West Virginia Code 17A-9-2 – Operation of vehicles without evidences of registration; use of temporary facsimile; penalty
(a) No person shall operate, nor shall an owner knowingly permit to be operated, upon any highway any vehicle required to be registered under this article unless there shall be attached thereto and displayed thereon or shall be in the possession of the operator when and as required by this chapter a valid registration card and registration plate or plates issued therefor by the department for the current registration year, except as otherwise expressly permitted in this chapter.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 17A-9-2
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- highway: means the entire width between boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See West Virginia Code 17A-1-1
- in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Owner: means a person who holds the legal title to a vehicle, or in the event a vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee, or in the event a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee or lessee or mortgagor shall be considered the owner for the purpose of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 17A-1-1
- Person: means every natural person, firm, copartnership, association, or corporation. See West Virginia Code 17A-1-1
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(b) In the event that the registration plate or plates originally issued are lost, destroyed or stolen, a temporary facsimile of the plate or plates, showing the number of the same, may be attached to the vehicle by the owner for a period of not more than fifteen days, or until a new plate or plates are issued by the department, whichever is earlier: Provided, That no such facsimile shall be used and no such vehicle shall be driven upon the highways of this state, until the owner shall have notified in writing the West Virginia state police of the loss of such registration plate or plates.
(c) Any person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500; and upon a second or subsequent conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500, or confined in the county or regional jail not more than six months, or both.