Subsection 1 of Section 301, RSMo 1959, prohibits any person from transferring his license plate to another person except for a period of fifteen days following the sale of a motor vehicle.

MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION: LlCENSES: DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE: Subsection 1 of Section 301, RSMo 1959, prohibits any person from transferring his license plate to another person except for a period of fifteen days following the sale of a motor vehicle. OPINION NO. 21 259 (1966) November 2, 1967 Honorable Alden S. Lance Prosecuting Attorney Andrew County 415 West Main Street s~vannah, Missouri 64485 Dear Mr. Lance: F I L F D ;;,J This is in answer to your request for an opinion of this office which request reads as follows: "1. Section 301.140, RSMo., 1959, As Amended, provides for the transfer of motor vehicles and the expiration of the right to use the number plates. My question is as follows: The local office of the Department of Revenue has transferred the registration plates from one individual to his brother-in-law. We seem to be getting conflicting opinions from the Department of Revenue as to whether or not they are approving such actions. Can such transfers of registration plates be accom- plished under present Missouri law? ''Also , can such transfers be accomplished under Missouri law as betwe~n husband and wife, or between a minor and an 4dult who may be holding the title to the motor vehicle in his or her name as purely a convenience for the minor?" We only consider the situation where any of the above named persons • have a car registered in their individual name and attempt to t ransfer registration to one of the designated persons again in an individual name. Subsection 1 of Section 301.140, RSMo 1959, is applicable and reads as follows : Honorable Alden s . Lance "1. Upon the transfer or ownership of any motor vehicle or trailer, the certificate of registration and the right to use the number plates shall expire and the number plates shall be removed by the owner at the time of the t r ansfer of possession, and it shall be unlawful for any person other than the person to whom such number plates were originally issued, to have the same in his or her possession whether in use or not; except that the seller may give the buyer written permission to use such plat es for a period of fift een days, i n which event the buyer shall have and display on demand of any pr oper officer said written con- sent of pr evious owner, together with an affidavit or other proof that he has made ap- plication for r egistration. At the expiration of t his fifteen day period the said number plates shall be returned to the original owner . " It has been hel d that the provisions for t r ansfer are mandatory, State ex rel . Connecticut Fire Ins. Co . v . Cox, 306 Mo. , 537, 552, 268 s .w. 87~ 37 A.L.R. 1456; Pearl v . Interstate Securities Co . , Mo . App., 1 9~ S .W.2d 867, rever sed on other grounds, 357 Mo. 160, 206 S .W.2d 975, and should be strictly construed, Peper v . American Exchange National Bank in St . Louis, Mo . App . , 205 S . W.2d 215, affi rmed 210 s .W.2d 41 . Accordingly, we construe the plain terms of the statute to mean that none of the per sons you inquire about may have their re- gist ration plates transferred to another person except of course for the fifteen day period prescribed. CONCLUSION It is the opinion of this office that subsection 1 of Section 301, RSMo 1959, prohibit s any person from transfer ring his license plate to another person except for a period of fifteen days following the sale of a motor vehicle . The foregoing opinion, which I hereby approve, was prepared by my Assistant, Walter w. Nowotny, Jr. ORMAN H. A Attor ney General -2-