Section 40-2-53. License plates

   (a) (1) Upon submission by the applicant of a validated original fleet enrollment form and compliance with all applicable requirements for registration and licensing of motor vehicles, the county tag agent shall issue to the applicant a fleet motor vehicle license plate for each vehicle of the fleet to be registered and licensed in such county.

   (2) The county tag agent shall mark the validated original fleet enrollment form as "taxes paid" or "tax exempt," as applicable, and return such form to the registrant.

   (3) The registrant shall submit to the department the validated original fleet enrollment form which has been marked as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection.

(b) Fleet motor vehicle license plates shall be similar in design to and issued for the same period as regular license plates issued under Code Section 40-2-31, except that such fleet motor vehicle license plates shall contain such words or symbols, in addition to the numbers and letters otherwise prescribed by law, so as to distinctively identify the motor vehicles on which they are placed as fleet motor vehicles. It shall be a requirement that a county name decal shall be affixed and displayed on license plates issued under this Code section.

(c) (1) License plates issued under this Code section shall be renewed annually with a generic fleet revalidation decal.

   (2) The bond required under subsection (b) of Code Section 40-2-51 shall be required at the time of any renewal of such license plates if at the time of such renewal the registrant or the parent corporation or firm thereof has not had an established place of business in this state for a period of ten consecutive years or more.

(d) License plates issued under this Code section shall be transferred between vehicles in the same manner as provided by Code Section 40-2-80 for special license plates issued under Article 3 of this chapter.

Code 1981, § 40-2-53, enacted by Ga. L. 1998, p. 1179, § 12A.