A. The owner of any vehicle titled in the Commonwealth may declare such vehicle to be a nonrepairable vehicle by applying to the Department for a nonrepairable certificate. The application shall be accompanied by the vehicle’s title certificate or salvage certificate.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 46.2-1603.2

  • Demolisher: means any person whose business is to crush, flatten, bale, shred, log, or otherwise reduce a vehicle to a state where it can no longer be considered a vehicle. See Virginia Code 46.2-1600
  • Late model vehicle: means the current-year model of a vehicle and the five preceding model years, or any vehicle whose actual cash value is determined to have been at least $10,000 prior to being damaged. See Virginia Code 46.2-1600
  • Nonrepairable certificate: means a document of ownership issued by the Department for any nonrepairable vehicle upon surrender or cancellation of the vehicle's title and registration or salvage certificate. See Virginia Code 46.2-1600
  • Nonrepairable vehicle: means any vehicle that has been determined by its insurer or owner to have no value except for use as parts and scrap metal or for which a nonrepairable certificate has been issued or applied for. See Virginia Code 46.2-1600
  • Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
  • Salvage certificate: means a document of ownership issued by the Department for any salvage vehicle upon surrender or cancellation of the vehicle's title and registration. See Virginia Code 46.2-1600
  • Salvage dealer: means any person who acquires any vehicle for the purpose of reselling any parts thereof or who acquires and sells any salvage vehicle as a unit except as permitted by subdivision B 2 of § 46. See Virginia Code 46.2-1600
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
  • Vehicle: means every device in, on or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn on a highway, except personal delivery devices and devices moved by human power or used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks. See Virginia Code 46.2-100

B. Every insurance company or its authorized agent shall apply to the Department and obtain a nonrepairable certificate for each vehicle acquired by the insurance company as a result of the claims process if such vehicle is titled in the Commonwealth and is (i) a late model nonrepairable vehicle or (ii) a stolen vehicle that has been recovered and determined to be a nonrepairable vehicle. Except as provided in § 46.2-1602.3, the application shall be accompanied by the vehicle’s title certificate or salvage certificate. Application for the nonrepairable certificate shall be made within 15 days after payment has been made to the owner, lienholder, or both.

C. Every insurance company or its authorized agent shall notify the Department of each late model vehicle titled in the Commonwealth upon which a claim has been paid if such vehicle is a nonrepairable vehicle that is retained by its owner.

D. The Department, upon receipt of an application for a nonrepairable certificate for a vehicle titled in the Commonwealth, or upon receipt of notification from an insurance company or its authorized agent as provided in subsection C of this section that a vehicle registered in the Commonwealth has become a nonrepairable vehicle, shall cause the title of such vehicle to be cancelled and a nonrepairable certificate issued to the vehicle’s owner.

There shall be no fee for the issuance of a nonrepairable certificate. All provisions of this Code applicable to a motor vehicle certificate of title shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to a nonrepairable certificate, except that no registration or license plates shall be issued for the vehicle described in a nonrepairable certificate. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no vehicle for which a nonrepairable certificate has been issued shall ever be titled or registered for use on the highways in the Commonwealth.

E. The Department, upon receipt of a title, salvage certificate, or other ownership document from a licensed salvage dealer or demolisher pursuant to subdivision A 1 of § 46.2-1603.1, shall cause the title, salvage certificate, or other ownership document to such vehicle to be cancelled and a nonrepairable certificate issued to the vehicle’s owner.

F. For purposes of this chapter, any vehicle for which a brand or indicator has been issued by another state as reported to the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System or has been printed or stamped on the vehicle’s out-of-state title or other document proving ownership issued by that state identifying such vehicle as “junk,” “for destruction,” “for parts only,” “not to be repaired,” or other similar designation shall be deemed to have been issued a nonrepairable certificate by that state.

1992, c. 148; 1993, c. 376; 1995, c. 390; 2015, cc. 33, 177; 2017, c. 277; 2023, cc. 364, 365.

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