Vehicle Code, 1959

If a rear part of a train of vehicles does not substantially follow the towing vehicle’s path on a highway, the vehicle is presumed to have been operated in violation of Section 21711.

A person charged with a Vehicle Code violation can use as a defense a prior conviction or acquittal in another state or by the federal government for the same act or omission.

A person cannot be prosecuted for a Vehicle Code violation if the conduct was required by federal law, a federal agency rule or order that is punishable under Congress, or a valid military order.

A person cannot be prosecuted for violating a Vehicle Code provision if the violation was required to comply with a Governor regulation, directive, or order under the California Emergency Services Act.

This section sets out how a defendant can challenge a prior conviction on constitutional grounds and what the court, prosecution, and defendant must do in that process.

This section defines “motor vehicle” and lists specific exclusions and a special inclusion for certain purposes.

Vehicle owners must apply to the department for original or renewal registration on the department’s form and include the required vehicle and owner information.

Certain vehicle owners, lessees, or designees must use a department form to certify and report the declared gross or combined gross weight of qualifying commercial motor vehicles.

A motorcycle owner must file an original registration or renewal application with the department on the form it provides, and the application must include the listed information.

This section lets vehicles be registered in coownership forms and sets how title and transfer rights work between coowners.

A vehicle title may be held in beneficiary form if there is only one owner and one TOD beneficiary. The certificate must say “transfer on death to” or “TOD” plus the beneficiary’s name, and the beneficiary’s consent is not needed for transactions during the owner’s lifetime.

This section limits prosecution and certain driver’s license actions for some pending nonfelony offenses tied to vehicle operation or pedestrian code violations, and requires the department to remove certain notices from its records.

The court may continue certain vehicle-violation cases and may keep a conviction confidential if the person completes traffic school and the other listed conditions are met.

The department must not accept an application for original vehicle registration in this State unless the vehicle is in the State at the time of application and Section 4152 is complied with.

The department may accept a vehicle registration application for a vehicle not in the state if the vehicle is to be registered to a resident and the required documents and fees are submitted.

If California registration is required for a vehicle last registered in a foreign jurisdiction, an application for registration must be filed with the department within 20 days after registration became due, unless subdivision (c) of Section 9553 applies.

For a specially constructed or remanufactured vehicle, the registration application must state that fact and include any additional information the department reasonably requires.

The department may not issue or renew registration for a farm labor vehicle unless the owner gives verification that the required inspection has been performed.

This section applies vehicle registration rules to vehicles owned by government entities, with special exceptions for publicly owned vehicles and certain special plates.

The department may issue temporary vehicle permits, but not for certain vehicles unless smog-check evidence is provided.

The department may issue a temporary vehicle permit, but there are limits and conditions, including a $50 fee, a 60-day validity period, and restrictions for certain vehicles without required compliance certificates.

If ownership evidence is missing for a vehicle registration or transfer application, the department may accept an undertaking or bond instead.

If a vehicle is no longer registered in California and the valid certificate of ownership is surrendered to the department, the bond or undertaking must be returned and surrendered by the end of three years, or sooner.

A vehicle registration applicant or registrant who changes to a new address must tell the department the old and new address within 10 days.

If a vehicle’s registered owner gets a new address, they must update the registration card within 10 days.

This section defines “arrest quota” for this chapter.

This section defines “citation” for this chapter as a notice to appear, notice of violation, or notice of parking violation.

For this chapter, “agency” includes the Regents of the University of California.

State or local agencies covered by this section may not adopt a policy that requires peace officers or parking enforcement employees to meet an arrest quota.

State and local agencies using peace officers or parking enforcement employees may not use arrest or citation counts as the sole basis for promotion, demotion, dismissal, or benefits.

If a vehicle’s engine or motor is installed or replaced, the owner must notify the department within 10 days and provide the required ownership documents. The department must assign a vehicle identification number in some cases, and special inspection/destruction steps apply to replacement motorcycle engine cases.

A person in custody may elect to plead guilty to certain charged offenses when there is an outstanding warrant in the same county, but the section excludes parking-violation notices and several listed offenses.

