§ 31-18-201 — Commercial vehicles; registration; exemptions

(a) As used in this article:
(i) "Instate miles" means the total number of miles
operated by a commercial vehicle or fleet of commercial vehicles
in Wyoming during the preceding year and in the case of Wyoming
based commercial fleet vehicles may include miles accrued by
fleet vehicles in jurisdictions that require no apportionment
and grant reciprocity;
(ii) "Preceding year" means a period of twelve (12)
consecutive months fixed by the commission which shall be within
the eighteen (18) months immediately preceding the commencement
of the registration year for which registration is sought;
(iii) "Reciprocity" means the exemption of a vehicle
from registration and payment of Wyoming registration fees;
(iv) "Registration year" means the calendar year;
(v) "Total miles" means the total number of miles
operated by a commercial vehicle or fleet of commercial vehicles
in all jurisdictions during the preceding year;
(vi) "Wyoming based commercial vehicle" means a
commercial vehicle:
(A) The owner of which maintains an established
place of business in Wyoming, the operational records of which
are maintained or readily available in Wyoming and mileage of
which is accrued in Wyoming; or
(B) Which is most frequently dispatched,
garaged, serviced, maintained, operated or otherwise controlled
from or in Wyoming.
(vii) "Commercial vehicle" means any vehicle or
vehicle combination used, designed or maintained for
transportation of persons for hire, compensation or profit, or
designed or used primarily for the transportation of property
for gain or profit and shall include, but not be limited to:
(A) A power unit having two (2) axles and a
gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight
exceeding twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds;
(B) A power unit having three (3) or more axles
regardless of weight; or
(C) Is used in combination when the weight of
such combination exceeds twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds of
gross vehicle weight.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by W.S. 31-18-202 and
subsections (h) and (j) of this section, every owner of a
commercial vehicle or fleet of commercial vehicles shall comply
with the requirements for certificates of title contained in
W.S. 31-2-101 through 31-2-105 and, for glider kit vehicles, the
additional requirements contained in W.S. 31-2-112, and register
and license the vehicle or fleet for operation in Wyoming in
accordance with the time requirements contained in W.S.
31-2-201(a)(i) and (ii) as follows:
(i) With the department if an owner of a commercial
vehicle or fleet of commercial vehicles which will be operated
in Wyoming and any other jurisdiction;
(ii) With the county treasurer of the county in which
the owner resides or in which the vehicle or fleet is based if a
commercial vehicle or fleet of commercial vehicles which will
not be proportionally registered for operation in Wyoming and
any other jurisdiction.
(c) Applications for registration of commercial vehicles
pursuant to this section shall contain the following information
and such other information as required by the department:
(i) If registering under paragraph (b)(i) of this
section:
(A) Instate miles during the preceding year, or
if none, an estimate of instate miles to be accrued by the
vehicle or fleet during the registration year;
(B) Total miles during the preceding year, or if
none, an estimate of total miles to be accrued by the vehicle or
fleet during the registration year;
(C) A description and identification of the
vehicle;
(D) Evidence of compliance with W.S. 31-2-101;
(E) Information required by W.S. 31-2-103;
(F) A declaration of the gross vehicle weight
for each commercial vehicle or combination of commercial
vehicles.
(ii) If registering under paragraph (b)(ii) of this
section, the information required by subparagraphs (c)(i)(C),
(D), (E) and (F) of this section. If the commercial vehicle is
under twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds gross vehicle weight
rating, application shall be made to the department of
transportation for the county treasurer to issue commercial
license plates.
(d) Applications made pursuant to paragraph (b)(i) of this
section shall be accompanied by an administrative fee of six
dollars ($6.00) for each motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer
to be registered and an additional fee to be computed as
follows:
(i) In the case of a Wyoming based commercial vehicle
or fleet, or a commercial vehicle or fleet based in a
jurisdiction permitting proportional registration of similar
Wyoming based commercial vehicles or fleets which will be
operated under intrastate for hire operating authority granted
by the department, except trailers, divide instate miles by
total miles and multiply times the county fee prescribed by W.S.
31-18-401(a)(i) and the state fee prescribed by W.S.
