Request By:
Hon. T. Steven Bland
Hardin County Attorney
No. 46 Public Square
Post Office Box 834
Elizabethtown, Kentucky 42701
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; Joe Johnson, Assistant Attorney General
In your letter to this office dated March 16, 1984, you asked whether Kentucky used car dealers who sell used cars which have previously been registered in this state may issue temporary tags for fifteen (15) days while permanent certificates of title and registration plates are obtained from the county clerk's office. The answer is no.
As pointed out in your letter, KRS 186A.095 provides a fifteen (15) day grace period from the date the vehicle is purchased or from the date the vehicle is brought into the state until the owner applies for and obtains a certificate of registration and title and a license plate in his name. KRS 186A.110(1) provides that a motor vehicle dealer who sells a vehicle not previously registered in this state shall equip the vehicle with a temporary tag valid for fifteen (15) days from the date the vehicle is delivered to the purchaser.
There is no provision for equipping a motor vehicle which has been previously registered in Kentucky with a temporary tag. The only vehicle which qualifies for a temporary tag is one which has not previously been registered in Kentucky. Of course, even without temporary tags, the owner of a vehicle previously registered in Kentucky still enjoys the fifteen (15) day grace period.