Owners of three or more motor vehicles do not have to notify the department or pay the Section 9257 fee when engines or motors are moved between vehicles they own, until a vehicle is sold, transferred, or otherwise disposed of.

The department may assign a distinguishing vehicle identification number to a motor vehicle if its identifying number is removed, destroyed, or obliterated.

A person convicted of a felony for violating the Vehicle Code must be punished by a fine, imprisonment, or both, unless the code expressly provides a different penalty.

A person convicted of the specified infraction may be fined up to $500.

Drivers convicted of certain speeding-related infractions in specified commercial vehicles face fines up to $100 for a first conviction, up to $200 for a first conviction if the speed limit was exceeded by 10 mph or more, and up to $300 for a second or later conviction.

This section sets maximum fines for certain traffic infractions and lets some public entities adopt a bicycle fine schedule by ordinance or resolution.

People convicted of specified traffic infractions must pay fines, and repeat offenders can face a court-ordered driver’s license suspension.

A person convicted of violating Section 38020 must be fined at least $50 for a first offense and at most $250 for later offenses.

People convicted of an infraction for violating Section 21655.5 or 21655.8 must pay a fine, with the amount increasing for repeat convictions.

A person convicted of an infraction for violating Section 21806 must be fined, with higher fine ranges for repeat convictions.

A person who violates Section 22507.8 may receive a civil parking notice or a criminal notice to appear, and if convicted after a notice to appear, a fine applies with higher amounts for repeat offenses.

People convicted of an infraction for altering a required pollution control device must pay a fine, with higher fines for repeat convictions.

A person convicted of certain specified infractions must be fined $100.

People convicted of specified railroad-grade-crossing or related traffic infractions must pay escalating fines, and a court in certain counties may also require traffic school.

People convicted of an infraction for violating Section 21951 must pay a fine, with higher fines for repeat infractions within one year.

A person convicted of an infraction for violating Section 21971 must be fined $220 for a first offense, $320 for a second offense within one year of a prior conviction, and $370 for a third or later offense within one year of two or more prior convictions.

A person convicted of violating Section 21070 must pay a fine of $70 if the violation involves bodily injury, or $95 if it involves great bodily injury.

This section sets fine ranges for certain traffic infractions involving Sections 27153.5 and 27153, based on vehicle weight and whether it is a first or repeat offense.

A person who violates subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 27000 is punishable by a fine.

A person who violates Section 23140 is subject to a fine, with higher fines for repeat infractions within one year of prior convictions.

Violations of specified driver log and hours-of-service rules are punishable by fines, and one category may also lead to up to six months in county jail.

A person convicted of an infraction for violating Section 23117 must pay a fine, with higher fine ranges for second and later infractions within one year.

A person convicted of specified Vehicle Code infractions must be fined at least $250. The court may only suspend the part of the fine above $100, and may allow installment payments if the defendant cannot pay in full at once.

A person convicted of an infraction for violating Section 22511.1 must be fined $100. The court generally cannot suspend the fine, but may suspend the amount above $25 if the person had a valid zero-emission vehicle decal identification and failed to display it. The court may also allow installment payments if the defendant cannot pay all at once.

People convicted under the cited Vehicle Code sections must pay mandatory fines, and the court must also order litter pickup or graffiti cleanup.

A person convicted of an infraction for violating Section 4000 must pay a fine of $50 to $250.

A person convicted of an infraction for violating Section 23135 must be fined $50.

A person convicted of a misdemeanor for violating the Vehicle Code is generally subject to a fine, jail time, or both, unless the code expressly provides a different penalty.

People convicted under this section may face escalating fines or jail time, depending on whether it is the first, second, or later conviction within one year.

A violation of Section 10751 is punished by county jail imprisonment, with the maximum term depending on whether the property value is at or below $950 or above $950.

A person convicted under Sections 10852 or 10853 faces a fine, jail time, or both if the offense involves a qualifying disabled-person vehicle and the person knew or should have known those facts.

This section lets courts give a fine payment deadline or installments, and it requires ability-to-pay review for costs when requested by the defendant.

