Vehicle Code, 1959

The department must add a training component for test administrators that promotes sensitivity to youth and aging.

The Business, Transportation and Housing Agency must create a task force to study funding sources and transportation options for people who lost their driver’s licenses after failing certain driving tests, and must report the findings to the Legislature by July 1, 2001.

The director must set standards and criteria for approving mature driver improvement courses for drivers age 55 or older.

Course providers may charge up to $30 tuition for a mature driver improvement course, must give a receipt for tuition collected, and may not charge more than the department’s certificate fee; the department may charge up to $3 per completion certificate and must deposit all fees in the Motor Vehicle Account in the State Transportation Fund.

The department may charge approval fees to course providers, must deposit received fees into the Motor Vehicle Account, must investigate impropriety claims, and may withdraw course approval for just cause.

The department must adjust certain fees every January 1 based on the prior year’s California Consumer Price Index increase.

The department must add a voter-registration notice to certain mailed documents.

It is unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale an appointment with the department.

The department may create contracts and rules for private industry partners that help provide vehicle registration, titling, and related services, and it must charge specified fees and report annually to the Legislature.

The department may create interstate carrier partnerships for electronic vehicle registration services, and applicants must apply on the department’s form and provide any additional information required.

A signature or subscription may include a mark if the person cannot write, but special witness requirements apply.

This section defines “employee,” “employment,” and “public entity” for this chapter.

A public entity is liable for death, injury, or property damage caused by a negligent or wrongful act or omission in operating a motor vehicle by an employee acting within the scope of employment.

A public entity is liable for death or injury to people or property to the same extent as a private person, subject to the stated Government Code article.

A public employee is generally not liable for civil damages caused by operating an authorized emergency vehicle in the line of duty during certain emergency-response situations.

Certain private firms or corporations that run a fire department and have a mutual aid agreement get the same immunity from civil damages as the relevant district and its employees, while responding to a fire alarm or other emergency call.

Public agencies that employ peace officers may adopt vehicle pursuit policies, but if they do, the policy and annual training must meet minimum standards; qualifying agencies get immunity from civil damages for injuries, death, or property damage caused by certain pursuit collisions.

A motor vehicle owner is liable for death, injury, or property damage caused by a negligent or wrongful act or omission in operating the vehicle when it is used with the owner’s permission.

In actions based on Section 17150, the Family Code presumption about property acquired by a married woman by written instrument does not apply to the acquisition of a motor vehicle by a married woman and her husband.

This section caps certain vehicle-liability damages for owners, bailees, and personal representatives.

In certain vehicle-liability lawsuits, the operator must be joined as a defendant if service can establish personal jurisdiction, and any judgment must be collected first from the operator’s property if the operator was served.

If a recovery is made under this chapter against an owner, bailee, or personal representative, that person may recover from the operator the judgment amount and costs.

A bailee who lets someone else drive with permission can be treated as an operator, and the bailee is liable for resulting death, injury, or property damage caused by negligent or wrongful operation.

In a qualifying accident involving two or more injured or killed persons, the owner, bailee, or decedent’s personal representative may settle and pay bona fide damage claims; payments up to $30,000 can reduce and then extinguish certain liability.

This section says who counts as the owner of a vehicle for this chapter when the vehicle is sold on conditional sale or mortgaged.

If a motor vehicle is gratuitously loaned to a school district, the bailee is treated as the owner under this chapter until the bailor takes the vehicle back.

A vehicle owner riding as a passenger generally cannot sue the driver or another liable person for civil damages for injury or death during the ride, unless the injury or death was proximately caused by the driver’s intoxication or willful misconduct.

A personal representative in control or possession of an estate vehicle is liable for death or injury caused by negligent or wrongful operation by someone using the vehicle with permission.

If an uninsured owner or operator gets a judgment or settlement against an insured motor vehicle owner or operator, the insured or insurer must reduce what is payable by certain uninsured-motorist coverage amounts, but not by more than the uninsured owner or operator’s award.

Payment of a settlement or final judgment involving an uninsured owner or operator must wait until related uninsured motorist claims are settled or arbitrated.

This article says it does not change the rights granted under subdivision (g) of Insurance Code Section 11580.2.

A person who damages a street, highway, appurtenance, or memorial sign, or dumps vehicle contents onto public roadway property, can be liable for repair, removal, or related costs. The Department of Transportation and local authorities may also file and settle claims in certain cases.

A person who drives a vehicle, object, or contrivance over a highway or bridge is liable for damage caused by illegal or overweight operation. If a non-owner driver has the owner’s permission, the owner and driver are jointly and severally liable.

A driver, or the owner and driver together, is liable for highway or bridge damage caused by operating a vehicle beyond certain statutory limits, even if the vehicle is otherwise exempted from those limits.