31-18-401(a)(ii), and an additional fee of fifteen dollars
($15.00) to the counties for each vehicle to be registered;
(ii) Except as otherwise provided by paragraph (iii)
of this subsection, in the case of a commercial vehicle or fleet
based in a jurisdiction permitting proportional registration of
similar Wyoming based commercial vehicles or fleets which will
not require intrastate for hire operating authority from the
department, divide instate miles by total miles and multiply
times the equalized highway use tax prescribed by W.S.
31-18-401(a)(iii) and the state fee prescribed by W.S.
31-18-401(a)(ii) for each vehicle to be registered;
(iii) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph
(ii) of this subsection and W.S. 31-18-401(a)(iii) an owner of a
commercial vehicle as defined in paragraph (ii) of this
subsection may file an application with the department prior to
January 1 of the year in which registration is due requesting
payment of the proportioned county fee in lieu of the equalized
highway use tax prescribed in W.S. 31-18-401(a)(iii). The
department shall authorize the taxpayer to pay the lesser of the
county registration fee prescribed in W.S. 31-18-401(a)(i) times
instate miles divided by total miles or the equalized highway
use tax if the department receives the information which is
necessary to calculate the county fee and the equalized highway
use tax prior to the time prescribed by this paragraph. The
department shall notify the taxpayer of the amount due under
this paragraph within thirty (30) days of the date the necessary
information is received. The taxpayer shall pay the amount due
as determined by the department pursuant to this paragraph prior
to April 1 of the year in which registration is due. Fees
collected pursuant to this paragraph shall be distributed to the
state highway fund.
(e) Every owner engaged in the business of renting utility
trailers shall register a number of trailers equal to the
average number of utility trailers rented in or through Wyoming
during the preceding year. Thereafter, all utility trailers
rented or leased by the owner and properly identified and
licensed in any jurisdiction may operate in Wyoming on an
interstate and intrastate basis. The owner shall submit
verifiable data to the department as to the average number of
trailers rented or operated in Wyoming during the preceding year
and such other information as may be required by the department.
All applicable fees shall be paid to and, if necessary, license
plates issued by the department.
(f) Repealed by Laws 2009, Ch. 128, § 4.
(g) Every owner engaged in the business of renting rental
trucks less than twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds gross
weight operated as part of an identifiable one-way fleet shall
register a number of rental trucks equal to instate miles
divided by total miles times the number of rental vehicles in
the fleet. Thereafter, all fleet rental trucks may operate in
Wyoming on an interstate and intrastate basis. The owner shall
submit verifiable data and pay applicable fees to the
department. The department shall issue evidence of registration
of the fleet.
(h) The department may enter into agreements relating to
proportional registration of commercial vehicles with
authorities of one (1) or more jurisdictions to facilitate
administration. Every agreement shall be in writing and filed in
the office of the secretary of state. Every agreement shall
contain a provision authorizing the department to cancel and
revoke the agreement with respect to Wyoming upon thirty (30)
days notice to other parties thereto. Agreements shall provide
for the submission of an application containing the information
required by subsection (c) of this section to the department in
the case of Wyoming based commercial vehicles and to the
department or an authorized agency in another jurisdiction, in
the case of non-Wyoming based commercial vehicles. As used in
this subsection "commercial vehicle" includes utility trailers,
rental vehicles and rental trucks.
(j) Agreements may also provide for the following:
(i) Full reciprocity for non-Wyoming based commercial
vehicles operated solely in interstate commerce of specified
types, or gross or unladen weights, in exchange for equivalent
reciprocity for Wyoming based commercial carriers;
(ii) Reciprocal audits of records of owners or
commercial vehicles by jurisdictions parties to the agreement;
(iii) A definition of "fleet" which varies from W.S.
31-1-101(a)(vi);
(iv) Such other matters which will facilitate the
administration of the agreement, including exchange of
information for audits and enforcement activity and collection
and disbursement of proportioned registration fees for other
jurisdictions in the case of Wyoming based commercial vehicles.
(k) Upon application and payment of fees as prescribed by
subsection (d) of this section, the department shall register
commercial vehicles and in the case of Wyoming based commercial
carriers issue distinctive Wyoming license plates. In the case
of non-Wyoming based commercial vehicles the department may
issue distinctive Wyoming license plates, distinctive stickers,
or other suitable visual identification devices in such form as
prescribed by the department which shall be affixed to the
vehicle as required by the department. The department may also
issue a registration card for each vehicle registered
identifying the vehicle which shall be carried in the vehicle at
all times. The department shall cancel, revoke, suspend or
refuse to issue the registrations provided by this section based
upon a finding from its records and prior experience that:
(i) The operation or equipment used renders the
highways unsafe;
(ii) Delinquent fees are due and payable to the
department; or
(iii) The permittee has not complied with or
continues to not comply with all laws and applicable rules and
regulations of this act or governing the operations of
interstate motor carriers as defined by law.