The court may consider a DMV written report about prior convictions when deciding the penalty, and a prior bail forfeiture counts as a conviction for this chapter.

For certain non-felony convictions, the jail sentence may be suspended for 24 hours if the convicted person asks for it, unless the judge finds the person would not return.

Courts may let certain drivers attend traffic violator school after a guilty plea, no contest plea, conviction, or deposit, but must withhold that option in listed serious cases.

A court may order a person assigned to traffic violator school to take a study of licensed traffic violator schools instead.

A local authority may not let a person accused of a traffic offense use driver awareness, education, or other diversion programs instead of the code’s required procedure.

Attendance at a traffic violator school may not be counted in average daily attendance for state funding calculations.

Courts with night or weekend sessions may levy a $1 special assessment on covered fines and fees, with exceptions for parking offenses and a waiver when the defendant is imprisoned until the fine is paid.

The clerk must collect a traffic violator school fee, based on total bail, and may accept installment payments under stated conditions.

The clerk must collect an amount tied to the eligible offense bail schedule, including a $49 fee and other specified fees. The $49 fee revenue goes to the county general fund, and 51% of collected amounts deposited there must be sent monthly to the Controller. The traffic violator school monitoring fee is allocated to the department.

Traffic violator school fee revenues are split: 30% goes to the city or county general fund where the offense occurred, and the rest is deposited by the county treasurer. The section does not apply to the separate $49 court administrative fee.

Fees from certain traffic violator school cases are split: 30% goes to a transit district/transportation commission or, if none serves the area, to the county; the rest is deposited under Penal Code Section 1463.

Counties may run an amnesty program for certain delinquent Vehicle Code fines and bail, and courts must implement it and handle payments and deposits as specified.

Counties may run a one-time amnesty program for certain delinquent fines and bail, and eligible people may pay a court-set amount to satisfy the debt.

This section requires each county to establish a one-time amnesty program for eligible fines and bail, with reporting, guideline, payment, and deposit rules.

This section creates a one-time county amnesty program for eligible unpaid traffic fines and bail, sets payment amounts, and requires related courts, counties, the Judicial Council, and DMV actions.

Drivers who commit certain traffic offenses in an active highway construction or maintenance area can face higher fines.

In a designated Safety Enhancement-Double Fine Zone, certain driving-related offenses can trigger higher fines.

This section sets fines for specified vehicle weight violations and says the penalties generally cannot be suspended. It also allows or requires court discretion in limited agricultural, forestry, livestock, and permitted construction-load situations.

A person convicted of violating a declared gross vehicle weight limit must be fined according to how many pounds the vehicle is over the limit.

If a vehicle’s gross weight and any axle or wheel weight exceed the code’s limits, the excess weights count as one offense.

A local public agency that operates garbage, refuse, or rubbish collection vehicles may face a civil penalty of up to $2,500 per violation if it has too many weight-limit convictions within a 90-day period.

Cities must place certain traffic-related fine and forfeiture money into a Traffic Safety Fund and use it only for specified traffic-safety and street-related purposes.

County fine and forfeiture money must generally go into the county general fund, with some funds allowed to be moved to the road fund and used for school crossing guard costs.

A county may use certain fines and forfeitures to reimburse the state for building platform scales and vehicle inspection facilities in the county.

Fines, forfeitures, and bail deposits from an infraction must be deposited and distributed the same way as those collected from a misdemeanor case.

Bail deposits for covered traffic violations must be refunded by the issuing agency or court within 30 days after dismissal, cancellation, or a not-guilty finding.

An officer or employee who receives or holds a covered fine or forfeiture must comply with this article’s provisions, or the failure can be treated as misconduct in office and grounds for removal.

Some traffic-related fines and forfeitures collected by a superior court must be split and sent to the county that owns the affected facilities, with monthly transfers and a 50 percent share.

Fines and forfeitures from Division 16.5 violations must be deposited in the county fund where the violation occurred and used for enforcing laws related to off-highway motor vehicles.

The department must file a monthly report of certain money received and remit that money to the Treasurer, who deposits it as directed; the Legislature also must appropriate funds to cover certain costs.