Authorities in control of a highway or bridge may bring a civil action to recover damages under Sections 17301 and 17302.

This section defines “nonresident” for this chapter as a person who is not a resident of California when the accident or collision happens.

A nonresident who accepts the code’s benefits or operates a motor vehicle in the state is treated as appointing the director as the person for service of lawful process in related accident or collision cases.

If a nonresident dies before this article’s action starts, service is made on the executor or administrator. If the defendant dies after the action has started, the court must allow the case to continue against the executor or administrator.

A nonresident who accepts the code’s privileges or drives a motor vehicle in the state is treated as having irrevocably agreed that process served under this article is legally as effective as personal service in the state.

Service of process for this section may be made by delivering or mailing the summons and complaint to the director in Sacramento; service becomes effective when the return receipt is received, and a $2 fee applies for each nonresident served.

The plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney must promptly send the defendant a notice of service plus copies of the summons and complaint by registered mail.

For service by mail, proof of compliance with Section 17455 must be made by affidavit and the defendant’s signed return receipt, and both must be attached to the original summons and filed with the court within the time allowed. For personal service outside the state, proof may be made by a qualifying public officer’s return, which must also be attached and filed.

A court may order continuances when needed to give the defendant a reasonable chance to defend the case.

The director must keep a record of all process served under this article, and the record must show the day and hour of service.

If a California resident accepts a vehicle ownership or registration certificate, that person consents to service of summons inside or outside the state in certain lawsuits.

If a California resident accepts or keeps a driver’s license issued under this code, that person is treated as consenting to service of summons in certain California court actions.

If a summons is served outside California, it may be served in the ways allowed by specified sections or by a Code of Civil Procedure chapter.

If someone is served outside the State, that person has 60 days to appear in the action.

If a person can be personally served under sections 17459 and 17460, that person’s absence from California counts toward the time limit for starting the action, unless the person is outside the state and cannot be found with reasonable diligence, or the action was started on or before September 7, 1956.

“Autoette” means a motor vehicle that meets specified location and size/weight requirements.

For this chapter, everyone under 18 is treated as a minor.

A minor’s driver’s license application can be granted only if it is signed and verified by the required parent, guardian, custodian, or, in some cases, another listed adult.

If a married minor is under 18, the application can be signed and verified by the minor’s adult spouse or by the parents of either spouse, or the minor may file proof of financial responsibility instead.

If the usual signers for a minor’s application are not California residents, a resident custodian must sign and verify it, or the department may accept the minor’s signed application if it includes proof of financial responsibility.

If the required financial responsibility proof fails during a minor’s minority, the department must immediately cancel the license until the proof is restored or the minor otherwise meets the driver’s license requirements.

The department may accept a minor’s application signed only by the minor if the required signer gives written consent or the minor is emancipated other than by marriage, and the application includes proof of financial responsibility.

If the required signer gives written consent, the department may accept the minor’s application and must issue only a restricted license unless the employer authorizes an unrestricted one in writing.

The person who signs and verifies a minor’s driver license application can be held jointly and severally liable for damages caused by the minor’s negligent or wrongful driving during minority.

If a minor drives a motor vehicle on a highway with permission, the parents or custodian/guardian become jointly and severally liable for damages caused by the minor’s negligent or wrongful driving.

This section caps liability for a minor’s negligent or wrongful act or omission and bars liability for punitive damages imposed on the minor, subject to a carve-out for a person’s own wrongful conduct.

A person who signs a minor’s license application is not liable under this chapter for the minor’s negligent or wrongful act or omission when the minor is acting as someone’s agent or servant.

A qualifying signer or employer may ask the department to cancel a minor’s driver’s license, and the department must cancel it unless Section 17712(e) applies.

The department must cancel a minor’s license when specified evidence or requests are received, and in some cases must transfer liability instead of canceling the license.

If the same defendant gets judgments under this chapter and Article 2 for a minor’s negligent or wrongful driving, the judgments are not cumulative, and recovery is capped at the amount in Section 17709.

Certain DMV and California Highway Patrol officers and employees may administer oaths and acknowledge signatures without charging a fee.

The department must file and keep records of vehicle registration applications and motor-vehicle license applications, including indexes of denied, granted, suspended, and revoked cases.

Some DMV documents may be submitted electronically or by other department-approved means, and DMV records may be stored in any feasible format.

The department may let people file required documents electronically, may accept electronic signatures for required signatures, and may set standards for approving the process. Once accepted, an electronic document counts as the original and is admissible in proceedings.

The department may use electronic notification, including email, instead of paper or mail if required consent and identification conditions are met. A person who gives the department an electronic delivery address must report any change to that address.

Every judge of a court not of record must keep a full record of each case involving a charge of violating this code.

Courts must send certain reversal or dismissal records to the department, and the department must delete the related driver-record entry within 30 days after receiving it.

