(a) When selling a vehicle, dealers and lessor-retailers shall use numbered report-of-sale forms issued by the department. The forms shall be used in accordance with the following terms and conditions:
(1) The dealer or lessor-retailer shall attach for display a copy of the report of sale on the vehicle before the vehicle is delivered to the purchaser.
(2) The dealer or lessor-retailer shall submit to the department an application accompanied by all fees and penalties due for registration or transfer of registration of the vehicle within 30 days from the date of sale, as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 9553, if the vehicle is a used vehicle, and 20 days if the vehicle is a new vehicle. Penalties due for noncompliance with this paragraph shall be paid by the dealer or lessor-retailer. The dealer or lessor-retailer shall not charge the purchaser for the penalties.
(3) As part of an application to transfer registration of a used vehicle, the dealer or lessor-retailer shall include all of the following information on the certificate of title, application for a duplicate certificate of title, or form prescribed by the department:
(A) Date of sale and report-of-sale number.
(B) Purchaser’s name and address.
(C) Dealer’s name, address, number, and signature or signature of authorized agent.
(D) Salesperson number.
(4) If the department returns an application and the application was first received by the department within 30 days of the date of sale of the vehicle if the vehicle is a used vehicle, and 20 days if the vehicle is a new vehicle, the dealer or lessor-retailer shall submit a corrected application to the department within 50 days from the date of sale of the vehicle if the vehicle is a used vehicle, and 40 days if the vehicle is a new vehicle, or within 30 days from the date that the application is first returned by the department if the vehicle is a used vehicle, and 20 days if the vehicle is a new vehicle, whichever is later.
(5) If the department returns an application and the application was first received by the department more than 30 days from the date of sale of the vehicle if the vehicle is a used vehicle, and 20 days if the vehicle is a new vehicle, the dealer or lessor-retailer shall submit a corrected application to the department within 50 days from the date of sale of the vehicle if the vehicle is a used vehicle, and 40 days if the vehicle is a new vehicle.
(6) An application first received by the department more than 50 days from the date of sale of the vehicle if the vehicle is a used vehicle, and 40 days if the vehicle is a new vehicle, is subject to the penalties specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 4456.1.
(7) The dealer or lessor-retailer shall report the sale pursuant to Section 5901.
(b) (1) A transfer that takes place through a dealer conducting a wholesale vehicle auction shall be reported to the department by that dealer on a single form approved by the department. The completed form shall contain, at a minimum, all of the following information:
(A) The name and address of the seller.
(B) The seller’s dealer number, if applicable.
(C) The date of delivery to the dealer conducting the auction.
(D) The actual mileage of the vehicle as indicated by the vehicle’s odometer at the time of delivery to the dealer conducting the auction.
(E) The name, address, and occupational license number of the dealer conducting the auction.
(F) The name, address, and occupational license number of the buyer.
(G) The signature of the dealer conducting the auction.
(2) Submission of the completed form specified in paragraph (1) to the department shall fully satisfy the requirements of subdivision (a) and subdivision (a) of Section 5901 with respect to the dealer selling at auction and the dealer conducting the auction.
(3) The single form required by this subdivision does not relieve a dealer of any obligation or responsibility that is required by any other law.
(c) A vehicle displaying a copy of the report of sale may be operated without license plates or registration card until either of the following, whichever occurs first:
(1) The license plates and registration card are received by the purchaser.
(2) A 90-day period, commencing with the date of sale of the vehicle, has expired.
(d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2012.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends that date.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 90, Sec. 2. (AB 516) Effective January 1, 2017. Repealed as of January 1, 2019, by its own provisions. See later operative version added by Sec. 3 of Stats. 2016, Ch. 90.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018