Question for the LEOs!

[GC Josh]

I was at the Caffeine & Octane car show and noticed many of the nice cars (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, etc.) had tags registered in Montana. I thought that was odd so I did some online learnin’. It looks like they register their cars there to avoid the GA sales tax which on cars like those could be $20K-$30K+.

As a car enthusiast.. I have no problem with it; it makes sense. Most people only keep those caliber of cars for a year or two, and full sales tax has already been paid by the person who bought the car new. It’s always seemed goofy to me that GA began charging TAVT on used cars. Plus, the MT plates just look awesome.

As a LEO, if you see a car driving down the interstate with a Montana plate, do you run their tags or pull them over? Can you pull them over? Do you even care at all? I’m curious what you guys think when you see it.

 

[Spas-12 Owner]

LEO run tags from everyone they can, they make tag readers.

LEO shouldn't be pulling ppl over w/o PC.

 

[Ken Ford]

I was at the Caffeine & Octane car show and noticed many of the nice cars (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, etc.) had tags registered in Montana. I thought that was odd so I did some online learnin’. It looks like they register their cars there to avoid the GA sales tax which on cars like those could be $20K-$30K+.

As a car enthusiast.. I have no problem with it; it makes sense. Most people only keep those caliber of cars for a year or two, and full sales tax has already been paid by the person who bought the car new. It’s always seemed goofy to me that GA began charging TAVT on used cars. Plus, the MT plates just look awesome.

As a LEO, if you see a car driving down the interstate with a Montana plate, do you run their tags or pull them over? Can you pull them over? Do you even care at all? I’m curious what you guys think when you see it.

Unless they exhibit some articulable violation, you cannot randomly run a tag.
I’m assuming you need an address to register the car. If their law allows that, then Georgia Law cannot supersede their law.

 

[Ken Ford]

LEO run tags from everyone they can, they make tag readers.

LEO shouldn't be pulling ppl over w/o PC.

The tag readers only look for expired/suspended or wanted. It doesn’t display to the officer unless there is a “hit”

 

[Spas-12 Owner]

Unless they exhibit some articulable violation, you cannot randomly run a tag.
I’m assuming you need an address to register the car. If their law allows that, then Georgia Law cannot supersede their law.

Yes you can run a tag randomly. There are flock cameras running tags as well as LEO with tag readers on the patrol vehicles, "running plates" automatically while the LEO is in their shop.

 

[Spas-12 Owner]

The tag readers only look for expired/suspended or wanted. It doesn’t display to the officer unless there is a “hit”

Thank you for admitting you were wrong and LEO are running tags randomly.

 

[GeauxLSU]

Most states require registration in their state within x days to avoid that scenario. In Georgia it's 30 days.

 

[DinkyDau]

Don't know if it works

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[GeauxLSU]

I guess it would be interesting if one of those cars was stolen in Atlanta how the insurance company would react about providing false information. I suspect I know how it would go.

AI Overview

No, you generally cannot register a car in Montana without living there, but you can register it through a Montana-based LLC or corporation. This is a common loophole to avoid taxes and high registration fees in one's home state, but it can cause issues with insurance and may be viewed as tax avoidance by authorities.

 

[Ken Ford]

Yes you can run a tag randomly. There are flock cameras running tags as well as LEO with tag readers on the patrol vehicles, "running plates" automatically while the LEO is in their shop.

You can do so randomly, but it’s against the law.
The scanners run every tag, that’s not random. They don’t display info without a “hit”
Flock cameras also run plates, but are looking for illegal activities inside the vehicle. My personal opinion the Flocks are unconstitutional and there is a push in most states, to outlaw them. Georgia is one of them.