Some DMV-related records must be handled differently when requested by a peace officer or sent to a court.

A court clerk or hearing officer must prepare, certify, and send a record abstract to the Department of Motor Vehicles when a traffic-related case is continued for completion of a traffic violator program and the conviction is made confidential.

Court abstracts must use a department-approved form and include specified details; certain alcohol-test information must be included and kept confidential.

A judicial officer who fails, refuses, or neglects to comply with Sections 1802, 1803, 1804, and 1816 commits misconduct in office and may be removed.

The department must file accident reports and conviction abstracts, keep records so license convictions and traffic accidents can be identified, may use electronic storage and destroy originals after electronic transcription, and must remove a victim’s record of involvement when notified under the cited Insurance Code provision.

The department must keep a record when a person enters into a stipulated vehicle release agreement, and keep that record for seven years from the date the agreement was signed.

The department must not disclose information filed under Section 1806 if doing so would violate the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The department may stop keeping driver records once the director considers them no longer necessary, except certain conviction records must still be kept.

Certain department conviction records stop being public five years after conviction, and afterward the department may share the information only with persons authorized by law.

The department must generally make specified vehicle, driver, conviction, and accident records available, but it must also follow confidentiality limits and withhold some records or disclosures in defined situations.

Employers of certain drivers must get and keep driving-record reports, use the pull-notice system, and update the department when employment ends.

The department must disclose certain driving-record information; it is not confidential.

The department must treat the home address of certain listed employees in its records as confidential.

The department must keep residence addresses confidential, may restrict mailing address release, and must follow special rules for suppressing and re-releasing certain records.

This section creates exceptions to Vehicle Code Section 1808.21 for certain financial institutions, insurance companies, contractors, and attorneys, and sets limits on how any obtained address information may be used.

This section carves out exceptions to Section 1808.21 and limits how released vehicle-record information may be requested, used, disclosed, and marketed.

Certain motor vehicle liability insurance or surety bond information held by the department is confidential and generally may not be disclosed, except to listed recipients.

The department must run a program to provide residence address information to certain qualifying institutions, and the information can be used only for parking enforcement.

The department must keep certain listed people’s home addresses confidential when they request it, and it may disclose them only to specified recipients.

Willful, unauthorized misuse or disclosure of department record information is a misdemeanor.

This section forbids obtaining department file information by false representations, sharing restricted or confidential information, or using the information for an unauthorized purpose.

People with access to confidential or restricted DMV information must protect it, and agents may not use those records for any other purpose.

Certain government, law enforcement, commercial, and other actors must not obtain, access, use, or disclose noncriminal history information maintained by the department for immigration enforcement purposes.

Certain DMV records about a person's physical or mental condition, and certain controlled-substance convictions not involving a motor vehicle, are confidential and not open to public inspection, except as provided in Section 22511.58.

Certain specified public officials and agencies may get copies of fullface engraved pictures or photographs of individuals directly from the department.

Certain department records must keep listed officials’ home addresses confidential if requested, and those addresses generally may not be disclosed.

The department must keep certain traffic-school conviction records confidential and use them only for statistical purposes, with limited disclosure exceptions.

Carriers must report certain driver dismissals and later reinstatements to the department within five days.

The department must notify confidential-address holders before license or ID expiration, and may require them to prove they still qualify for confidentiality when they renew.

The department may prepare and share information about preventing traffic accidents.

The department may let people inspect certain vehicle registration and driver’s license records, but it must follow regulatory procedures for requests, verification, notification, recordkeeping, and public copying limits.

The department may create commercial requester accounts and issue requester codes, but it must meet stated conditions for establishing accounts and can deny or cancel requester codes in specified cases.

The department may release certain accident-report information only to qualifying requesters, and the requester must use it only for the allowed purposes.

Several public officials and defense personnel may access department records, including telephone access.

The department may issue special permits for access to its electronic database for commercial use, subject to listed exceptions and permit conditions.

The department may sell copies of its records, but the charge must cover at least the actual copying cost, and the director sets the charge and sale conditions.

The department may not charge for copies of its records or information from them when providing them to certain public entities.

The director or designated department officers may, on request, prepare and deliver a certified copy of a department record without charge.

A person who examines department records and sells information to the public for compensation must first get a permit from the director.

A bond must satisfy the director and must cover losses caused by the principal, agents, or employees failing to preserve or surrender examined records, or causing loss or damage to department records.

Certain juvenile court officials must keep a full record of covered traffic-offense cases and report the offense to the department in Sacramento within the stated time limits.

The department must forward certain public allegations about vehicles linked to flaming or glowing substances to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, along with registered-owner information in its records.

Records and information about an abstract of conviction must include a notation about whether the vehicle was commercial or noncommercial, or its license plate number.

The public may inspect certain DMV mileage records during the department’s office hours.

