PART III. 
REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES



 



§286-41  Application for registration; full
faith and credit to current certificates; this part not applicable to certain
equipment.  (a)  Every owner of a motor vehicle which is to be operated
upon the public highways shall, for each vehicle owned, except as herein
otherwise provided, apply to the director of finance of the county where the
vehicle is to be operated, for the registration thereof.  If a vehicle is moved
to another county and is to be operated upon the public highways of that
county, the existing certificate of registration shall be valid until its
expiration date, at which time the owner shall apply to the director of finance
of the county in which the vehicle is then located for the registration of the vehicle,
whether or not the owner is domiciled in the county or the owner's principal
place of business is in that county, except that this provision shall not apply
to vehicles which are temporarily transferred to another county for a period of
not more than three months.



(b)  Application for the registration of a
vehicle shall be made upon the appropriate form furnished by the director of
finance and shall contain the name, occupation, and address of the owner and
legal owner; and, if the applicant is a member of the United States naval or
military forces, the applicant shall give the organization and station.  All
applications shall also contain a description of the vehicle, including the
name of the maker, the type of fuel for the use of which it is adapted (e.g.,
gasoline, diesel oil, liquefied petroleum gas), the serial or motor number, and
the date first sold by the manufacturer or dealer, and such further description
of the vehicle as is called for in the form, and such other information as may
be required by the director of finance, to establish legal ownership.  A person
applying for initial registration of a neighborhood electric vehicle shall
certify in writing that a notice of the operational restrictions applying to
the vehicle as provided in section 291C-134 are contained on a permanent notice
attached to or painted on the vehicle in a location that is in clear view of
the driver.



(c)  If the vehicle to be registered is
specially constructed, reconstructed, or rebuilt; is a special interest vehicle;
or is an imported vehicle, this fact shall be stated in the application and
upon the registration of the special interest motor vehicle and imported motor
vehicle, which has been registered until that time in any other state or
county, and the owner shall surrender to the director of finance the
certificates of registration or other evidence of such form of registration as
may be in the applicant's possession or control.  The director of finance shall
grant full faith and credit to the currently valid certificates of title and
registration describing the vehicle, the ownership thereof, and any liens noted
thereon, issued by any title state or county in which the vehicle was last
registered.  The acceptance by the director of finance of a certificate of
title or of registration issued by another state or county, as provided in this
subsection, in the absence of knowledge that the certificate is forged,
fraudulent, or void, shall be a sufficient determination of the genuineness and
regularity of the certificate and of the truth of the recitals therein, and no
liability shall be incurred by any officer or employee of the director of
finance by reason of so accepting the certificate.



(d)  The owner of every motor vehicle of the
current, previous, and subsequent year model bought out-of-state, subsequently
brought into the State, and subject to the use tax under chapter 238 shall
provide with the application for registration proof of payment of the use tax
pursuant to requirements established by the department of taxation.  No
registration certificate shall be issued without proof of payment of the use
tax.



(e)  Notwithstanding any other law to the
contrary, the director of finance of the county in which the application for
registration is sought shall not require proof of insurance as a condition to
satisfy the requirements of this part.  This subsection shall apply only to the
initial registration of any motor vehicle.



(f)  The provisions of this part requiring the
registration of motor vehicles shall not apply to:



(1)  Special mobile equipment;



(2)  Implements of husbandry temporarily drawn, moved,
or otherwise propelled upon the public highways; and



(3)  Aircraft servicing vehicles which are being used
exclusively on lands set aside to the department of transportation for airport
purposes. [L 1929, c 197, §1; RL 1935, §2665; RL 1945, §7336; am L 1951, c 168,
§1(b), (c); am L 1953, c 69, §1; am L 1955, c 165, §1; RL 1955, §160-2; HRS
§286-41; am L 1984, c 276, §5; gen ch 1985; am L 1986, c 33, §2 and c 50, §2;
am L 1987, c 171, §1; am L 1997, c 246, §5; am L 1999, c 262, §2(2); am L 2002,
c 225, §2; am L 2003, c 3, §9]



 



Cross References



 



  Interisland shipping of vehicles, see §286-271.



 



Case Notes



 



  Use of automobile subject to extensive police regulations. 
31 H. 726, aff'd 54 F.2d 313.