40-2-8. Operation of unregistered vehicle or vehicle without current license plate, revalidation decal, or county decal.

(a) No person shall own, rent, lease, or operate any vehicle required to be registered pursuant to Code Section 40-2-20 upon a highway in this state without registering such vehicle. Any person who becomes a resident of this state shall register his or her vehicle within 30 days of becoming a resident. Any person who fails to comply with this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished by a fine of $100.00 for each day in which the vehicle is in violation. (b)(1) It shall be unlawful and punishable as for a misdemeanor to operate any vehicle required to be registered in this state pursuant to Code Section 40-2-20 without a valid numbered license plate properly validated with a current revalidation decal, unless such operation is otherwise permitted under this chapter; and provided, further, that the purchaser of a new vehicle or a used vehicle from a dealer of new or used motor vehicles who displays a temporary operating permit issued as provided by Code Section 40-2-8.1 may operate such vehicle on the highways of this state without a current valid license plate during the period authorized by Code Sections 40-2-8.1 and 40-2-20. An owner acquiring a motor vehicle from an entity that is not a new or used vehicle dealer shall register such vehicle as provided for in Code Section 40-2-29 unless such vehicle is to be registered under the International Registration Plan pursuant to Article 3A of this chapter. (2) The purchaser and operator of a vehicle shall not be subject to the penalties set forth in this Code section during the period allowed for the registration of such vehicle. (c) It shall be unlawful and punishable as for a misdemeanor to operate any vehicle required to be registered in this state without a valid county decal designating the county where the vehicle was last registered, unless such operation is otherwise permitted under this chapter. A county name decal shall not be required if there is no space provided for a county name decal on the current license plate. Any person convicted of a violation of this subsection shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $25.00 if that person shows to the court having jurisdiction of the offense that the proper revalidation decal had been obtained prior to the time of the offense. (d) No violation of this Code section shall have occurred upon presentation of evidence that the owner had properly applied for the registration of such vehicle, but that the license plate or revalidation decal had not been delivered to such owner at the time the uniform traffic citation was issued. (e) The commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the provisions of this Code section.