§ 3-402 — Vehicles subject to registration; exceptions

A. Exemptions and Policy. Every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer and pole trailer when driven or moved upon a highway shall be subject to the registration and certificate of title provisions of this Chapter except: (1) Any such vehicle driven or moved upon a highway in conformance with the provisions of this Chapter relating to manufacturers, transporters, dealers, lienholders or nonresidents or under a temporary registration permit issued by the Secretary of State; (2) Any implement of husbandry whether of a type otherwise subject to registration hereunder or not which is only incidentally operated or moved upon a highway, which shall include a not-for-hire movement for the purpose of delivering farm commodities to a place of first processing or sale, or to a place of storage; (3) Any special mobile equipment as herein defined; (4) Any vehicle which is propelled exclusively by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires though not operated upon rails; (5) Any vehicle which is equipped and used exclusively as a pumper, ladder truck, rescue vehicle, searchlight truck, or other fire apparatus, but not a vehicle of a type which would otherwise be subject to registration as a vehicle of the first division; (6) Any vehicle which is owned and operated by the federal government and externally displays evidence of federal ownership. It is the policy of the State of Illinois to promote and encourage the fullest use of its highways and to enhance the flow of commerce thus contributing to the economic, agricultural, industrial and social growth and development of this State, by authorizing the Secretary of State to negotiate and enter into reciprocal or proportional agreements or arrangements with other States, or to issue declarations setting forth reciprocal exemptions, benefits and privileges with respect to vehicles operated interstate which are properly registered in this and other States, assuring nevertheless proper registration of vehicles in Illinois as may be required by this Code; (7) Any converter dolly or tow dolly which merely serves as substitute wheels for another legally licensed vehicle. A title may be issued on a voluntary basis to a tow dolly upon receipt of the manufacturer's certificate of origin or the bill of sale; (8) Any house trailer found to be an abandoned mobile home under the Abandoned Mobile Home Act; (9) Any vehicle that is not properly registered or does not have registration plates or digital registration plates issued to the owner or operator affixed thereto, or that does have registration plates or digital registration plates issued to the owner or operator affixed thereto but the plates are not appropriate for the weight of the vehicle, provided that this exemption shall apply only while the vehicle is being transported or operated by a towing service and has a third tow plate affixed to it; (10) Low-speed electric scooters. B. Reciprocity. Any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer need not be registered under this Code provided the same is operated interstate and in accordance with the following provisions and any rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto: (1) A nonresident owner, except as otherwise provided in this Section, owning any foreign registered vehicle of a type otherwise subject to registration hereunder, may operate or permit the operation of such vehicle within this State in interstate commerce without registering such vehicle in, or paying any fees to, this State subject to the condition that such vehicle at all times when operated in this State is operated pursuant to a reciprocity agreement, arrangement or declaration by this State, and further subject to the condition that such vehicle at all times when operated in this State is duly registered in, and displays upon it, a valid registration card and registration plate or plates or digital registration plate or plates issued for such vehicle in the place of residence of such owner and is issued and maintains in such vehicle a valid Illinois reciprocity permit as required by the Secretary of State, and provided like privileges are afforded to residents of this State by the State of residence of such owner. Every nonresident including any foreign corporation carrying on business within this State and owning and regularly operating in such business any motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer within this State in intrastate commerce, shall be required to register each such vehicle and pay the same fees therefor as is required with reference to like vehicles owned by residents of this State. (2) Any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer and pole trailer operated interstate need not be registered in this State, provided: (a) that the vehicle is properly registered in another State pursuant to law or to a reciprocity agreement, arrangement or declaration; or (b) that such vehicle is part of a fleet of vehicles owned or operated by the same person who registers such fleet of vehicles pro rata among the various States in which such fleet operates; or (c) that such vehicle is part of a fleet of vehicles, a portion of which are registered with the Secretary of State of Illinois in accordance with an agreement or arrangement concurred in by the Secretary of State of Illinois based on one or more of the following factors: ratio of miles in Illinois as against total miles in all jurisdictions; situs or base of a vehicle, or where it is principally garaged, or from whence it is principally dispatched or where the movements of such vehicle usually originate; situs of