law is designed to be equitable. Sifuentes v. Weed, 186 Colo. 109, 525 P.2d 1157 (1974).

The taxing scheme is equitably tailored to tax those who have an opportunity to operate a vehicle on Colorado highways. Sifuentes v. Weed, 186 Colo. 109, 525 P.2d 1157 (1974).

Plaintiff not deprived of property right by enforcement of law. Sifuentes v. Weed, 186 Colo. 109, 525 P.2d 1157 (1974).

How this section implements taxing scheme. To implement the taxing scheme, this section provides for a pro rata credit of the registration tax when an owner of a registered vehicle transfers his interest in the vehicle. This transfer can be by operation of law. Sifuentes v. Weed, 186 Colo. 109, 525 P.2d 1157 (1974).

"Registered in the name of" should be construed to have the meaning accorded it by the applicable state law, especially where the phrase is used on an insurance company form given multi-state distribution. Waggoner v. Wilson, 31 Colo. App. 518, 507 P.2d 482 (1972).