


                                CHAPTER 13
                         REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES

     Subchapter
        A.  General Provisions
        B.  Registration Plates
        C.  Violations and Suspensions

        Enactment.  Chapter 13 was added June 17, 1976, P.L.162,
     No.81, effective July 1, 1977, unless otherwise noted.
        Special Provisions in Appendix.  See section 25 of Act 115 of
     1996 in the appendix to this title for special provisions
     relating to pilot programs for decentralized services for motor
     vehicle and driver license transactions.
        See section 15 of Act 23 of 1999 in the appendix to this
     title for special provisions relating to joint study on
     registration validation stickers.
        Cross References.  Chapter 13 is referred to in sections
     1516, 1752, 1798.3, 1911, 6117, 7702 of this title.

                               SUBCHAPTER A
                            GENERAL PROVISIONS

     Sec.
     1301.  Registration and certificate of title required.
     1302.  Vehicles exempt from registration.
     1303.  Vehicles of nonresidents exempt from registration.
     1304.  Registration criteria.
     1305.  Application for registration.
     1306.  Grounds for refusing registration.
     1307.  Period of registration.
     1307.1. Permanent fleet registration.
     1308.  Issuance of registration card.
     1309.  Renewal of registration.
     1310.  Temporary registration cards.
     1310.1. Temporary registration permits.
     1311.  Registration card to be signed and exhibited on demand.
     1312.  Notice of change of name or address.
     1313.  Duplicate registration cards.
     1314.  Transfer of registration.
     1315.  Operation of vehicle following death of owner.
     1316.  Department records.
     1317.  Acknowledgment of littering provisions.
     1318.  Duties of agents.
     1319.  Duties of motor carrier vehicle owners.
     § 1301.  Registration and certificate of title required.
        (a)  Driving unregistered vehicle prohibited.--No person
     shall drive or move and no owner or motor carrier shall
     knowingly permit to be driven or moved upon any highway any
     vehicle which is not registered in this Commonwealth unless the
     vehicle is exempt from registration.
        (b)  Proof of residency.--A person charged under this section
     has the burden of proving that he is a nonresident whenever he
     asserts a defense based on section 1303 (relating to vehicles of
     nonresidents exempt from registration). If he produces at the
     office of the issuing authority satisfactory proof that he is a
     nonresident and is in compliance with section 1303 within five
     days after being charged with a violation of this section, the
     issuing authority shall dismiss the charge.
        (c)  Certificate of title prerequisite to registration.--No
     vehicle shall be registered unless a certificate of title has
     been applied for or issued if one is required by Chapter 11
     (relating to certificate of title and security interests).
        (c.1)  Reconstructed, recovered theft, flood, modified and
     specially constructed vehicles.--Only the department shall issue
     a temporary registration plate or card, or permit the transfer
     of a registration plate, in conjunction with any application for
     reconstructed, recovered theft, flood, modified and specially
     constructed vehicles. Proof of financial responsibility must
     accompany the application for registration prior to the issuance
     of a registration plate.
        (c.2)  Special inspection prerequisite to operation.--After
     the effective date of this section, no reconstructed, modified
     or specially constructed vehicle may be operated on the highway
     until it has successfully passed an inspection at a
     reconstructed vehicle inspection station.
        (d)  Penalty.--Any person violating the provisions of
     subsection (a) is guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon
     conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of $75 or double the
     registration fee, whichever is greater, except when the vehicle
     was previously registered in this Commonwealth within 60 days of
     the commission of the offense whereupon the fine shall be $25.
     In the case of a motor carrier vehicle other than a trailer, the
     fine shall be $50 if the motor carrier vehicle was previously
     registered in this Commonwealth within 60 days of the commission
     of the offense or, if the registration occurs outside the 60-day
     period, the fine shall be double the registration fee for the
     maximum weight at which the vehicle could have been registered
     in this Commonwealth.
     (July 22, 1983, P.L.122, No.32, eff. imd.; Mar. 29, 1984,
     P.L.155, No.30, eff. 60 days; July 10, 1984, P.L.679, No.146,
     eff. 60 days; July 8, 1986, P.L.432, No.90, eff. imd.; Dec. 21,
     1998, P.L.1126, No.151, eff. 60 days; Dec. 9, 2002, P.L.1278,
     No.152, eff. 60 days; Dec. 1, 2004, P.L.1767, No.228, eff. Jan.
     1, 2007)

        2004 Amendment.  Act 228 added subsec. (c.2).
        2002 Amendment.  Act 152 added subsec. (c.1).
        1998 Amendment.  Act 151 amended subsecs. (a) and (d).
        Cross References.  Section 1301 is referred to in sections
     1311, 6309, 6309.1 of this title.

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Last modified: November 27, 2007