North Carolina § 105-449 - 47. Licensure of vehicles.

§ 105-449. 47. Licensure of vehicles.

Requirement. - A motor carrier may not operate or cause to be operated in this State a qualified motor vehicle unless both the motor carrier and at least one qualified motor vehicle are licensed as provided in this subsection. This subsection applies to a motor carrier that operates a recreational vehicle that is used in connection with any business endeavor. A motor carrier that is subject to the International Fuel Tax Agreement must be licensed with the motor carrier's base state jurisdiction. A motor carrier that is not subject to the International Fuel Tax Agreement must be licensed with the Secretary for purposes of the tax imposed by this Article. License and Decal. - When the Secretary licenses a motor carrier, the Secretary must issue a license for the motor carrier and a set of decals for each qualified motor vehicle. A motor carrier must keep records of decals issued to it and must be able to account for all decals it receives from the Secretary. Licenses and decals issued by the Secretary are for a calendar year. All decals issued by the Secretary remain the property of the State. The Secretary may revoke a license or a decal when a motor carrier fails to comply with this Article or Article 36C or 36D of this Subchapter. Exemption. - This section does not apply to the operation of a qualified motor vehicle that is licensed in another state and is operated temporarily in this State by a public utility, a governmental or cooperative provider of utility services, or a contractor for one of these entities for the purpose of restoring utility services in an emergency outage. A motor carrier must carry a copy of its license in each motor vehicle operated by the motor carrier when the vehicle is in this State. Unless operating under a temporary permit under G.S. 105-449.49 , a motor vehicle must clearly display one decal on each side of the vehicle at all times. A decal must be affixed to the qualified motor vehicle for which it was issued in the place and manner designated by the authority that issued it. History (1955, c. 823, s. 11; 1973, c. 746, s. 193; 1983, c. 713, s. 56; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 937, s. 20; 1989, c. 692, s. 6.2; 1991, c. 487, s. 6; 1995, c. 50, s. 5; c. 390, s. 18; 1999-337, s. 41; 2002-108, s. 3; 2004-170, s. 24; 2005-435, s. 6; 2008-134, s. 19; 2014-3, s. 9.5(c); 2017-204, s. 4.4(c); 2020-58, s. 2.10(a).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2017-204, s. 4.9, provides in part: "The remainder of this part is effective when it becomes law [August 11, 2017] and applies to requests for review filed on or after that date and to requests for review pending on that date for which the Department reissues a request for additional information, allows the taxpayer time to respond by the requested response date, and provides notification to the taxpayer that failure to timely respond to the request will result in the request for review being subject to the provisions of G.S. 105-241.13 A." Session Laws 2017-204, s. 7.1, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2002-108, s. 3, effective January 1, 2003, redesignated the former second and third paragraphs of subsection (a) as present subsection (a1); and in subsection (a1), inserted "Registration and Identification Marker" at the beginning, and inserted the second sentence. Session Laws 2004-170, s. 24, effective August 2, 2004, deleted the former fourth sentence which read: "The Secretary may renew a registration or an identification marker without issuing a new registration or identification marker." Session Laws 2005-435, s. 6, effective September 27, 2005, in subsection (a1), deleted "withhold or" preceding "revoke a registration" and substituted "Article" for "Article, former Article 36 or 36A of this Subchapter" in the last sentence. Session Laws 2008-134, s. 19, effective January 1, 2009, rewrote the section. Session Laws 2014-3, s. 9.5(c), effective May 29, 2014, rewrote subsection (a). Session Laws 2017-204, s. 4.4(c), effective August 11, 2017, substituted "Licensure" for "Registration" or similar language, in the section heading and throughout the section; substituted "used in connection with any business endeavor" for "considered a qualified motor vehicle" in the second sentence of subsection (a); and deleted "the motor carrier registers" following "motor vehicle" in the first sentence of subsection (a1). For applicability, see editor's note. Session Laws 2020-58, s. 2.10(a), effective June 30, 2020, added "Unless operating under a temporary permit under G.S. 105-449.49 " at the beginning of the second sentence in the second paragraph of subsection (a1).