(a)(1)  No person shall with fraudulent intent remove, deface, destroy, or alter the manufacturer’s serial or engine number or any other distinguishing number or identification mark of a motor vehicle or any of its parts nor shall any person place or stamp any serial, engine, or other number or mark upon a motor vehicle or any part, except one assigned to it by the division of motor vehicles. Any violation of this provision is a felony.

(2)  The fact that a person removed, defaced, destroyed, or altered the manufacturer’s serial or engine number or any other distinguishing number or identification mark of a motor vehicle or part, or that a person placed or stamped on a motor vehicle part any serial, engine, or other number or mark different from that originally assigned by the manufacturer to it, without first obtaining a permit from the division of motor vehicles, shall be prima facie evidence of that person’s fraudulent intent.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 31-9-5

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Motor vehicle: means any vehicle driven or drawn by mechanical power for use on the public streets, roads, and highways;

    (2)  "Odometer" means an instrument for measuring and recording the actual distance a motor vehicle travels while in operation;

    (3)  "Person" means any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or business trust including, but not limited to, private individuals and motor vehicle dealers, both wholesale and retail, whether the private individual or dealer is a dealer in the ordinary course of business or not;

    (4)  "Repair and replacement" means to restore to a sound working condition by replacing the instrument or any part thereof or by correcting what is inoperative;

    (5)  "Transfer" means to acquire ownership by purchase, gift, bequest, or any other means. See Rhode Island General Laws 31-23.2-2

  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6

(b)  This section shall not prohibit the restoration by an owner of an original serial, engine, or other number or mark when that restoration is made under a permit issued by the division of motor vehicles, nor prevent any manufacturer from placing in the ordinary course of business numbers or marks upon motor vehicles or their parts.

History of Section.
P.L. 1950, ch. 2595, art. 12, § 8; G.L. 1956, § 31-9-5; P.L. 1978, ch. 196, § 1; P.L. 1983, ch. 221, § 7; P.L. 1984, ch. 264, § 1.