the residence of the owner or operator thereof, or of his principal office or offices, or of his places of business; the routes traversed and whether regular or irregular routes are traversed, and the jurisdictions traversed and served; and such other factors as may be deemed material by the Secretary and the motor vehicle administrators of the other jurisdictions involved in such apportionment. Such vehicles shall maintain therein any reciprocity permit which may be required by the Secretary of State pursuant to rules and regulations which the Secretary of State may promulgate in the administration of this Code, in the public interest. (3)(a) In order to effectuate the purposes of this Code, the Secretary of State of Illinois is empowered to negotiate and execute written reciprocal agreements or arrangements with the duly authorized representatives of other jurisdictions, including States, districts, territories and possessions of the United States, and foreign states, provinces, or countries, granting to owners or operators of vehicles duly registered or licensed in such other jurisdictions and for which evidence of compliance is supplied, benefits, privileges and exemption from the payment, wholly or partially, of any taxes, fees or other charges imposed with respect to the ownership or operation of such vehicles by the laws of this State except the tax imposed by the Motor Fuel Tax Law, approved March 25, 1929, as amended, and the tax imposed by the Use Tax Act, approved July 14, 1955, as amended. The Secretary of State may negotiate agreements or arrangements as are in the best interests of this State and the residents of this State pursuant to the policies expressed in this Section taking into consideration the reciprocal exemptions, benefits and privileges available and accruing to residents of this State and vehicles registered in this State. (b) Such reciprocal agreements or arrangements shall provide that vehicles duly registered or licensed in this State when operated upon the highways of such other jurisdictions, shall receive exemptions, benefits and privileges of a similar kind or to a similar degree as extended to vehicles from such jurisdictions in this State. (c) Such agreements or arrangements may also authorize the apportionment of registration or licensing of fleets of vehicles operated interstate, based on any or all of the following factors: ratio of miles in Illinois as against total miles in all jurisdictions; situs or base of a vehicle, or where it is principally garaged or from whence it is principally dispatched or where the movements of such vehicle usually originate; situs of the residence of the owner or operator thereof, or of his principal office or offices, or of his places of business; the routes traversed and whether regular or irregular routes are traversed, and the jurisdictions traversed and served; and such other factors as may be deemed material by the Secretary and the motor vehicle administrators of the other jurisdictions involved in such apportionment, and such vehicles shall likewise be entitled to reciprocal exemptions, benefits and privileges. (d) Such agreements or arrangements shall also provide that vehicles being operated in intrastate commerce in Illinois shall comply with the registration and licensing laws of this State, except that vehicles which are part of an apportioned fleet may conduct an intrastate operation incidental to their interstate operations. Any motor vehicle properly registered and qualified under any reciprocal agreement or arrangement under this Code and not having a situs or base within Illinois may complete the inbound movement of a trailer or semitrailer to an Illinois destination that was brought into Illinois by a motor vehicle also properly registered and qualified under this Code and not having a situs or base within Illinois, or may complete an outbound movement of a trailer or semitrailer to an out-of-state destination that was originated in Illinois by a motor vehicle also properly registered and qualified under this Code and not having a situs or base in Illinois, only if the operator thereof did not break bulk of the cargo laden in such inbound or outbound trailer or semitrailer. Adding or unloading intrastate cargo on such inbound or outbound trailer or semitrailer shall be deemed as breaking bulk. (e) Such agreements or arrangements may also provide for the determination of the proper State in which leased vehicles shall be registered based on the factors set out in subsection (c) above and for apportionment of registration of fleets of leased vehicles by the lessee or by the lessor who leases such vehicles to persons who are not fleet operators. (f) Such agreements or arrangements may also include reciprocal exemptions, benefits or privileges accruing under The Illinois Driver Licensing Law or The Driver License Compact. (4) The Secretary of State is further authorized to examine the laws and requirements of other jurisdictions, and, in the absence of a written agreement or arrangement, to issue a written declaration of the extent and nature of the exemptions, benefits and privileges accorded to vehicles of this State by such other jurisdictions, and the extent and nature of reciprocal exemptions, benefits and privileges thereby accorded by this State to the vehicles of such other jurisdictions. A declaration by the Secretary of State may include any, part or all reciprocal exemptions, benefits and privileges or provisions as may be included within an agreement or arrangement. (5) All agreements, arrangements, declarations and amendments thereto, shall be in writing and become effective when signed by the Secretary