A. No person shall be required to obtain the registration certificate, license plates, or decals for or pay a registration fee for any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer used exclusively for agricultural or horticultural purposes on lands owned or leased by the vehicle's owner.

B. This exemption shall only apply to (i) pickup or panel trucks, (ii) sport utility vehicles, (iii) vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 7,500 pounds, and (iv) trailers and semitrailers that are not operated on or over any public highway in the Commonwealth for any purpose other than:

1. Crossing a highway;

2. Operating along a highway for a distance of no more than 75 miles from one part of the owner's land to another, irrespective of whether the tracts adjoin;

3. Taking the vehicle or attached fixtures to and from a repair shop for repairs;

4. Taking another vehicle exempt from registration under any provision of §§ 46.2-664 through 46.2-668 or 46.2-672, or any part or subcomponent of such a vehicle, to or from a repair shop for repairs, including return trips;

5. Operating along a highway to and from a refuse disposal facility for the purpose of disposing of trash and garbage generated on a farm; or

6. Operating along a highway for a distance of no more than 75 miles for the purpose of obtaining supplies for agricultural or horticultural purposes, seeds, fertilizers, chemicals, or animal feed and returning.

C. Any law-enforcement officer may require any person operating a vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer and claiming the exemption provided pursuant to this section to provide, upon request, the address of the lands owned or leased by the vehicle's owner for agricultural or horticultural purposes. If such address is unavailable or unknown, the law-enforcement officer may require such person to provide the real property parcel identification number of such lands.

Code 1950, § 46-45; 1950, p. 693; 1952, c. 498; 1956, cc. 292, 568; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-45; 1962, cc. 214, 535; 1964, c. 611; 1966, c. 654; 1968, c. 46; 1970, c. 192; 1972, c. 609; 1973, c. 495; 1978, c. 307; 1988, cc. 76, 568; 1989, c. 727; 1994, c. 253; 2000, c. 318; 2001, c. 327; 2010, c. 293; 2012, c. 174; 2013, c. 776; 2016, c. 142; 2017, c. 538.