Title 46.2, Title 46.2. Motor Vehicles

A certificate of title, when issued by the Department showing a security interest, shall be adequate notice to the Commonwealth, creditors, and purchasers that a security interest in the motor vehicle exists and the recording or filing of such creation or reservation of a securit…

If application for the registration or recordation of a security interest to be placed on a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is filed with the Department, it shall be deemed perfected as of the date of filing, and, if the date of filing is within thirty days from the date o…

The security interests, except security interests in motor vehicles, trailers and semitrailers which are inventory held for sale and are perfected under §§ 8.9A-401 through 8.9A-527, shown upon such certificates of title issued by the Department pursuant to applications for same …

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the case of motor vehicles, trailers or semi-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 upwa…

The certificate of title of a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer shall be delivered to the person holding the security interest having first priority on the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer and retained by him until the entire amount of his security interest is fully pa…

When an owner secures the release of any security interest on a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer shown on its certificate of title, he may exhibit the documents evidencing the release, signed by the person or persons making the release, and the certificate of title to the D…

It shall constitute a Class 3 misdemeanor for a secured party who holds a certificate of title as provided in this title to refuse or fail to mark satisfied and surrender it to the person legally entitled thereto within ten days after his security interest is satisfied.

A levy made by virtue of an execution, fieri facias, or other court order, on a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer for which a certificate of title has been issued by the Department, shall constitute a lien, subsequent to security interests previously recorded by the Departme…

A. For purposes of this section, "keeper of vehicles" means a garage keeper; a person keeping any vehicles, including a self-storage facility; and a tow truck driver or towing and recovery operator furnishing services involving the towing and recovery of vehicles or clean up rela…

A. Every mechanic who shall alter or repair any vehicle at the request of the owner or authorized person in possession of such vehicle shall have a lien thereon for his just and reasonable charges therefor and may retain possession of such property until such charges are paid. Su…

A. For the purposes of this section: "Bailee" means anyone who has one or more liens under § 46.2-644.01 or 46.2-644.02. "Independent appraisal" means an estimate for the value of a motor vehicle prepared by an individual or business that (i) has all required business licenses an…

A. For purposes of this section, "bailee" means the same as that term is defined in § 46.2-644.03. B. A bailee may relinquish a lien acquired under § 46.2-644.01 or 46.2-644.02, provided that (i) the Department has completed a vehicle record search pursuant to subsection C of § 4…

A. Every owner, except a dealer licensed under § 46.2-1508, of any all-terrain vehicle or off-road motorcycle powered by a gasoline or diesel engine displacing more than 50 cubic centimeters and purchased as new on or after July 1, 2006, shall apply to the Department for a certif…

The Department shall maintain a record of any certificate of title it issued under this article. Fees to be paid to the Department for issuance of such certificates of title shall be the same as those imposed for the titling of motor vehicles pursuant to § 46.2-627. Any all-terra…

Any dealer licensed under § 46.2-1508 who acquires an all-terrain vehicle or off-road motorcycle for resale shall be exempt from the titling requirements of this title. Any dealer transferring an all-terrain vehicle or off-road motorcycle titled under this title shall assign the …

The Department shall file each motor vehicle registration application received and, when satisfied that the applicant is entitled to register the vehicle, shall register the vehicle.

A. Every registration under this title, unless otherwise provided, shall expire on the last day of the twelfth month next succeeding the date of registration. Every registration, unless otherwise provided, shall be renewed annually on application by the owner and by payment of th…

A. The owner of a motor vehicle that has been registered in the Commonwealth may apply to the Commissioner to deactivate the registration of such vehicle. The owner of a motor vehicle who has voluntarily deactivated the vehicle's registration pursuant to this section shall not be…

A. Upon request by an applicant, the Commissioner may grant a one-month extension of the registration period of a vehicle if the vehicle registration has been withheld pursuant to § 33.2-503, 46.2-752, 46.2-819.1, 46.2-819.3, 46.2-819.3:1, or 46.2-1183 and the current registratio…

The Commissioner may, on finding either that the Department is unable to efficiently handle the replacement of license plates or decals or the renewal of registrations scheduled to expire during a specific month, or that persons seeking to secure license plates, decals, or regist…

On receipt of an application on a form prescribed by him, the Commissioner shall register in a separate category trucks, tractor trucks, trailers, and semitrailers used exclusively in connection with logging operations. For the purposes of this section, the term "logging" shall m…

The Department may, upon request, register any tow dolly or converter gear as defined in § 46.2-1119. For the purpose of determining the applicable fee for any such registration, the tow dolly or converter gear shall be considered a trailer and the registration fee determined in …

A. Before the Commissioner registers or reregisters any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer under § 46.2-697, 46.2-698, 46.2-700, or 46.2-703, the applicant shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the Commissioner that all state, local, and federal taxes levied on that motor ve…

