The department may issue a certificate of ownership to the legal owner of a vehicle without requiring registration, and may issue a facsimile copy of the certificate to the owner if there is no legal owner, the application is submitted in proper form, and one of the following conditions exist:

(a) The vehicle is registered pursuant to Section 5014.1.

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Terms Used In California Vehicle Code 4452

  • 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
  • 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
  • legal owner: is a person holding a security interest in a vehicle which is subject to the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code, or the lessor of a vehicle to the State or to any county, city, district, or political subdivision of the State, or to the United States, under a lease, lease-sale, or rental-purchase agreement which grants possession of the vehicle to the lessee for a period of 30 consecutive days or more. See California Vehicle Code 370
  • owner: is a person having all the incidents of ownership, including the legal title of a vehicle whether or not such person lends, rents, or creates a security interest in the vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 460
  • 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

(b) A certification has been filed with the department, pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 4604, that the vehicle has not been driven, moved, or left standing upon any highway so as to require payment of fees and that the owner will not thereafter permit that operation or movement of the vehicle or leave the vehicle standing on any highway without surrendering, or arranging to surrender, the certificate of ownership to the department and without first making an application for the regular registration of the vehicle and full payment of all fees required to be paid under this code and Part 5 (commencing with Section 10701) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 826, Sec. 11. Effective January 1, 2002.)