Title 59, Oregon Vehicle Code

A certificate of title is prima facie evidence of the ownership of a vehicle or of an interest therein. In all actions, suits or criminal proceedings, when the title to or right of possession of any vehicle is involved, proof of the ownership or right to possession shall be made …

(1) The Department of Transportation may adopt rules authorizing different forms of title and specifying the uses of the different forms. The rules may include, but need not be limited to, rules authorizing and describing uses of electronic titles and certificates of title. (2) R…

The Department of Transportation shall design a certificate of title for vehicles for situations in which the department determines that certificates will be issued. A certificate of title issued by the department shall conform to all of the following: (1) The certificate shall b…

If title to a vehicle is not to be issued in the form of a certificate, the record of title kept by the Department of Transportation shall include all information required by ORS 803.015. Nothing in this section requires that title issued in a form other than a certificate: (1) B…

(1) A person commits the offense of violating vehicle title requirements if the person owns or operates any vehicle in this state for which this state has not issued title. (2) Exemptions from this section are established by ORS 803.030. The exemptions are subject to ORS 803.040.…

This section establishes exemptions from the requirements under ORS 803.025 to obtain title issued by this state. The exemptions are subject to ORS 803.040. The exemptions are in addition to any exemptions under ORS 801.026. Vehicles exempted by this section from the requirements…

(1) The Department of Transportation, by rule, may provide for optional titling of vehicles that are not subject to the vehicle titling requirements under ORS 803.025 or that are exempt from vehicle titling requirements by ORS 803.030. The rules adopted for purposes of this subse…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Mobile home park” has the meaning given that term in ORS 446.003. (b) “Park model recreational vehicle” means a recreational vehicle, as defined in ORS 174.101, that: (A) Is designed for use as temporary living quarters; (B) Is built on a single …

(1) If this state has issued title for a vehicle, the vehicle shall remain titled by this state and subject to all of the provisions of the vehicle code relating to vehicles titled by this state until one of the following occurs: (a) The vehicle becomes legally titled under the l…

(1) The Department of Transportation shall issue title for a vehicle if the applicant and the vehicle meet the following qualifications: (a) The applicant must satisfy the department that the applicant is the owner of the vehicle and is otherwise entitled to have title issued in …

(1) An application for title required under ORS 803.045 shall be in a form specified by the Department of Transportation and shall contain all the following: (a) A full description of the vehicle, including, but not necessarily limited to, the vehicle identification number. (b) T…

(1) At the request of a vehicle dealer, the Department of Transportation shall provide expedited titling services if the vehicle dealer pays the fee imposed under this section. A request under this section must be made in the manner required by the department. The department shal…

(1) When a certificate of title is issued by this state, the Department of Transportation shall deliver the certificate as follows unless otherwise provided by law: (a) To the security interest holder with the highest priority. (b) If there are no security interest holders, to th…

A title does not require a renewal and is valid until one of the following occurs: (1) The vehicle is destroyed or dismantled. (2) Any interest reflected on the title changes. [1983 c.338 §182; 1985 c.316 §1; 1993 c.233 §24; 2019 c.17 §5]

(1) The Department of Transportation may issue a duplicate or replacement certificate of title when all of the following occur: (a) The department is satisfied as to the loss, mutilation or destruction of a certificate of title or salvage title certificate. (b) The fee for issuan…

(1) A person commits the offense of false statement on title or transfer of vehicle if the person knowingly makes any false statement of a material fact in an application for title to a vehicle, in an application for salvage title for a vehicle or in any assignment of title to a …

(1) A person commits the offense of false swearing relating to titling of vehicles if the person knowingly makes any false affidavit or knowingly swears or affirms falsely to any matter or thing relating to the titling of vehicles under the vehicle code. For purposes of this sect…

(1) A person commits the offense of unlawfully publishing certificate of title forms if the person produces in any way, or causes to be produced, without the authority of the Department of Transportation, facsimiles of the blank forms upon which the department issues certificates…

(1) A person commits the offense of selling an untitled vehicle if the person sells a vehicle without complying with the requirements under ORS 803.025 and 803.045 to obtain a title for the vehicle or the requirements of ORS 819.016 to obtain a salvage title for the vehicle, as a…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the fee to issue a certificate of title under ORS 803.045 or 803.140, to transfer title under ORS 803.092, to issue a duplicate or replacement certificate of title under ORS 803.065 or to issue a new title due to name or a…

(1) As used in this section, “miles per gallon” or “MPG” means the distance traveled in a vehicle powered by one gallon of fuel. (2) The Department of Transportation shall determine the combined MPG ratings for each motor vehicle pursuant to a method determined by the department.…

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, upon the transfer of any interest in a vehicle covered by an Oregon title the transferee shall submit an application for title to the Department of Transportation. Such application shall be submitted to the department within 30 da…

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, upon the transfer of any interest shown on an Oregon title any person whose interest is released, terminated, assigned or transferred, shall release or assign that interest in a manner specified by the Department of Transportation…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, the exclusive means for perfecting a security interest in a vehicle is by application for notation of the security interest on the title in accordance with this section. The application may accompany the application for a …