The department must maintain a data and monitoring system to evaluate intervention programs for people convicted of specified DUI-related violations, and it must submit annual evaluation reports to the Legislature.

The Department of Motor Vehicles must work with the courts to establish and maintain a system for tracking DUI violations.

The department must conduct quarterly random audits of certain applications and verify the supporting certificates and information.

If this code or a department regulation requires acknowledgement of a document, the applicant’s signature can be accepted as sufficient if it is attested by a subscribing witness in the applicant’s presence.

If a provision in this code is substantially the same as an existing provision on the same subject, it is to be read as a restatement and continuation of the old law, not as a new law.

This section makes it unlawful to use a false or fictitious name, or to knowingly make a false statement or conceal a material fact, in a document filed with the DMV or the California Highway Patrol.

This division applies on highways and elsewhere throughout the State, unless another rule says otherwise.

A driver involved in a crash causing injury to another person or a death must immediately stop at the scene and comply with Sections 20003 and 20004.

Drivers in a property-damage-only accident must stop immediately and either identify themselves to the other party or leave a written notice and promptly notify police.

Drivers in injury- or death-related accidents must share identification and vehicle details, give the same information to police or traffic officers at the scene, and help injured people get medical care when needed or requested.

If a crash causes a death, the involved driver must promptly report the accident to the nearest California Highway Patrol or other authorized police office and include the Section 20003 information.

A driver who does not have a driver's license in possession must show other valid identification to the occupants of the vehicle he collided with.

Drivers in injury-or-death accidents must file a written report within 24 hours, and common carrier owners or drivers must file a similar report by the 10th day of the following month.

The California Highway Patrol may require supplemental accident reports from certain drivers or common-carrier vehicle owners, and may also require accident witnesses to file reports.

If the driver cannot physically make a required accident report, any vehicle occupant at the time of the accident must make the report or cause it to be made.

A coroner or medical examiner must report certain motor-vehicle-accident deaths in writing to the California Highway Patrol by the 10th day of each month, and must report chemical test results when available.

Accident reports are confidential for DMV and CHP use, but the CHP or the reporting law enforcement agency must disclose the report contents to people with a proper interest; a copy request must be accompanied by a fee no higher than actual copying cost.

Accident reports cannot be used as evidence in trials arising from an accident, except that the department must provide a certificate on demand in limited circumstances.

Certain accident reports must be available for confidential use by specified government entities.

Traffic or police officers may not include fault determinations in a counter report of a property-damage accident, except in two stated situations.

Specified public safety personnel may transport an injured person from a highway accident to a physician or hospital if the injured person does not object, and they are not liable for certain damages if they act with ordinary care and precaution.

A peace officer who knows or has reasonable cause to believe a pesticide was spilled or accidentally released must report the spill as required by another code section.

Certain traffic law enforcement agencies may adopt a written policy for officers to assist disabled motorists on highways, and if they do, they must make a copy available to the public on request.

This section says the Vehicle Code applies uniformly statewide, and local authorities generally may not pass or enforce ordinances or resolutions on matters covered by the code unless the code expressly allows it.

This section defines “automated enforcement system” as a system run by a governmental agency, with a law enforcement agency, that records driver responses to certain rail or traffic signals and captures clear images of the vehicle and license plate.

The Transportation Agency includes the Department of the California Highway Patrol.

In this division, “department” means the Department of the California Highway Patrol.

This division applies only to the operation of vehicles on highways, unless a different place is specifically mentioned.

In this chapter, “department” means the Department of the California Highway Patrol.

In any statute, “California Highway Patrol” means the Department of the California Highway Patrol.

The department succeeds to the former Division of Enforcement’s duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction.

The department has possession and control of certain records, property, and equipment tied to the former Division of Enforcement of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

This section says Chapter 2 of the Government Code applies to the department, and references to the “head of the department” in that chapter mean the commissioner for purposes of this division.

People riding or driving an animal on a highway have the same rights and duties as a vehicle driver under this division and Division 10, except where a rule cannot naturally apply.

This section says specified Vehicle Code sections apply to trolley coaches.

This section extends highway driving rules to vehicles used in the course of employment by the State and certain local public entities, with authorized emergency vehicles subject to code exemptions.

The code generally does not apply to public employees, publicly owned teams, vehicles, and equipment when they are working on highways or on official traffic control devices, but it does apply while they are traveling to or from that work.

This section exempts duly authorized representatives of a public agency from this division while they are actually doing the work described in Section 21053, but not when traveling to or from that work.

Drivers of authorized emergency vehicles are exempt from listed traffic-law chapters when responding to emergencies or similar situations, and they may not sound a siren unless required under this section.

A driver must still drive with due regard for the safety of everyone using the highway.

Police and traffic officers may not use a siren or drive at illegal speed while escorting a vehicle, except in specified life-preservation and emergency situations.