If an application under the Vehicle Code is refused or rejected, the fee must be returned to the applicant, with stated exceptions.

A person who paid an excessive, erroneous, or not legally due fee or penalty may apply for and receive a refund, and the department may refund such amounts within three years of payment or collection.

A refund application must be submitted to the department in the department’s prescribed format, within three years after payment, and it must identify the payment and explain why it was excessive or erroneous.

The department must refund certain refundable fees or penalties, and related claims and warrants must be processed through the State Controller and account rules in this section.

If the department collected a fee that was excessive or not legally due, the director may authorize a refund when the applicant shows the refund application was late because the vehicle registration certificate was not received on time.

Starting January 1, 2022, unpaid court-imposed costs under the cited Vehicle Code sections are unenforceable and uncollectible, and any judgment amount for those costs must be vacated.

The DMV and the California Highway Patrol must file monthly money reports with the Controller and send the reported money to the Treasurer; the Treasurer must deposit the money as ordered by the Controller.

This section creates the Motor Vehicle Account and requires certain account money to be spent only for vehicle-related enforcement and code purposes, with year-end accounting for Highway Patrol revolving-fund advances.

The Controller must transfer $432.2 million from the Motor Vehicle Account to the General Fund as a loan when ordered by the Director of Finance, and the loan must be repaid.

Each month, surplus money in the Motor Vehicle Account must be transferred to the State Highway Account by the 10th day, on order of the State Controller.

The State Controller may, with at least 15 days’ prior notice, move certain amounts back into the Motor Vehicle Account to pay costs charged to other Motor Vehicle Account appropriations.

The Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency must submit a report to the Legislature on a study of the fees imposed under this code by the stated deadline and every four years after that.

Money in the Motor Vehicle Account may not be spent on automobile driver training.

This section defines “muffler” as a device designed to receive exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine and reduce noise.

This section defines “new motor vehicle dealer” and states that certain dealers exclusively selling motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, or recreational vehicles are not subject to Sections 3001 and 3003.

“New vehicle” means a vehicle made entirely from new parts and never previously sold at retail or registered in the listed jurisdictions.

For a vehicle previously registered outside California, the applicant must certify the registration application and include specified details about the prior registration.

A registration application for a vehicle previously registered outside this state must include payment of the amount required under the cited Revenue and Taxation Code provision.

An applicant must surrender unexpired foreign registration items to the department, and the department may ask for a certification if the applicant does not surrender the last issued unexpired plates.

If the plates are surrendered to the department and a $1 fee is paid, the department must return the unexpired license plates to the motor vehicle registration official in the issuing state.

If a vehicle registered in another state is being operated interstate and the owner wants to keep that out-of-state registration, the applicant must give the foreign registration to the department for inspection, and the department must register the vehicle in California upon a proper showing; it may not issue a certificate of ownership.

For vehicles previously registered outside the state, the department must give full faith and credit to a currently valid out-of-state certificate of title, including the vehicle, ownership, and liens shown on it, with an exception for liens and encumbrances that the state’s laws require to be noted separately.

If the department does not know a sister-state title is forged, fraudulent, or void, it may accept it; officers and employees incur no liability for that acceptance.

If an out-of-state title shows a lien or encumbrance, the department must list the lienholder as legal owner when registering the vehicle and issuing a California certificate of ownership, unless the submitted documents show the lien has been fully satisfied.

If ownership or foreign liens are unclear, the department may register the vehicle and issue plates, but it must withhold a California certificate of ownership unless the applicant provides satisfactory documents or posts a bond.

If the department refuses a vehicle registration application, it must immediately return all documents submitted with that application to the applicant.

The department must promptly mail a notice of an out-of-state vehicle registration application when the last registering governmental officer, agency, or authority asks in writing.

This section defines when a vehicle is a “nonrepairable vehicle.”

A nonrepairable vehicle certificate is a vehicle ownership document issued to the owner of a nonrepairable vehicle.

“Nonresident” means a person who is not a resident of this State.