(m) Commercial vehicles or fleets registered as provided
by this section are fully licensed and registered in Wyoming for
any type of movement or operation excluding those instances in
which a grant of authority is required for intrastate movement
or operation in which case no vehicle shall be operated in
intrastate commerce unless the owner or operator has intrastate
authority or rights from the department.
(n) If the department determines that mileage records or
mileage estimates of any owner are not satisfactory for the
purpose of registration under this section, the department may
prescribe or permit an alternate method designed to present a
more accurate representation of the proportion of the preceding
year to be ascribed to the owner's commercial vehicle or fleet
in substitution for the quotient prescribed by subsection (d) of
this section. If the department determines that the quotient
used for the preceding registration year varies substantially
from the quotient submitted for the registration year under
application, the department may recompute the quotient for the
preceding registration year on the basis of information
contained in the application or from the applicant's records or
from such other information as it may have available to it and
charge such additional fees as may be required by the
redetermined quotient.
(o) Vehicles acquired by an owner after the commencement
of the registration year and subsequently added to a
proportionally registered fleet shall be proportionally
registered by applying the mileage percentage used in the
original application for the fleet for the registration period
to the fees otherwise due with respect to the vehicle for the
remainder of the registration year. This subsection does not
apply to any commercial vehicle operated by the owner as a
lessee of another owner who has in the registration year
proportionally registered the vehicle in Wyoming if the lessor
establishes to the satisfaction of the department that he
maintains and will submit complete annual mileage data for the
vehicle for all jurisdictions, including, by individual
jurisdictions, all miles operated in service by the lessor and
his lessee and that the vehicle or its replacement will, in the
normal course of operations, be included in the lessor's
proportional registration application in Wyoming for the
succeeding license year.
(p) If a commercial vehicle is withdrawn from a
proportionally registered fleet during any registration year the
owner shall so notify the department. The department shall
require the owner to surrender proportional registration cards
and such other identification devices which have been issued
with respect to the vehicle. If a vehicle is permanently
withdrawn from a proportionally registered fleet because it has
been destroyed, sold or otherwise completely removed from the
service of the owner the unused portion of the registration fee
paid with respect to the vehicle, which is a sum equal to the
amount of registration fee paid with respect to the vehicle for
the registration year reduced by one twelfth (1/12) for each
calendar month and fraction elapsing between the first day of
the month of the registration year and the date the notice of
withdrawal is received by the department, shall be credited to
the proportional registration account of the owner. The credit
shall be applied against liability for subsequent additions to
be prorated during the registration year. If the credit is less
than five dollars ($5.00) per vehicle withdrawn no credit shall
be made or entered. In no event shall the amount be credited
against fees other than those for the registration year nor is
any amount subject to refund.
(q) Any owner registering a vehicle pursuant to this
section shall preserve the records on which the application is
based for three (3) years following the registration year for
which registration was permitted. Upon request of the
department, the owner shall make his records available during
reasonable business hours for audit as to accuracy of
computations, payments and assessment of deficiencies or
allowances for credit. The department may enter into agreements
with agencies of other jurisdictions administering motor vehicle
registration laws for reciprocal audits of the records of any
owner. Audits performed by agencies of other jurisdictions may
be accepted and utilized by the department in the same manner as
if the audit had been performed by personnel of the department.
(r) Any sums found to be due and owing upon audit bear
interest of one and three-quarters percent (1.75%) per month
from the date when they should have been paid until the date of
actual payment. If the audit discloses a deliberate and willful
intent to evade the requirements of this section, an additional
penalty of one percent (1%) per month of sums found to be due
and owing on audit from the date when they should have been paid
shall be also assessed.
