California Vehicle Code 4466 – (a) The department shall not issue a duplicate or substitute …
(a) The department shall not issue a duplicate or substitute certificate of title or license plate if, after a search of the records of the department, the registered owner‘s address, as submitted on the application, is different from that which appears in the records of the department, unless the registered owner applies in person and presents all of the following:
(1) Proof of ownership of the vehicle that is acceptable to the department. Proof of ownership may be the certificate of title, registration certificate, or registration renewal notice, or a facsimile or photocopy of any of those documents, if the facsimile or photocopy matches the vehicle record of the department.
Terms Used In California Vehicle Code 4466
- Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
- business: includes a proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and any other form of commercial enterprise. See California Vehicle Code 234
- City: includes every city and city and county within this State. See California Vehicle Code 255
- County: includes every county and city and county within this State. See California Vehicle Code 270
- Dealer: is a person not otherwise expressly excluded by Section 286 who:
California Vehicle Code 285
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- Person: includes a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Vehicle Code 470
- registered owner: is a person registered by the department as the owner of a vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 505
- Registration service: includes , but is not limited to, a person who, for compensation, processes registration documents, conducts lien sales, or processes vehicle dismantling documents. See California Vehicle Code 505.2
- Resident: means any person who manifests an intent to live or be located in this state on more than a temporary or transient basis. See California Vehicle Code 516
- Salvage pool: means a person engaged exclusively in the business of disposing of total loss salvage vehicles, nonrepairable vehicles, or recovered stolen vehicles sent to it by, or on behalf of, insurance companies, authorized adjusters, leasing companies, self-insured persons, or financial institutions. See California Vehicle Code 543
- tow dolly: is a vehicle towed by a motor vehicle and designed and used exclusively to transport another motor vehicle and upon which the front or rear wheels of the towed motor vehicle are mounted, while the other wheels of the towed motor vehicle remain in contact with the ground. See California Vehicle Code 617
- 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
(2) A driver‘s license or identification card containing a picture of the licensee or cardholder issued to the registered owner by the department pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 12500) of Division 6. The department shall conduct a search of its records to verify the authenticity of any document submitted under this paragraph.
(A) If the registered owner is a resident of another state or country, the registered owner shall present a driver’s license or identification card issued by that state or country. In addition, the registered owner shall provide photo documentation in the form of a valid passport, military identification card, identification card issued by a state or United States government agency, student identification card issued by a college or university, or identification card issued by a California-based employer. If a resident of another state is unable to present the required photo identification, the department shall verify the authenticity of the driver’s license or identification card by contacting the state that issued the driver’s license or identification card.
(B) If the registered owner is not an individual, the person submitting the application shall submit the photo identification required pursuant to this paragraph, as well as documentation acceptable to the department that demonstrates that the person is employed by an officer of the registered owner.
(3) If the application is for the purpose of replacing a license plate that was stolen, a copy of a police report identifying the plate as stolen.
(4) If the application is for the purpose of replacing a certificate of title or license plate that was mutilated or destroyed, the remnants of the mutilated or destroyed document or plate.
(5) If the department has a record of a prior issuance of a duplicate or substitute certificate of title or license plate for the vehicle within the past 90 days, a copy of a report from the Department of the California Highway Patrol verifying the vehicle identification number of the vehicle.
(b) Subdivision (a) does not apply if any of the following applies:
(1) The registered owner’s name, address, and driver’s license or identification card number submitted on the application match the name, address, and driver’s license or identification card number contained in the department’s records.
(2) An application for a duplicate or substitute certificate of title or license plate is submitted by or through one of the following:
(A) A legal owner, if the legal owner is not the same person as the registered owner or as the lessee under Section 4453.5.
(B) A dealer or an agent of the dealer.
(C) A dismantler.
(D) An insurer or an agent of the insurer.
(E) A salvage pool.
(c) At the discretion of the department, subdivision (a) does not apply in any of the following circumstances:
(1) An application for a duplicate or substitute certificate of title or license plate is submitted by a licensed registration service representing any of the following:
(A) A person or entity listed in subparagraphs (A) to (E), inclusive, of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b).
(B) A business entity recognized under the laws of this state or the laws of any foreign or domestic jurisdiction whose laws are in parity with the laws of this state.
(C) A court-appointed bankruptcy referee.
(D) A person who is an individual, is not included in subparagraphs (A) to (C), inclusive, and submits to the licensed registration service an application with a signature that is validated by a notary public. The licensed registration service shall maintain full and complete records of its transactions conducted pursuant to this subparagraph and shall make those records available for inspection by an investigator of the Department of Motor Vehicles, investigator of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, a city police department, a county sheriff’s office, or a district attorney’s office, if the investigator requests access to the record and the request is for the purpose of a criminal investigation.
(2) The vehicle is registered under the International Registration Plan pursuant to Section 8052 or under the Permanent Fleet Registration program pursuant to Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 5301).
(3) The vehicle is an implement of husbandry, as defined in Section 36000, or a tow dolly, or has been issued an identification plate under Section 5014 or 5014.1.
(d) The department shall issue one or more license plates only to the registered owner or lessee. The department shall issue the certificate of title only to the legal owner, or if none, then to the registered owner, as shown on the department’s records.
(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 328, Sec. 227. (SB 1330) Effective January 1, 2011.)