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the case of motor vehicles or trailers, a transaction does not create a sale or security interest merely because it provides that the rental price is permitted or required to be adjusted under the agreement either upward or downward …

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the rights and remedies of all persons in vehicles subject to security interests established under ORS 803.097 are determined by the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code. (2)(a) If perfection of a security interest in…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Transferee” means any person to whom ownership of a motor vehicle is transferred by purchase, gift or any other means other than by creation of a security interest and any person who, as an agent, signs an odometer disclosure statement for the tr…

(1) With every vehicle title transfer, the Department of Transportation shall check the vehicle identification number or numbers on the vehicle title or other primary ownership records against those listed as stolen by the Law Enforcement Data System. If the check indicates the v…

(1) Except as provided in ORS 803.092, a person commits the offense of failure to deliver vehicle documents on transfer of a vehicle for which the Department of Transportation has issued a certificate of title if the person does not comply with any of the following: (a) Upon tran…

(1) A person commits the offense of failure to deliver information on transfer of a vehicle for which the Department of Transportation has issued title in a form other than a certificate if the person does not comply with rules adopted by the department concerning the information…

If the ownership of a motor vehicle subject to the lien provided for by ORS 319.700 is transferred, whether by operation of law or otherwise, the Department of Transportation shall not issue, to the transferee or person otherwise entitled thereto, a registration card or title wit…

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the transferor of an interest in a vehicle covered by an Oregon title shall notify the Department of Transportation of the transfer within 10 days of the date of transfer. The notice shall be in a form determined by the department…

(1) Except as otherwise provided by rule of the Department of Transportation under subsection (3) of this section, upon receipt of a notification of transfer described in ORS 803.112, the department shall make a notation on its records indicating that it has received notification…

(1) A person commits the offense of knowingly submitting false notice of transfer if the person submits a notice of transfer of an interest in a vehicle as described in ORS 803.112 to the Department of Transportation and the person knows that the interest in the vehicle has not b…

(1) A person commits the offense of knowingly submitting false information about transfer of a vehicle if the person submits a notice of transfer of an interest in a vehicle as described in ORS 803.112 to the Department of Transportation and the person knows that some or all of t…

A transferor who has delivered possession of a vehicle to a transferee may not, by reason of any of the provisions of the Oregon Vehicle Code, be subject to civil liability or criminal liability for the parking, abandoning or operation of the vehicle by another person when the tr…

(1) When an odometer disclosure is required by statute or by the Department of Transportation, the disclosure or reading shall be provided in a form required by the department by rule. The department may require different forms for different situations and may require different i…

(1) When an odometer disclosure is required at time of transfer of a vehicle, the transferee and the transferor shall both sign the odometer disclosure form and the transferor shall provide as much of the following as is required by the Department of Transportation by rule: (a) T…

(1) The Department of Transportation may adopt rules providing for issuance of any forms it considers necessary or convenient for assigning or conveying interests in vehicles and any forms it considers necessary or convenient for providing required odometer disclosures. The autho…

(1) The Department of Transportation by rule may allow the filing of documents related to odometer disclosure without an accompanying application for issuance or transfer of title. The department may determine situations in which such documents may be filed and what documents are…

The purpose of a transitional ownership record is to enable security interests to be perfected in a timely manner when the primary ownership record is not available. [1989 c.927 §7; 1993 c.233 §41]

A transitional ownership record is acceptable as an ownership record only if the primary ownership record is not in the possession of the selling dealer, new security interest holder or the agent of either at the time the transitional ownership record is submitted to the Departme…

A person submitting a transitional ownership record to the Department of Transportation shall pay a fee of $13 to the department. The fee shall be paid at the time of submission of the record unless the department by rule establishes alternative payment methods. [1989 c.927 §6; 1…

The Department of Transportation shall reject, return or subsequently invalidate a transitional ownership record if: (1) More than 30 days have elapsed between the date of sale or if no sale is involved, the date the contract or security interest being perfected was signed and th…

The Department of Transportation may reject, return or subsequently invalidate a transitional ownership record if: (1) It is determined that title is to be issued to someone other than the person shown on the transitional ownership record; (2) Interests reflected on the primary o…

(1) When a person is required by the provisions of ORS 819.016 to apply for a salvage title for a vehicle, the application shall be in a form acceptable to the Department of Transportation and shall contain any information required by the department by rule. Rules adopted by the …

This section establishes when the exemptions under ORS 803.030 and 803.305 from titling and registration of vehicles owned by nonresidents are applicable. The applicability of the described exemptions for nonresident owners of vehicles is subject to all of the following: (1) A pe…

(1) A person that purchases a taxable motor vehicle from a seller that is not subject to the privilege tax imposed under ORS 320.405 may not register or title the taxable motor vehicle in Oregon unless the person provides proof that: (a) The person paid the use tax imposed under …

(1) The Department of Transportation may require proof under this section if the department determines the proof is necessary to resolve questions concerning vehicle ownership or undisclosed security interests in the transfer of any vehicle under ORS 803.092, in an application fo…

(1) As used in this section, “electronic signature” has the meaning given that term in ORS 84.004. (2) The Department of Transportation may receive electronically transmitted documents necessary to: (a) Issue or transfer a certificate of title for a vehicle; (b) Register a vehicl…