(s) Except as otherwise provided in this section, owners
of commercial vehicles meeting the registration requirements of
another jurisdiction and subject to registration in Wyoming and
not entitled to exemption from registration or licensing under
this section may, as an alternative to registration or
proportional registration secure a temporary permit from the
department to make a single trip into, within or out of Wyoming
for a period of not to exceed ninety-six (96) hours for a fee of
twenty dollars ($20.00) for each single unit operated as a
single unit or forty dollars ($40.00) for each legal combination
of units including only one (1) power unit. In lieu of the fee
required by W.S. 39-17-106(g), 39-17-206(d) or 39-17-306(f) for
license and taxation of gasoline, diesel or alternative fuels,
the operator may secure a temporary permit from the department
to operate in Wyoming for a period of not to exceed ninety-six
(96) hours for a fee of seven dollars and fifty cents ($7.50)
for each single unit operated as a single unit or fifteen
dollars ($15.00) for each legal combination of units including
only one (1) power unit.
(t) An owner of a commercial vehicle engaged in the motion
picture industry whose vehicle is properly registered in another
state and not entitled to the registration or licensing
exemption under W.S. 31-2-224 or this section may, as an
alternative to registration or proportional registration and in
lieu of the fee required by W.S. 39-17-106(g), 39-17-206(d) or
39-17-306(f), apply to the department for a temporary permit to
operate the vehicle in Wyoming for ninety (90) days upon payment
of the appropriate fees prescribed in subsection (s) of this
section. As used in this subsection, "motion picture industry"
includes all filming in this state for commercial purposes
including advertising. Any person operating a vehicle in Wyoming
beyond the period authorized in the temporary permit is subject
to a civil penalty requiring full registration of the vehicle in
Wyoming for the registration year in which the violation
occurred and payment of all fees required for registration.
(u) Any person legally engaged in the transportation of
new vehicles over the highways of this state from manufacturing
or assembly points to agents of manufacturers or dealers in this
state or in other states, territories or foreign countries or
provinces by the drive away or tow away methods, where the
vehicle being driven, towed on its own wheels, or transported by
the saddlemount, towbar or full-mount methods, or a lawful
combination of these methods, for the purpose of sale, barter or
exchange, or for delivery after sale, may annually apply to the
department for a permit and a transporter number plate to use
the highways of this state and pay a fee of three hundred
dollars ($300.00) for the permit and thirty dollars ($30.00) for
each transporter number plate. The transporter plate shall be
displayed upon the front of the driven vehicle combination or
upon the rear of a motor vehicle driven singly or upon the rear
of a vehicle being towed. The permit shall be valid for the
current year ending December 31. Vehicles may be transported as
provided under this subsection while displaying the plate.
Transporters who fail to display the plate will be required to
obtain a single trip permit from the department pursuant to
subsection (s) of this section.
(w) An operator of a tour bus may obtain a temporary
permit pursuant to subsection (s) of this section. An operator
of a mobile drilling rig or well servicing unit operated
interstate and which is constructed as a machine consisting in
general of a mast, an engine for power and propulsion, a draw
works and a chassis permanently constructed or assembled for the
vehicle may obtain a single trip permit in accordance with
subsection (s) of this section. Mobile drilling rigs or well
servicing units making an intrastate move shall be registered in
Wyoming.
(y) A temporary permit issued under this section shall be
carried in the power unit. Unlawful use of the temporary permit
or fraudulent or false information given to obtain the temporary
permit invalidates the permit and results in the penalty
provided by W.S. 31-18-701. The department shall cancel,
revoke, suspend or refuse to issue the temporary permits
provided by this section based upon a finding from its records
and prior experience that:
(i) The operation or equipment used renders the
highways unsafe;
(ii) Delinquent fees are due and payable to the
department; or
(iii) The permittee has not complied with or
continues to not comply with all laws and applicable rules and
regulations of this act or governing the operations of
interstate motor carriers as defined by law.
(z) The following vehicles are exempt from the provisions
of this section:
(i) Vehicles granted reciprocity pursuant to W.S. 31-
2-203;
(ii) The following vehicles if validly registered in
states contiguous to Wyoming if the contiguous states grant
similar exemptions to Wyoming owners of like vehicles:
(A) Wreckers or service cars when towing or
hauling other vehicles for emergency repairs;
(B) Trucks, or permissible combinations of
trucks and trailers, when being used by any farmer or rancher
for the transportation of livestock, feed or unprocessed
agricultural products owned and produced by the farmer or
rancher of production to market, and of farm and ranch supplies
solely intended for the use of the farmer or rancher, and not
for sale, when being transported on the return trip.