Defines “nonresident daily commuter” as a person who is not a state resident, commutes into and out of the state daily for employment, and keeps the vehicle principally garaged outside the state.

“Off-highway motorcycle” means a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle that is subject to identification under this code.

This section defines “off-highway electric motorcycle” (eMoto) and lists the features a vehicle must have to fit that definition.

This section defines “official traffic control device” and excludes certain roadway features from that definition.

This section defines “official traffic control signal.”

When a vehicle is registered, the department must issue a certificate of ownership and a registration card, with both going to the owner if there is no legal owner.

The director must develop an Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) Program by January 1, 2012, if it is cost effective, and may set a business-volume threshold that exempts some lienholders from participating.

The certificate of ownership must include specified information and provisions for transfer notice, transfer registration, and odometer disclosure.

The department may issue a certificate of ownership without registration, and may issue a facsimile copy to the owner if there is no legal owner and the application is properly submitted, with additional conditions.

Registration cards must show specified owner, vehicle, and registration details, and the department must mark certain vehicles on the card when it can verify them at initial registration or ownership transfer. The director may also change the card’s form and wording in some cases.

Registration cards for farm labor vehicles must include the words “Farm Labor Vehicle” with the vehicle identification information.

For leased vehicles, the lessor and lessee must be listed on registration records, and the lessor controls ownership transfers by signature release.

A vehicle lessor must give the lessee’s name and address on request by certain law-enforcement or department officers, if that information is not already on the registration card.

An owner who receives a registration card must keep it, or a copy of it, with the vehicle, unless it is removed for renewal or transfer paperwork or the vehicle is unattended.

A permit issued under Section 4004 must be kept in the vehicle whenever the vehicle is operated in this State.

Dealers and lessor-retailers must report vehicle sales, display the report-of-sale form or temporary plates, file required applications and payments on time, and provide corrected filings when returned. Some vehicles may be operated without plates for up to 90 days, and certain late display violations are correctable offenses.

Dealers or lessor-retailers who violate certain vehicle registration rules must pay a fee, and some violations can also lead to discipline.

The department must create and run an electronic dealer reporting system, set standards for temporary license plates, and limit system access to authorized users.

The department and director must collect a vehicle-sale fee, with a $1 fee set by the director and a $2,500 annual cap per dealer licensee; the recovery corporation must reimburse department expenses.

A new motor vehicle dealer must register certain sold or leased motor vehicles electronically when the department allows electronic processing.

A dealer may charge vehicle purchasers or lessees certain listed fees, but must not present them as government fees and must not use the electronic filing charge for unrelated items.

If a registration card or license plate is stolen, lost, mutilated, or illegible, the vehicle owner must immediately apply for a duplicate, substitute, or new registration; the department may issue one if the applicant provides satisfactory information.

If both license plates or a permanent trailer identification plate are lost or stolen, the registered owner must immediately notify law enforcement and apply to the department for replacement plates.

If a certificate of ownership is stolen, lost, mutilated, or illegible, the legal owner—or if none, the vehicle owner on the department’s records—must immediately apply for a duplicate and may receive one if the department is satisfied with the information provided.

Certain agencies and officers may seize or take possession of specified registration documents and license plates in listed circumstances, and seized items must be delivered to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

This section limits lending, use, display, and parking use of ownership and disabled-person parking items, and allows only a narrow placard-sharing exception when transporting the disabled person.

A city or county may add a $100 penalty for certain disabled-parking violations, and the money must be used for disabled-parking enforcement.

The court may impose a civil penalty of up to $1,500 for each conviction for violating Section 4461(c) or (d), instead of or in addition to any fine.

Drivers must show registration or identification documents to a peace officer on demand, and people must not display or present vehicle documents or plates that are not for that vehicle or not otherwise lawfully used.

A person who violates subdivision (b) of Section 4462 with intent to avoid vehicle registration requirements commits a misdemeanor.

This section makes it a crime to falsify or traffic in certain vehicle registration documents, disabled person placards, and Clean Air Stickers.

For convictions under Section 4463(b) or (c), the court may impose a civil penalty of up to $2,500 per conviction, in addition to or instead of any fine.