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2006 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 46.2-1542 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 46.2-1542. Temporary registration.
A. Notwithstanding §§ 46.2-617 and 46.2-628, whenever a dealer
licensed by the Board sells or conditionally sells and delivers to a
purchaser a motor vehicle and, the dealer may issue temporary license
plates and a certificate of temporary registration. The temporary license
plates and the certificates for temporary registration shall be obtained
from the Commissioner or may be printed according to terms set by the
Commissioner and may be issued if (i) the dealer has the title or the
certificate of origin for the vehicle or (ii) is unable at the time of the
sale to deliver to the purchaser the certificate of title or certificate of
origin for the vehicle because the certificate of title or certificate of
origin is lost or is being detained by another in possession or for any other
reason beyond the dealer's control, the dealer shall execute, on forms
provided by the Commissioner, a temporary certificate of ownership. The temporary
registration certificate shall bear its date of issuance, the name and
address of the purchaser, the identification number of the vehicle, the
registration number to be used temporarily on the vehicle, the name of the
state in which the vehicle is to be registered, the name and address of the
person from whom the dealer acquired the vehicle, and whatever other information
may be required by the Commissioner. A copy of the temporary registration certificate
and a bona fide bill of sale buyer's order shall be delivered to
the purchaser and shall be in the possession of the purchaser at all times when
operating the vehicle. One copy of the certificate shall be retained by the
dealer, which copy may be retained in electronic format under terms set by
the Commissioner, and shall be subject to inspection at any time by the
Department's agents. The original of the certificate shall be forwarded by the
dealer to the Department directly on issuance to the purchaser if the vehicle
is to be titled outside the Commonwealth, along with the physical or
electronic application for title. The issuance of a temporary certificate
of ownership registration to a purchaser pursuant to this section
shall have the effect of vesting ownership to sufficient interest in
the vehicle in the purchaser for the period that the certificate remains
effective for purposes of allowing the purchaser (a) to obtain and provide
insurance coverage for the vehicle, including but not limited to insurance
indemnifying the purchaser against liability or providing for recovery for
damage to or loss of the vehicle and (b) to operate the vehicle as if the
purchaser had full rights of ownership, all subject to cancellation by
applicable law or agreement between the dealer and the purchaser prior to the
time the dealer submits an application for title along with all required fees.
B. A temporary certificate of ownership registration
issued by a dealer to a purchaser pursuant to this section shall expire on
receipt by the purchaser of a when the certificate of title to the
vehicle is issued by the Department in the name of the purchaser and
the permanent license plates have been affixed to the vehicle, but in no
event shall any temporary certificate of ownership registration
issued under this section be effective for more than thirty days from the date
of its issuance. In the event that the dealer fails to produce the old certificate
of title or certificate of origin to the vehicle or fails to apply for a
replacement certificate of title pursuant to § 46.2-632, thereby preventing
delivery to the Department or purchaser before the expiration of the temporary
certificate of ownership registration, the purchaser's ownership
of the vehicle temporary rights may terminate and the purchaser
shall have the right to return the vehicle to the dealer and obtain a full
refund of all payments made toward the purchase of the vehicle, provided the
purchaser provides notice to the dealer of a decision to return the vehicle
before issuance of a title for the vehicle by the Department, less any
damage to the vehicle incurred while ownership was vested in the purchaser, and
less a reasonable amount for use not to exceed one-half the amount allowed per
mile by the Internal Revenue Service, as provided by regulation, revenue
procedure, or revenue ruling promulgated pursuant to § 162 of the Internal
Revenue Code, for use of a personal vehicle for business purposes.
C. Notwithstanding subsection B of this section, if the dealer
fails to deliver the certificate of title or certificate of origin to the
purchaser within thirty days, a second temporary certificate of ownership
registration may be issued. However, the dealer shall, not later than the
expiration of the first temporary certificate, deliver to the Department an
application for title, copy of the bill of sale, all required fees and a
written statement of facts describing the dealer's efforts to secure the
certificate of title or certificate of origin to the vehicle. On receipt of the
title application with attachments as described herein, the Department shall
record the purchaser's ownership of rights hereunder to the
vehicle and may authorize the dealer to issue a second thirty-day temporary
certificate of ownership registration. If the dealer does not
produce the certificate of title or certificate of origin to the vehicle before
the expiration of the second temporary certificate, the purchaser's ownership
of rights to the vehicle under this section may terminate and
he shall have the right to return the vehicle as provided in subsection B of
this section.
D. If the dealer is unable to produce the certificate of title
or certificate of origin to the vehicle within the sixty-day period from the
date of issuance of the first temporary certificate, the Department may extend
temporary ownership registration for an additional period of up
to ninety days, provided the dealer makes application in the format required by
the Department. If the dealer does not produce the certificate of title or
certificate of origin to the vehicle before the expiration of the additional
ninety-day period, the purchaser's ownership of rights hereunder to
the vehicle may terminate and he shall have the right to return the vehicle as
provided in subsection B of this section.
E. The Commissioner, on determining that the provisions of
this section or the directions of the Department are not being complied with by
a dealer, may suspend, after a hearing, the right of the dealer to issue
temporary certificates of ownership registration.