(1) Any automobile dealer, wrecker service, or repair service owner, or any person or party on whose property a motor vehicle is lawfully towed at the written request of a law enforcement officer, who shall have an abandoned motor vehicle on his property, may sell, free and clear of all claims such motor vehicle by public auction, or if the abandoned motor vehicle has no market value, may dispose of the same after having received at least two (2) written statements from licensed automobile dealers as to the worthlessness of such motor vehicle and after compliance with subsection (2) of this section and Section 63-23-9. An abandoned motor vehicle as defined by Section 63-23-3(b) shall not be sold at auction until thirty (30) days from date of removal from a public street, road or highway.
(2) The person authorized to execute the sale or disposal of an abandoned motor vehicle shall notify by certified mail using a third-party vendor that meets the requirements of the department, within seven (7) days of receipt of such vehicle, any Mississippi lienholder on such vehicle that unless a claim on the vehicle is made within thirty (30) days of receipt of such notice, the vehicle will be sold or destroyed. If no claim is made on the vehicle within thirty (30) days following receipt of such required notifications to lienholders under this section, and if the authorized person intends to sell the vehicle to a scrap metal processor, used auto parts dealer, or otherwise destroy or dismantle the vehicle, the authorized person shall notify the Department of Revenue directly or via a third-party vendor that no claim has been made and provide the Department of Revenue with electronic copies of all notifications required to be sent to lienholders, and the Department of Revenue shall immediately remove any and all outstanding liens from the motor vehicle in the Department of Revenue’s automated statewide motor vehicle registration system, provided the authorized person provides adequate evidence that any lienholders were notified in compliance with this section, and attests in writing that no claim was made on the vehicle. For all notifications required to be sent to lienholders, the third-party vendor must utilize the format and transmit the data as required by the Department of Revenue. Motor vehicle dealers, as defined in Section 63-17-55, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall not be required to utilize a third-party vendor or comply with any third-party vendor transmission requirements imposed by the Department of Revenue under this subsection.
(3) A third-party vendor shall maintain a publicly accessible website which shall provide owners, lienholders, insurance companies or their agents the ability to search for notices sent pursuant to this section. Such notices shall be publicly accessible for a minimum of three (3) consecutive weeks prior to the sale of the property at public auction. The Department of Revenue shall include on its website a link to any website maintained by a third-party vendor for posting notices. The website must exclude personal identifying information and provide a voluntary option for owners, lienholders, and insurance companies to receive notification of vehicles added to the website.
(4) After the sale of any vehicle as set out hereinabove is made, the person or officer designated and making the sale of such property shall promptly upon completion of the sale deliver to the chancery clerk a list or itemization of the property sold, the amount paid for each item, the person to whom each item was sold, and all monies received from such sale, the gross charges levied by the person making the sale against the property sold and the net amount paid over to the chancery clerk. Any sale made by any person, officer, corporation or association, shall have attached to the report of sale a sworn statement certifying as to the date such personal property or items sold first came into his possession or was abandoned on his premises and the date said personal property or item was sold.
(5) The proceeds of the sale in excess of repair, towing and storage expenses and all expenses incurred in connection with a sale when a sale is made under the provisions of this chapter, shall escheat to the county and shall be paid over to the chancery clerk to be placed into the general fund of the county in which the vehicle is abandoned. However, in those municipalities availing themselves of the provisions of Section 21-39-21, the proceeds of the sale in excess of the repairs, towing, storage or other necessary expenses incurred shall escheat to the general fund of the municipality.
(6) Every towing company shall maintain accurate records for a period of three (3) years, which records shall identify the vehicles it has towed and stored and all procedures that it has taken to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
(7) For the purposes of this section, the term “third-party vendor” means a qualified business entity that, upon a request submitted through a website by an authorized person:(a) Accesses the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System records to obtain the last state of record of the vehicle and to verify the vehicle is not reported stolen;(b) Accesses the owner and lienholder information, as applicable, for a vehicle from the Department of Revenue;(c) Electronically generates the notices required of an authorized person by this section through the website;(d) Prints and sends the notices required under this section to each owner and lienholder of record by certified mail;(e) Electronically returns tracking information or other proof of mailing and delivery of the notices to the authorized person;(f) Electronically reports onto its website the following information related to the notice:(i) The vehicle identification number;(ii) The license plate number, if available;(iii) The name and address of the towing-storage operator or authorized person;(iv) The physical location of the vehicle;(v) The date on which the vehicle was towed or abandoned;(vi) The amount of storage fees owed at the time of the notice;(vii) The date of assessment of storage charges;(viii) The dates on which the notice was mailed and delivered;(ix) Other information required by the Department of Revenue.
(a) Accesses the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System records to obtain the last state of record of the vehicle and to verify the vehicle is not reported stolen;
(b) Accesses the owner and lienholder information, as applicable, for a vehicle from the Department of Revenue;
(c) Electronically generates the notices required of an authorized person by this section through the website;
(d) Prints and sends the notices required under this section to each owner and lienholder of record by certified mail;
(e) Electronically returns tracking information or other proof of mailing and delivery of the notices to the authorized person;
(f) Electronically reports onto its website the following information related to the notice:(i) The vehicle identification number;(ii) The license plate number, if available;(iii) The name and address of the towing-storage operator or authorized person;(iv) The physical location of the vehicle;(v) The date on which the vehicle was towed or abandoned;(vi) The amount of storage fees owed at the time of the notice;(vii) The date of assessment of storage charges;(viii) The dates on which the notice was mailed and delivered;(ix) Other information required by the Department of Revenue.
(i) The vehicle identification number;
(ii) The license plate number, if available;
(iii) The name and address of the towing-storage operator or authorized person;
(iv) The physical location of the vehicle;
(v) The date on which the vehicle was towed or abandoned;
(vi) The amount of storage fees owed at the time of the notice;
(vii) The date of assessment of storage charges;
(viii) The dates on which the notice was mailed and delivered;
(ix) Other information required by the Department of Revenue.
(8) A third-party vendor must apply to and be approved by the Department of Revenue. The Department of Revenue shall prescribe the format for the application. The Department of Revenue may approve the applicant as qualified if the applicant:(a) Provides the Department of Revenue with a bond valued at One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00);(b) Submits an acceptable internal control and data security audit or its equivalent performed by a licensed certified public accountant to the Department of Revenue;(c) Successfully demonstrates the ability to electronically provide required data onto its website.
(a) Provides the Department of Revenue with a bond valued at One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00);
(b) Submits an acceptable internal control and data security audit or its equivalent performed by a licensed certified public accountant to the Department of Revenue;
(c) Successfully demonstrates the ability to electronically provide required data onto its website.
(9) The Department of Revenue may deny, suspend, or revoke approval of a third-party vendor if the Department of Revenue determines that the third-party vendor has committed an act of fraud or misrepresentation related to a notice required by this section.
(10) A third-party vendor must maintain all records related to providing notices under this section for five (5) years and allow the Department of Revenue to inspect and copy such records upon request. The records may be maintained in an electronic format.
(11) A third-party vendor must annually provide the Department of Revenue with evidence that it maintains a bond valued at One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) and must annually submit an internal control and data security audit or its equivalent performed by a licensed certified public accountant to continue its approved status each year.