Title 20, Highways and Motor Vehicles
18 chapters · 273 sections in this title.
20 V.I.C. § 201 Short title
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This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Motor Vehicle Certificate of Title Act”.
20 V.I.C. § 202 Legislative intent
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1. It is the intention of the legislature that the purposes of the “Motor Vehicle Certificate of Title Act” are:1. To facilitate vehicle sales and sales financing within the Virgin Islands by simplifying procedures for transfers and the creation and perfection of liens;2. To curt…
20 V.I.C. § 203 Definitions
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As used in this chapter:“Bureau” means the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.“Identifying number” means the vehicle identification number assigned by the manufacturer or by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles for the purpose of identifying the vehicle. The term shall include any numbers or lette…
20 V.I.C. § 204 Certificate of title required
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(a) Except as provided in section 205 of this chapter, every owner of a vehicle which is in the Virgin Islands and for which no certificate of title has been issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles shall make application to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles for a certificate of title o…
20 V.I.C. § 205 Exclusion
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1. No certificate of title need be obtained for:1. A vehicle owned by the Government of the United States unless it is registered in the Virgin Islands;2. A vehicle owned by a manufacturer or dealer and held for sale, even though incidentally moved on the highway or used for purp…
20 V.I.C. § 206 Optional certificate of title
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The owner of an implement of husbandry or special mobile equipment may apply for and obtain a certificate of title on it. All of the provisions of this chapter are applicable to be certificate of title so issued, except that a person who receives a transfer of an interest in the …
20 V.I.C. § 207 Application for certificate of title
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(a) The application for a certificate of title of a vehicle in this Territory shall be made by the owner to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles on the form it prescribes and shall contain:1. The name, residence and mailing address of the owner;2. A description of the vehicle including, …
20 V.I.C. § 208 Examination of records
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(a) The Bureau of Motor Vehicles, upon receiving an application for a certificate of title, shall check the vehicle identification number shown in the application against the records of vehicles required to be maintained by section 209 of this chapter and against the records of s…
20 V.I.C. § 209 Issuance and records
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(a) The Bureau of Motor Vehicles shall file each application received and, when satisfied as to its genuineness and regularity and that the applicant is entitled to the issuance of a certificate of title, shall issue a certificate of title for the vehicle. (b) The Bureau of Motor…
20 V.I.C. § 210 Contents and effect
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(a) Each certificate of title issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles shall contain:1. The date issued;2. The name, residence, and mailing address of the owner;3. The names and addresses of any first priority lienholder, as shown on the application or, if the application is based …
20 V.I.C. § 211 Delivery
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The certificate of title shall be mailed to the first priority lienholder named in it or, if none, to the owner.
20 V.I.C. § 212 Registration without certificate of title; bond
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(a) If the Bureau of Motor Vehicles is not satisfied as to the ownership of the vehicle or that there are no undisclosed security interests in it, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles may register the vehicle but shall either:(a) Withhold issuance of a certificate of title until the appl…
20 V.I.C. § 213 Refusing certificate of title
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(a) The Bureau of Motor Vehicles shall refuse issuance of a certificate of title if any required fee is not paid or if it has reasonable grounds to believe that:(a) The applicant is not the owner of the vehicle;(b) The application contains a false or fraudulent statement; or(c) T…
20 V.I.C. § 214 Lost, stolen or mutilated certificates
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(a) If a certificate of title is lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed or becomes illegible, the first priority lienholder or, if none, the owner or legal representative of the owner named in the certificate, as shown by the records of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, shall promptly …
20 V.I.C. § 215 Transfer
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(a) If an owner transfers his interest in a vehicle, other than by the creation of a security interest, he shall, at the time of the delivery of the vehicle, execute an assignment and warranty of title to the transfers in the space provided therefor on the certificate or as the B…
20 V.I.C. § 216 Transfer to or from dealer; records
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(a) If a dealer buys a vehicle and holds it for resale and procures the certificate of title from the owner or the lienholder within 10 days after delivery to him of the vehicle, he need not send the certificate to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles but, upon transferring the vehicle t…
20 V.I.C. § 217 Transfer by operation of law
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(a) If the interest of an owner in a vehicle passes to another other than by voluntary transfer, the transferee shall, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, promptly mail or deliver to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles the last certificate of title, if available, proof…
20 V.I.C. § 218 Fees; registration cards
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(a) An application for a certificate of title shall be accompanied by the registration card and the required fee when mailed or delivered to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. (b) An application for the naming of a lienholder or his assignee on a certificate of title shall be accompan…