A. No tow truck registered under this section shall be subject to registration under the international registration plan or subject to any other state registration requirements under this chapter. Registration under this section shall not prohibit the use of "rollbacks" to transp…

Upon application therefor, the Commissioner shall register and issue permanent license plates without year or month decals for display on any (i) firefighting truck, trailer, and semitrailer on which firefighting apparatus is permanently attached when any such vehicle is owned or…

The Commissioner shall not register a motor vehicle subject to § 46.2-1179.1 which does not comply with the requirements of that section. Upon a determination that a motor vehicle is exempt from the requirements of § 46.2-1179.1, it shall forever be exempt, and the exemption shal…

A. For the purposes of this section, a covered farm vehicle shall be registered pursuant to the provisions of § 46.2-698. B. As defined in regulations promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (49 C.F.R. Part 390.5), a "covered farm vehicle" means a straight …

A covered farm vehicle as defined in § 46.2-649.3, including the operator of that vehicle, is exempt from the following: 1. Any requirement relating to commercial driver's licenses in Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations 49 C.F.R. Part 383; 2. Any requirement relating to cont…

The Department may promulgate regulations providing that on application for a certificate of title and registration of a vehicle, either new or after a transfer, the vehicle may be operated on the highway under (i) a temporary permit issued by the Department or (ii) a duplicate a…

A. The Department may, on application on forms provided by the Department, issue a trip permit to any owner of a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer which would otherwise be subject to registration plates but is not currently registered. If the vehicle operating under the perm…

The Commissioner may grant a temporary registration or permit for the operation of a vehicle or equipment that cannot be licensed because the vehicle, excluding any load thereon, exceeds statutory size limits on the highways in the Commonwealth from one point to another within th…

A. The Commissioner may grant a temporary registration or permit for the operation of (i) a vehicle or equipment that cannot be licensed because the vehicle, excluding any load thereon, is overweight or (ii) a licensed vehicle that exceeds statutory weight limits on the highways …

The Commissioner may grant a temporary registration or permit for the transportation of manufactured homes, which exceed the size permitted by law, on the highways in the Commonwealth from one point to another within the Commonwealth, or from the Commonwealth to a point or points…

A. After a manufactured home has been titled in the Commonwealth and at such time as the wheels and other equipment previously used for mobility have been removed and the unit has been attached to real property owned by the manufactured home owner, the owner may convert the home …

In addition to the provisions of § 46.2-1542, businesses licensed by the Department to conduct sales of motor vehicles by auction may issue to persons who purchase motor vehicles through auctions conducted by these businesses temporary certificates of registration. Issuance of ce…

The Department may issue a temporary registration to any purchaser of a motor vehicle who is unable to obtain the title for such vehicle because the motor vehicle dealer who sold the vehicle to the purchaser is no longer engaged in business in the Commonwealth as a dealer as defi…

A. For purposes of this section, "fleet logistics provider" means an entity that transports, services, titles, and registers non-owned fleet vehicles in the normal course of business. B. The Department may issue a temporary registration to a fleet logistics provider if: 1. Applic…

The privileges extended under this article to nonresident owners of foreign motor vehicles, trailers, and semitrailers operated in the Commonwealth are extended only on condition that the same privileges are granted by the state of the United States or foreign country wherein suc…

Except as otherwise provided in this article, a nonresident owner of a passenger car which has been registered for the current calendar year in the state or country of which the owner is a resident and which at all times when operated in the Commonwealth displays the license plat…

Notwithstanding other provisions of this article, any nonresident from a state that does not require the registration of a vehicle like that owned by such nonresident when such vehicle is owned and operated by a resident of Virginia in the state in which the foreign vehicle owned…

Except as provided in § 46.2-657, a nonresident owner of a foreign motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer which is regularly operated in the Commonwealth, or from a point or points outside the Commonwealth to a point or points within the Commonwealth, or from a point or points wi…

Every nonresident, including any foreign corporation, conducting business in the Commonwealth and owning and regularly operating in such business any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer in the Commonwealth shall be required to register the vehicle and pay the same fees require…

Notwithstanding the other provisions of this chapter, the Commissioner, with the consent of the Governor, may extend to the owners of foreign vehicles operated in the Commonwealth the same privileges which are granted by the state of the United States or foreign country wherein t…

A. A resident owner of any passenger car, pickup or panel truck, moped, autocycle, or motorcycle, other than those provided for in § 46.2-652, that has been duly registered for the current calendar year in another state or country and that at all times when operated in the Common…

No person shall be required to obtain the registration certificate, license plates, or decals for or pay a registration fee for any backhoe operated on any highway for a distance of no more than twenty miles from its operating base.

No person shall be required to obtain the registration certificate, license plates, or decals for or pay a registration fee for any vehicle on which is securely attached a machine for spraying fruit trees and other plants of the owner or lessee of the truck.