PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

People who salvage, take apart, recycle, or repair passenger cars must not knowingly sell, transfer, or install a major part that has an identification number unless they first use a check the Attorney General sets by rule, after working with the Secretary of Transportation under section 33109, to make sure the part is not listed as stolen. They must also give the buyer a written verification that shows the vehicle identification number (or a version of it) and says the part has not been reported stolen. The rule does not apply to the part’s manufacturer, someone who bought the part straight from the manufacturer, or someone who already got a verification from an insurance carrier under section 33110. If a person has a carrier’s verification and later sells the vehicle or a major part, they must give that verification to the next buyer. The Attorney General must write rules, including ones with the Secretary of Transportation, so the verifications look the same, work well, and are hard to fake.

Title 49, §33111

Transportation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)General Requirements.—

A person engaged in the business of salvaging, dismantling, recycling, or repairing passenger motor vehicles may not knowingly sell in commerce or transfer or install a major part marked with an identification number without—

(1)first establishing, through a procedure the Attorney General by regulation prescribes in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation under section 33109 of this title, that the major part has not been reported as stolen; and

(2)providing the purchaser or transferee with a verification—

(A)identifying the vehicle identification number (or derivative of that number) of that major part; and

(B)verifying that the major part has not been reported as stolen.

(b)Nonapplication.—

(1)Subsection (a) of this section does not apply to a person that—

(A)is the manufacturer of the major part;

(B)has purchased the major part directly from the manufacturer; or

(C)has received a verification from an insurance carrier under section 33110 of this title that the motor vehicle from which the major part is derived has not been reported as stolen, or that the carrier has not established whether that vehicle has been stolen.

(2)A person described under paragraph (1)(C) of this subsection that subsequently transfers or sells in commerce the motor vehicle or a major part of the vehicle shall provide the verification received from the carrier to the person to whom the vehicle or part is transferred or sold.

(c)Regulations.—

The Attorney General shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section. The regulations shall include regulations prescribed in consultation with the Secretary that are necessary to ensure that a verification a person provides under subsection (a)(2) of this section is uniform, effective, and resistant to fraudulent use.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 33111(a)15:2026b(a).Oct. 20, 1972, Pub. L. 92–513, 86 Stat. 947, § 608; added Oct. 25, 1992, Pub. L. 102–519, § 306(c), 106 Stat. 3397. 33111(b)15:2026b(c) (1st, 2d sentences). 33111(c)15:2026b(b), (c) (last sentence). In subsection (a), before clause (1), the word “distribute” is omitted as being included in “sell”. In clause (1), the word “establishing” is substituted for “determining” for clarity and consistency in the revised title. Subsection (b)(2) is substituted for 15:2026b(c) (2d sentence) for clarity.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Pub. L. 103–272, § 4(v), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1373, provided that: “Section 33111 of title 49, United States Code, as enacted by section 1 of this Act, is effective on the date on which the National Stolen Passenger Motor Vehicle Information System is established under section 33109 of title 49.”

§33111 Verifications Involving Motor Vehicle Major Parts