The following opinion is presented on-line for informational use only and does not replace the official version. (Mich Dept of Attorney General Web Site - www.ag.state.mi.us) STATE OF MICHIGAN FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL Opinion No. 6634 January 2, 1990 MOTOR VEHICLES: Use of dealer registration plate on vehicle transporting vehicles of dealership An automobile dealer may use dealer registration plates on a truck in its inventory when using the truck to transport its vehicles to auctions or to other dealerships. Honorable Richard H. Austin Secretary of State Michigan Department of State Lansing, MI 48918 You have requested my opinion on a question concerning the proper use of dealer registration plates under section 244(a) of the Michigan vehicle code, MCL 257.244(a); MSA 9.1944(a). Your question concerns an auto dealer which has in its inventory for sale a truck capable of hauling two vehicles. The dealer has asked whether section 244(a) of the Michigan Vehicle Code (MVC) allows it to occasionally use the truck with dealer plates to haul vehicles to auctions or to other dealerships. Section 244(a) of the MVC, MCL 257.244(a); MSA 9.1944(a), reads in part as follows: A dealer owning any vehicle of a type otherwise required to be registered hereunder may operate or move the same upon the highways without registering each such vehicle upon condition that any such vehicle display thereon in the manner prescribed in section 225 of this act 1 special plate issued to such owners.... The above section is limited by subsection (c), which states in part: The plates above mentioned shall not be used on service cars or wreckers which are being operated as an adjunct of a licensee's business, ... An earlier version of the statute was more restrictive. It allowed dealers to operate vehicles with dealer plates "for the purposes of transporting, testing, demonstrating or selling motor vehicles in the general conduct of such automobile dealer's business." 1949 PA 300, Sec. 244(a), as amended by 1952 PA 67, MCL 257.244(a); MSA 9.1944(a). That earlier version of the statute was addressed in I OAG, 1955, No 2030, p 200 (April 15, 1955). The opinion concluded that, under that version of the statute, a dealer was permitted to use dealer plates only for the purposes specifically enumerated in the statute. In 1957, by means of 1957 PA 90, the Legislature amended the statute by removing the clause which limited the operation of vehicles with dealer plates to occasions of transporting, testing, demonstrating or selling. In Letter Opinion M-611 of the Attorney General (James M. Hare, November 17, 1959), Attorney General Adams stated that the apparent intent of the Legislature in enacting the 1957 amendment was to broaden the permissible uses of vehicles displaying dealer plates. The Attorney General found that, in its amended form, subsection (a) placed no restriction on the use of vehicles bearing dealer plates. The only limitation, therefore, is contained in subsection (c) prohibiting the use of dealer plates on "service cars or wreckers which are being operated as an adjunct of" the dealer's business. The question raised, then, is whether the truck in question can be so characterized. The business of an automobile dealer is to sell vehicles. The transportation of cars to auctions is, therefore, a legitimate part of the dealer's primary business of selling vehicles. There is no question that the vehicles themselves could legally be driven to the auction bearing dealer registration plates. It follows that transportation of its vehicles to auction or to other dealerships to be sold is not an activity that could be described as being merely an "adjunct" of the dealer's business. It is my opinion, therefore, that an automobile dealer may use dealer registration plates on a truck in its inventory when using that truck to transport its vehicles to auctions or to other dealerships. Frank J. Kelley Attorney General