(1) (a) Within sixty
days after purchase, every owner of a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or vehicle
that is primarily designed to be operated or drawn upon any highway of this state or
any owner of a trailer coach or of special mobile machinery whether or not it is
operated on the highways, shall register such vehicle with the department. A
person who violates this subsection (1) commits a class B traffic infraction.
(b) This subsection (1) does not apply to the following:
(I) A bicycle, electrical assisted bicycle, electric scooter, or other human-powered vehicle;
(II) Vehicles specifically exempted by section 42-3-104; and
(III) Any vehicle whose owner is permitted to operate it under provisions of
this article concerning lienholders, manufacturers, dealers, nonresidents, and fleet
owners.
(c) Repealed.
(2) An owner of a foreign vehicle operated within this state for the
transportation of persons or property for compensation or for the transportation of
merchandise shall register such vehicle and pay the same fees and tax required by
this article with reference to like vehicles. This provision shall not be construed to
require registration or reregistration in this state of any motor vehicle, truck, bus,
trailer, semitrailer, or trailer coach that is used in interstate commerce, but
registration or reregistration shall be required in accordance with or to the extent
that reciprocity exists between the state of Colorado and a foreign country or
another state, territory, or possession of the United States.
(3) Every nonresident person who operates a business within this state and
owns and operates in such business any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or trailer
coach within this state shall be required to register each such vehicle and pay the
same fees and tax therefor as are required with reference to like vehicles owned by
residents of this state. This provision shall not be construed to require registration
or reregistration in this state of any motor vehicle, trailer, or trailer coach that is
used in interstate commerce, but registration or reregistration shall be required in
accordance with or to the extent that reciprocity exists between the state of
Colorado and a foreign country or another state, territory, or possession of the
United States.
(4) (a) (I) Within ninety days after becoming a resident of Colorado, an owner
of a vehicle required to be registered by subsection (1) of this section shall register
the vehicle with the department, irrespective of the vehicle being registered within
another state or country.
(II) To register a vehicle that is or was previously registered within another
state or country, the owner must:
(A) Provide the department with documentation of the previous registration
that contains the dates of the previous registration or a bill of sale for any vehicle
not previously registered;
(B) Provide the department with evidence, described in subsection (4)(a)(III)
of this section, of the date that the owner became a resident of Colorado; and
(C) Pay, in addition to the taxes and fees to register the vehicle, the vehicle's
registration taxes and fees that are imposed in this article 3 and part 8 of article 4
of title 43, and that are prorated from the date the owner became a resident of
Colorado to the date the owner applied to register the vehicle, unless the vehicle is
Class A personal property or unless the owner registered the vehicle within ninety
days after becoming a resident as determined by the documents and evidence
provided under subsections (4)(a)(II)(A) and (4)(a)(II)(B) of this section. Prorated
taxes and fees are assessed for a full month for the month the owner became a
resident of Colorado and for the month the owner applied for registration and a full
month for each month between when the owner became a resident and when the
owner applied for registration.
(III) Evidence of Colorado residency may be a Colorado driver's license or
identification, property tax receipt, utility bill indicating the utility service start
date, lease agreement or mortgage statement, voter registration card, college
enrollment papers or student identification card, tax records, pay stubs or other
Colorado employer-issued documents, government or court-issued documents, or
other evidence or documents specified in rule. The department shall promulgate
rules specifying the documentation and evidence required to comply with
subsections (4)(a)(II)(A) and (4)(a)(II)(B) of this section.
(IV) A person who violates this subsection (4)(a) is subject to the penalties
provided in sections 42-6-139 and 43-4-804 (1)(d).
(b) Within forty-five days after the owner has returned to the United States,
the provisions of this title relative to the registration of motor vehicles and the
display of number plates shall not apply to motor vehicles registered with and
displaying plates issued by the armed forces of the United States in foreign
countries for vehicles owned by military personnel.
(c) (I) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection (4) and section 42-1-102 (62) and (81), a nonresident shall be exempt from registering a motor vehicle
owned by such person if the motor vehicle is a private passenger vehicle weighing
less than sixty-five hundred pounds and the person is:
(A) A nonresident, gainfully employed within the boundaries of this state,
who uses a motor vehicle in commuting daily from such person's home in another
state to and from such person's place of employment within this state; or
(B) A nonresident student who is enrolled in a full-time course of study at an
institution of higher education located within this state, if the motor vehicle owned
by such person displays a valid nonresident student identification tag issued by the
institution where the student is enrolled.
(II) Any person who is exempt from the provisions of this title concerning the
registration of a motor vehicle pursuant to this paragraph (c) shall comply with the
applicable provisions of the motor vehicle registration laws of such person's state
of residence.
(III) This paragraph (c) shall apply only if the state in which the owner resides
extends the same privileges to Colorado residents gainfully employed or enrolled in
an institution of higher education within the boundaries of that state.
(5) The provisions of this title 42 concerning the registration of vehicles and
the display of number plates or of other identification do not apply to manufactured
homes.