(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), a motor vehicle specified in Section 38012 that is not registered under this code because it is to be operated or used exclusively off the highways, except as provided in this division, shall display an identification plate or device issued by the department.

(b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to any of the following:

Terms Used In California Vehicle Code 38010

  • City: includes every city and city and county within this State. See California Vehicle Code 255
  • closed course: includes , but is not limited to, a speedway, racetrack, or a prescribed and defined route of travel on or off a highway that is closed to all motor vehicles other than those of participants. See California Vehicle Code 38014
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • County: includes every county and city and county within this State. See California Vehicle Code 270
  • Department: means the Department of Motor Vehicles except, when used in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 2100) of Division 2 and in Divisions 11 (commencing with Section 21000), 12 (commencing with Section 24000), 13 (commencing with Section 29000), 14 (commencing with Section 31600), 14. See California Vehicle Code 290
  • driver: is a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 305
  • foreign jurisdiction: is a ny other state, the District of Columbia, territories or possessions of the United States, and foreign states, provinces, or countries. See California Vehicle Code 325
  • 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.
  • motor vehicle: includes a recreational vehicle as that term is defined in subdivision (a) of §. See California Vehicle Code 415
  • motorcycle: is a motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider, designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground. See California Vehicle Code 400
  • Nonresident: is a person who is not a resident of this State. See California Vehicle Code 435
  • Person: includes a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Vehicle Code 470
  • 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

(1) Motor vehicles specifically exempted from registration under this code, including, but not limited to, motor vehicles exempted pursuant to Sections 4006, 4010, 4012, 4013, 4015, 4018, and 4019.

(2) Implements of husbandry.

(3) Motor vehicles owned by the state, or any county, city, district, or political subdivision of the state, or the United States.

(4) Motor vehicles owned or operated by, or operated under contract with a utility, whether privately or publicly owned, when used as specified in Section 22512.

(5) Special construction equipment described in Section 565, regardless of whether those motor vehicles are used in connection with highway or railroad work.

(6) A motor vehicle with a currently valid special permit issued under Section 38087.5 that is owned or operated by a nonresident of this state and the vehicle is not identified or registered in a foreign jurisdiction. For the purposes of this paragraph, a person who holds a valid driver‘s license issued by a foreign jurisdiction is presumed to be a nonresident.

(7) Commercial vehicles weighing more than 6,000 pounds unladen.

(8) A motorcycle manufactured in the year 1942 or prior.

(9) Four-wheeled motor vehicles operated solely in organized racing or competitive events upon a closed course when those events are conducted under the auspices of a recognized sanctioning body or by permit issued by the local governmental authority having jurisdiction.

(10) A motor vehicle with a currently valid identification or registration permit issued by another state, if the other state recognizes an identification plate or device issued by the department pursuant to subdivision (a) as valid for use in that state.

(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 739, Sec. 1. (AB 232) Effective January 1, 2022.)

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