20 V.I.C. § 218a Exemptions from Certificate of Title Fees
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(A) Senior citizens or handicapped persons shall be exempt from the payment of the certificate of title fee.(1) For the purposes of this section, “a senior citizen” is defined as a person sixty years of age or older, as verified by a senior citizen I.D. card issued by the Departm…
20 V.I.C. § 219 When Bureau of Motor Vehicles to issue new certificate
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(a) The Bureau of Motor Vehicles, upon receipt of a properly assigned certificate of title, with an application for a new certificate of title, the required fee and any other documents required by law, shall issue a new certificate of title in the name of the transferee as owner …
20 V.I.C. § 220 Surrender of certificate of title and issuance of salvage certificate
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(a) When an insurer acquires ownership of a vehicle which it determines to be a junk or salvage vehicle, it shall within fifteen (15) days following acquisition of the certificate of title, surrender the certificate to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. (b) If ownership of a junk or s…
20 V.I.C. § 221 Salvage certificate
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A salvage certificate shall be prima facie evidence of ownership of a salvage vehicle. A salvage certificate shall include an odometer disclosure provision, a control number, and a statement that such salvage vehicle can only be re-titled after the inspection required by section …
20 V.I.C. § 222 Duties of a salvage vehicle purchaser
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(a) No salvage vehicle purchaser shall possess or retain a salvage vehicle which does not have a salvage certificate. The salvage vehicle purchaser shall display the salvage certificate upon the request of any appropriate public official. In the event of the sale or assignment of…
20 V.I.C. § 223 Junk vehicles
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(a) At the time a person owning a junk vehicle surrenders the certificate of title or salvage certificate, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles shall issue a junk certificate to the person which shall contain the vehicle year, make, vehicle identification number, and a control number. Th…
20 V.I.C. § 224 Retitling salvage and reconstructed vehicle; requirements
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(a) Prior to operating a reconstructed vehicle or a rebuilt salvage vehicle, the owner shall present the vehicle, together with the salvage certificate if it is a rebuilt salvage vehicle, or the certificate of title if it is a reconstructed vehicle, and appropriate receipts or bi…
20 V.I.C. § 225 Exporting vehicle
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(a) The owner of a vehicle titled in the Virgin Islands who seeks to export the vehicle shall first surrender the certificates of title to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. For purposes of this section, “export” means the shipping or transporting of a vehicle out of the Virgin Island…
20 V.I.C. § 225a Intra-territorial motor vehicle transport
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(a) The owner of a motor vehicle titled in the Virgin Islands who seeks to transport such vehicle must present a valid registration to the shipping carrier and notify the Bureau that the vehicle is being shipped to another island as a condition precedent to transport. This shall …
20 V.I.C. § 225b Transfer on death beneficiary for vehicles
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(a) The owner or owners of a vehicle may create an interest in the vehicle that is transferrable on the death of the owner or owners by obtaining a certificate of title conveying the interest in the vehicle to one (1) or more persons as transfer on death beneficiaries. Where ther…
20 V.I.C. § 225c Special Permit required for vehicles brought into the Virgin Islands
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(a) The owner or purchaser of a motor vehicle who brings a motor vehicle into the Virgin Islands shall pay the applicable fees to obtain a Special Permit from the Bureau of Motor that the vehicle is insured, the highway user tax was paid, that the owner of the vehicle can be veri…
20 V.I.C. § 226 Penalty
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(a) A person who violates any of the requirements of sections 220 through 225 of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor on a first offense and upon conviction is subject to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one (1) year and a penalty not exceeding $1,000, and is guilty of a …
20 V.I.C. § 251 Applicability of subchapter; purchase free of security interest
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(a) This subchapter does not apply to or affect:1. A lien given by statute or rule of law to a supplier of services or materials for the vehicle;2. A lien given by statute to the Government of the United States, the Government of the Virgin Islands or any agency, department or in…
20 V.I.C. § 252 Perfection of security interests
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(a) Unless excepted by section 251 of this chapter, a security interest in a vehicle of a type for which a certificate of title is required is subordinate to the rights of persons who become subsequent transferees or lienholders of the vehicle before the security interest is perf…
20 V.I.C. § 253 Security interest
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(a) If an owner creates a security interest in a vehicle:(a) The owner shall immediately execute the application, in the space provided therefor on the certificate of title or on a separate form the Bureau of Motor Vehicles prescribes, to name the first priority lienholder on the…
20 V.I.C. § 254 Assignment by lienholder
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(a) A first priority lienholder may assign, absolutely or otherwise, his security interest in the vehicle to a person other than the owner without affecting the interest of the owner or the validity of the security interest, but any person without notice of the assignment is prot…
20 V.I.C. § 256 Duty of lienholder
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A first priority lienholder named in a certificate of title shall, upon written request of the owner, disclose any pertinent information as to his security agreement and the indebtedness secured by it.
