(a) Any person, firm or corporation before engaging in the business of leasing or renting motor vehicles without drivers in this state and any person, firm or corporation which is the lessor of or rents any vehicle required to be registered under the provisions of § 14-15a shall make a sworn application to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles for a license to engage in such leasing or renting. Each such application and each application for renewal shall be accompanied by a fee of three hundred dollars. Each such license shall be renewed biennially according to renewal schedules established by the commissioner so as to effect staggered renewal of all such licenses. If the adoption of a staggered system results in the expiration of any license more or less than one year from its issuance, the commissioner may charge a prorated amount for such license fee. Not less than forty-five days prior to the date of expiration of each such license, the commissioner shall send or transmit to each licensee, in such manner as the commissioner determines, an application for renewal. An application for renewal filed with the commissioner after the date of expiration shall be accompanied by a late fee of one hundred dollars provided the commissioner shall not renew any license under this subsection that has expired for more than forty-five days. No such license shall be transferred. Such licensee shall furnish proof of financial responsibility satisfactory to the commissioner specifying that coverage is for all owned vehicles, as provided by § 14-112 or 14-129, regardless of the duration of the lease or rental period. Each application for such license shall contain the name and address of the owner and shall be accompanied by a surety bond as required pursuant to § 14-52. Each application for registration of a motor vehicle to be leased for a period of more than thirty days shall contain the name and address of the owner and the lessee of such vehicle. The owner of such vehicle shall disclose the name and address of any subsequent lessee of such vehicle to the commissioner in such manner as the commissioner may require. The commissioner shall ensure that such information relative to the lessee is available to the Connecticut on-line law enforcement communications teleprocessing system. Each person, firm or corporation licensed under the provisions of this subsection shall keep such books, records and accounts as the commissioner may require provided each licensee shall retain a copy of each rental or lease contract for a period of three years, which shall be subject to inspection by the commissioner or the commissioner’s designee at all reasonable times. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any person, firm or corporation which, incidental to the conduct of its principal business, leases or rents any motor vehicle without a driver to other persons, firms or corporations whose principal business is the same as that of the lessor. Violation of any provision of this subsection shall be an infraction.

Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 14-15

  • another: may extend and be applied to communities, companies, corporations, public or private, limited liability companies, societies and associations. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
  • Commissioner: includes the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles and any assistant to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles who is designated and authorized by, and who is acting for, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles under a designation. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Driver: means any person who drives, operates or is in physical control of a commercial motor vehicle, or who is required to hold a commercial driver's license. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • month: means a calendar month, and the word "year" means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
  • Motor vehicle: means any vehicle propelled or drawn by any nonmuscular power, except aircraft, motor boats, road rollers, baggage trucks used about railroad stations or other mass transit facilities, electric battery-operated wheel chairs when operated by persons with physical disabilities at speeds not exceeding fifteen miles per hour, golf carts operated on highways solely for the purpose of crossing from one part of the golf course to another, golf-cart-type vehicles operated on roads or highways on the grounds of state institutions by state employees, agricultural tractors, farm implements, such vehicles as run only on rails or tracks, self-propelled snow plows, snow blowers and lawn mowers, when used for the purposes for which they were designed and operated at speeds not exceeding four miles per hour, whether or not the operator rides on or walks behind such equipment, motor-driven cycles, as defined in §. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Owner: means any person holding title to a motor vehicle, or having the legal right to register the same, including purchasers under conditional bills of sale. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, limited liability company, association, copartnership, company, firm, business trust or other aggregation of individuals but does not include the state or any political subdivision thereof, unless the context clearly states or requires. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Registration: includes the certificate of motor vehicle registration and the number plate or plates used in connection with such registration. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • State: means any state of the United States and the District of Columbia unless the context indicates a more specific reference to the state of Connecticut. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Vehicle: includes any device suitable for the conveyance, drawing or other transportation of persons or property, whether operated on wheels, runners, a cushion of air or by any other means. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1

(b) Each person, firm or corporation licensed under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section or by another state, who in the opinion of the commissioner is qualified, may electronically register or transfer the registration of a motor vehicle used in connection with its business. The licensee, within ten days from the electronic issuance of such registration or transfer, shall submit to the commissioner an application together with all necessary documents to register or transfer the registration of the vehicle with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Any such licensee that registers or transfers registration shall be required to register or transfer registrations electronically if the commissioner determines that such licensee files with such department, on average, seven or more such registrations or transfers each month. The commissioner shall adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to implement the provisions of this subsection.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 14-22, the commissioner may require any person, firm or corporation licensed under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section or by another state, who in the opinion of the commissioner is qualified and who holds a current registration certificate for a motor vehicle used in connection with its business, to renew such registration electronically if the commissioner determines that the licensee renews with the Department of Motor Vehicles, on average, seven or more such registrations each month. The commissioner shall adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to implement the provisions of this subsection.

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