This section requires certain identification number inspections to verify vehicle identity, limits who may perform them, and lets the department or another provider charge a fee up to $40.
Sec. 501.0321. IDENTIFICATION NUMBER INSPECTION. (a) An inspection required under Section 501.032 must verify, as applicable, the identity of: (1) a motor vehicle; (2) a trailer or semitrailer; (3) a frame, body, or motor of a motor vehicle; or (4) an item of equipment not required to be titled but that may be registered under Chapter 502 or issued licensed plates under Chapter 504. (b) An inspection under this section may not rely solely on the public identification number to verify the identity. (c) An inspection under this section may be performed only by a person who has successfully completed an appropriate training program as determined by department rule and is: (1) an auto theft investigator who is a law enforcement officer of this state or a political subdivision of this state; (2) a person working under the direct supervision of a person described by Subdivision (1); (3) an employee of the department authorized by the department to perform an inspection under this section; or (4) an employee of the National Insurance Crime Bureau authorized by the department to perform an inspection under this section. (d) The department shall prescribe a form on which the identification number inspection is to be recorded. The department may provide the form only to a person described by Subsection (c). (e) The department or another entity that provides an inspection under this section may impose a fee of not more than $40 for the inspection. The county or municipal treasurer of a county or municipal entity that provides an inspection under this section shall credit the fee to the general fund of the county or municipality, as applicable, to defray the entity's cost associated with the inspection. If the department provides an inspection under this section, the fee shall be deposited to the credit of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles fund. (f) The department may not impose a fee for an inspection requested by the department. The department shall include a notification of the waiver to the owner at the time the department requests the identification number inspection. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 969 (S.B. 2076), Sec. 10, eff. September 1, 2017.