20 V.I.C. § 257 Exclusiveness of procedure
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(a) The method provided in this chapter of perfecting and giving notice of security interests subject to this chapter are hereby exempted from the provisions of law which otherwise require or relate to the filing of instruments creating or evidencing security interests including …
20 V.I.C. § 258 Suspension or revocation of certificates
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(a) The Bureau of Motor Vehicles shall suspend or revoke a certificate of title, upon notice and reasonable opportunity to be heard in accordance with section 260 of this chapter, when authorized by any other provision of law or if it finds:1. The certificate of title was fraudul…
20 V.I.C. § 259 Powers of Bureau of Motor Vehicles
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(a) The Bureau of Motor Vehicles shall prescribe and provide suitable forms of applications, certificates of title, notices of security interests, and all other notices and forms necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. (b) The Bureau of Motor Vehicles may make nece…
20 V.I.C. § 260 Court review
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A person aggrieved by an act or omission to act of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles under this chapter is also entitled to a review thereof by the Superior Court provided such action is taken within 30 days of final determination by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
20 V.I.C. § 276 Previously registered vehicle defined
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A “previously registered vehicle” means a vehicle registered in this Territory pursuant to chapter 33 of this title when this chapter takes effect or a vehicle whose last registration before this chapter takes effect was in this Territory.
20 V.I.C. § 277 Deferred application of chapter to previously registered vehicles
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(a) Subchapters I and II of this chapter do not apply to a previously registered vehicle until:(a) It is purchased from a dealer in this Territory after this chapter takes effect;(b) It is registered pursuant to chapter 33 of this title after this chapter takes effect; or(c) The …
20 V.I.C. § 278 Distinctive certificate
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If the Bureau of Motor Vehicles is not satisfied that there are no undisclosed security interests, created before this chapter takes effect, in a previously registered vehicle, it may, in addition to its options under section 211 of this chapter, issue a distinctive certificate o…
20 V.I.C. § 279 Security interest in a previously registered vehicle
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A security interest in a previously registered vehicle for which no certificate of title or application for a certificate is required is perfected by the delivery to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles of a notice of security interest in the form the Bureau of Motor Vehicles prescribes;…
20 V.I.C. § 280 Unsatisfied security interest in a previously registered vehicle
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(a) If a security interest in a previously registered vehicle is perfected under any other applicable law of the Virgin Islands at the time this chapter takes effect, the security interest continues perfected:(a) Until its perfection lapses under the law under which it was perfec…
20 V.I.C. § 281 Filing and record of notices of security interests; examination of record
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(a) The Bureau of Motor Vehicles shall file such notice of security interest received by it and maintain a record of all notices of security interests filed by it:(1) Alphabetically, under the name of the owner;(2) Under the identifying number of the vehicle; and(3) In the discre…
20 V.I.C. § 291 Certificate of title penalties
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(a) Unless otherwise provided in this chapter, a person who with fraudulent intent:(1) Alters, forges or counterfeits a certificate of title;(2) Alters or an assignment of a certificate of title or an assignment or release of a security interest, on a certificate of title or a fo…
20 V.I.C. § 292 Vehicle identification number
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(a) A person who willfully removes or falsifies and upon conviction is subject to imprisonment for a term of not more than six (6) months and a penalty of not more than $500. (b) A person who, willfully and with intent to conceal or misrepresent the identity of a vehicle or vehic…