of State, and copies of all such documents shall be available to the public upon request. (6) The Secretary of State is further authorized to require the display by foreign registered trucks, truck-tractors and buses, entitled to reciprocal benefits, exemptions or privileges hereunder, a reciprocity permit for external display before any such reciprocal benefits, exemptions or privileges are granted. The Secretary of State shall provide suitable application forms for such permit and shall promulgate and publish reasonable rules and regulations for the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this Code including a provision for revocation of such permit as to any vehicle operated wilfully in violation of the terms of any reciprocal agreement, arrangement or declaration or in violation of the Illinois Motor Carrier of Property Law, as amended. (7)(a) Upon the suspension, revocation or denial of one or more of all reciprocal benefits, privileges and exemptions existing pursuant to the terms and provisions of this Code or by virtue of a reciprocal agreement or arrangement or declaration thereunder; or, upon the suspension, revocation or denial of a reciprocity permit; or, upon any action or inaction of the Secretary in the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this Code, any person, resident or nonresident, so aggrieved, may serve upon the Secretary, a petition in writing and under oath, setting forth the grievance of the petitioner, the grounds and basis for the relief sought, and all necessary facts and particulars, and request an administrative hearing thereon. Within 20 days, the Secretary shall set a hearing date as early as practical. The Secretary may, in his discretion, supply forms for such a petition. The Secretary may require the payment of a fee of not more than $50 for the filing of any petition, motion, or request for hearing conducted pursuant to this Section. These fees must be deposited into the Secretary of State DUI Administration Fund, a special fund that is hereby created in the State treasury, and, subject to appropriation and as directed by the Secretary of State, shall be used to fund the operation of the hearings department of the Office of the Secretary of State and for no other purpose. The Secretary shall establish by rule the amount and the procedures, terms, and conditions relating to these fees. (b) The Secretary may likewise, in his discretion and upon his own petition, order a hearing, when in his best judgment, any person is not entitled to the reciprocal benefits, privileges and exemptions existing pursuant to the terms and provisions of this Code or under a reciprocal agreement or arrangement or declaration thereunder or that a vehicle owned or operated by such person is improperly registered or licensed, or that an Illinois resident has improperly registered or licensed a vehicle in another jurisdiction for the purposes of violating or avoiding the registration laws of this State. (c) The Secretary shall notify a petitioner or any other person involved of such a hearing, by giving at least 10 days notice, in writing, by U.S. Mail, Registered or Certified, or by personal service, at the last known address of such petitioner or person, specifying the time and place of such hearing. Such hearing shall be held before the Secretary, or any person as he may designate, and unless the parties mutually agree to some other county in Illinois, the hearing shall be held in the County of Sangamon or the County of Cook. Appropriate records of the hearing shall be kept, and the Secretary shall issue or cause to be issued, his decision on the case, within 30 days after the close of such hearing or within 30 days after receipt of the transcript thereof, and a copy shall likewise be served or mailed to the petitioner or person involved. (d) The actions or inactions or determinations, or findings and decisions upon an administrative hearing, of the Secretary, shall be subject to judicial review in the Circuit Court of the County of Sangamon or the County of Cook, and the provisions of the Administrative Review Law, and all amendments and modifications thereof and rules adopted pursuant thereto, apply to and govern all such reviewable matters. Any reciprocal agreements or arrangements entered into by the Secretary of State or any declarations issued by the Secretary of State pursuant to any law in effect prior to the effective date of this Code are not hereby abrogated, and such shall continue in force and effect until amended pursuant to the provisions of this Code or expire pursuant to the terms or provisions thereof. C. Vehicles purchased out-of-state. A resident of this State who purchases a vehicle in another state and transports the vehicle to Illinois shall apply for registration and certificate of title as soon as practicable, but in no event more than 45 days after the purchase of the vehicle. If an Illinois motorist who purchased a vehicle from an out-of-state licensed dealer is unable to meet the 45-day deadline due to a delay in paperwork from the seller, that motorist may obtain an Illinois temporary registration plate with: (i) proof of purchase; (ii) proof of meeting the Illinois driver's license or identification card requirement; and (iii) proof that Illinois title and registration fees have been paid. If fees have not been paid, the motorist may pay the fees in order to obtain the temporary registration plate. The owner of such a vehicle shall display any temporary permit or registration issued in accordance with Section 3-407.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 103-209, eff. 1-1-24; 103-899, eff. 8-9-24; 104-417, eff. 8-15-25.)