(a) When a motor vehicle, painted, as required by Section 40800, and formerly used in the enforcement of the provisions of Division 10 (commencing with Section 20000) or 11 (commencing with Section 21000), is sold to any person and is used for purposes other than law enforcement, the vehicle shall be painted or partially painted by the seller or agency formerly using such vehicle so that it will no longer resemble a vehicle complying with Section 40800 and any insignia or other marking of the vehicle identifying it as a traffic law enforcement vehicle shall be removed by the seller or agency formerly using such vehicle before it shall be operated on any street or highway, other than to have the vehicle moved to be painted or to a place of storage.

(b) This section shall not apply to former law enforcement vehicles, without insignia, which are painted one solid color, or which are used exclusively for movie or television production and display signs stating “movie car” prominently on the doors, or which are motorcycles, as defined in Section 400, without insignia.

Terms Used In California Vehicle Code 27604

  • Highway: is a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See California Vehicle Code 360
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Local authorities: means the legislative body of every county or municipality having authority to adopt local police regulations. See California Vehicle Code 385
  • motor vehicle: includes a recreational vehicle as that term is defined in subdivision (a) of §. See California Vehicle Code 415
  • Person: includes a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Vehicle Code 470
  • Road: means any existing vehicle route established before January 1, 1979, with significant evidence of prior regular travel by vehicles subject to registration pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 4000) of Chapter 1 of Division 3. See California Vehicle Code 527
  • Street: is a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See California Vehicle Code 590
  • traffic: includes pedestrians, ridden animals, vehicles, street cars, and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using any highway for purposes of travel. See California Vehicle Code 620
  • vehicle: is a device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, excepting a device moved exclusively by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See California Vehicle Code 670

(c) This section shall not apply to a vehicle, if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

(1) The vehicle is possessed by a federal, state, or local historical society or museum that is open to the public.

(2) The vehicle is secured from unauthorized operation.

(3) The vehicle is not operated on any public road or highway, unless one of the following applies:

(A) The vehicle is being operated within a temporary street closure for the purposes of celebrations, parades, local special events, and other purposes when the operation is approved by local authorities having jurisdiction over the street closure.

(B) The vehicle is of a model year of at least twenty-five years prior to the year of operation.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 260, Sec. 1. (AB 309) Effective January 1, 2020.)

  Previous section
Next section  
 Article 5 Contents