Enacted by Stats. 1959, Ch. 3.
The director shall administer and enforce the provisions of this code relating to the department.
Article 2 - Powers and Duties
California Vehicle Code — §§ 1650-1685.1
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Sections (53)
Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 594, Sec. 13. Effective January 1, 2004.
(a)The director may adopt and enforce rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this code relating to the department.
(b)Rules and regulations shall be adopted, amended, or repealed in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
Added by Stats. 1994, Ch. 584, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1995.
Whenever in the judgment of the department, any person has engaged, or is about to engage, in any acts or practices that constitute, or will constitute, an offense against Division 5 (commencing with Section 11100) by engaging in any act subject to license requirements without having obtained a license, the department may apply to the appropriate court for an order enjoining the acts or practices, and, upon showing by the department that the person has engaged, or is about to engage, in any of those acts or practices, an injunction, restraining order, or other order that may be appropriate shall be granted by the court, including the costs incurred by the department in obtaining the order.
Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 47, Sec. 1. (AB 2141) Effective January 1, 2021.
It is the policy of this state to recognize the training and experience that individuals gain while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States. In furtherance of this policy, the department, in conjunction with the military services of the United States, shall develop policies to assist persons who are leaving active duty to obtain commercial driver’s licenses. These policies shall not waive any requisites or examinations required by law for a commercial driver’s license. Except as otherwise authorized, these policies shall specify how this
training and experience may be used to obtain these licenses. The department shall consult with the Department of Veterans Affairs before adopting these policies. The department shall perform the duties required by this section within existing budgetary resources of the agency within which the department operates.
Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 169, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2007.
(a)The director may assign or reassign dates for the expiration of registration for a vehicle registered pursuant to this code. The director may establish a registration year for any vehicle consisting of any period from seven months to 18 months, inclusive, with subsequent renewals being required at yearly intervals thereafter. The director shall assign an expiration date of the last day of the calendar month to all trailers and to all motor vehicles subject to additional fees under the provisions of Section 9400. Any vehicle being registered on a quarterly basis shall be assigned or reassigned an expiration date of December 31 for the registration year. The director shall have the authority to exclude from year-round registration any type of vehicle that the director deems appropriate for exclusion.
(b)In order to implement a year-round registration for vehicles registered pursuant to the International Registration Plan as described in Article 4 (commencing with Section 8050) of Chapter 4 of Division 3, the director, on or before January 1, 2009, shall assign or reassign a date for the expiration of registration of those vehicles described in this subdivision and may utilize the applicable practices and procedures set forth under subdivision (a) in order to implement this subdivision.
Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 830, Sec. 1.
(a)The department shall prescribe and provide suitable forms of applications, certificates of ownership, registration cards, drivers’ licenses, and all other forms requisite or deemed necessary for the purposes of this code and shall prepay all transportation charges thereon.
(b)The department may require that any application or document filed with the department be signed and submitted under penalty of perjury.
Amended by Stats. 1961, Ch. 58.
The department shall examine and determine the genuineness and regularity of every application or document filed with it under this code and may require additional information or reject any such application or document if not satisfied of the genuineness and regularity thereof or the truth of any statement contained therein.
Current Version
Amended (as amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 452, Sec. 2) by Stats. 2020, Ch. 14, Sec. 11. (AB 82) Effective June 29, 2020. Conditionally inoperative as provided in subd. (h). See later operative version, as amended by Sec. 168 of Stats. 2014, Ch. 71.
(a)Each form prescribed by the department for use by an applicant for the issuance or renewal by the department of a driver’s license or identification card pursuant to Division 6 (commencing with Section 12500) shall contain a section for the applicant’s social security account number.
(b)Each form prescribed by the department for use by an applicant for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of the registration or certificate of title to a vehicle shall contain a section for the applicant’s driver’s license or identification card number.
(c)Except as provided in Section 12801, a person who submits to the department a form that, pursuant to subdivision (a), contains a section for the applicant’s
social security account number, or pursuant to subdivision (b), the applicant’s driver’s license or identification card number, if any, shall furnish the appropriate number in the space provided.
(d)Except as provided in Section 12801, the department shall not complete an application that does not include the applicant’s social security account number or driver’s license or identification card number as required under subdivision (c).
(e)An applicant’s social security account number shall not be included by the department on a driver’s license, identification card, registration, certificate of title, or any other document issued by the department.
(f)Notwithstanding any other law, information regarding an applicant’s social security account number, or ineligibility for a social security number, obtained by the
department pursuant to this section, is not a public record and shall not be disclosed by the department except for any of the following purposes:
(1)Responding to a request for information from an agency operating pursuant to, and carrying out the provisions of, Part A (Block Grants to States for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), or Part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity), of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(2)Implementation of Section 12419.10 of the Government Code.
(3)Responding to information requests from the Franchise Tax Board for the purpose of tax administration.
(4)Responding to information requests
from the Employment Development Department for purposes relating to tax administration and ensuring compliance with family temporary disability insurance, unemployment compensation disability, and unemployment compensation benefit requirements.
(g)This section shall become inoperative on the effective date of a final judicial determination made by any court of appellate jurisdiction that any provision of the act that added this section, or its application, either in whole or in part, is enjoined, found unconstitutional, or held invalid for any reason. The department shall post this information on its internet website.
Future Version
Amended (as added by Stats. 2013, Ch. 524, Sec. 5) by Stats. 2014, Ch. 71, Sec. 168. (SB 1304) Effective January 1, 2015. Section conditionally operative as prescribed by its own provisions.
(a)Each form prescribed by the department for use by an applicant for the issuance or renewal by the department of a driver’s license or identification card pursuant to Division 6 (commencing with Section 12500) shall contain a section for the applicant’s social security account number.
(b)Each form prescribed by the department for use by an applicant for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of the registration or certificate of title to a vehicle shall contain a section for the applicant’s driver’s license or identification card number.
(c)A person who submits to the department a form that, pursuant to subdivision (a), contains a section for the applicant’s
social security account number, or pursuant to subdivision (b), the applicant’s driver’s license or identification card number, if any, shall furnish the appropriate number in the space provided.
(d)The department shall not complete an application that does not include the applicant’s social security account number or driver’s license or identification card number as required under subdivision (c).
(e)An applicant’s social security account number shall not be included by the department on a driver’s license, identification card, registration, certificate of title, or any other document issued by the department.
(f)Notwithstanding any other law, information regarding an applicant’s social security account number, obtained by the department pursuant to this section, is not a public record and shall not be disclosed
by the department except for any of the following purposes:
(1)Responding to a request for information from an agency operating pursuant to, and carrying out the provisions of, Part A (Block Grants to States for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), or Part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity), of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(2)Implementation of Section 12419.10 of the Government Code.
(3)Responding to information requests from the Franchise Tax Board for the purpose of tax administration.
(g)This section shall become operative on the effective date of a final judicial determination made by any court of appellate jurisdiction that any provision of the act that added this section, or its
application, either in whole or in part, is enjoined, found unconstitutional, or held invalid for any reason. The department shall post this information on its Internet Web site.
Amended by Stats. 1965, Ch. 371.
The director may purchase or lease such real estate and erect such buildings as the department or any of its divisions require, subject to the approval of the Department of General Services.
Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 615, Sec. 18. Effective January 1, 2005.
(a)The director and deputy director of the department, the Deputy Director, Investigations Division, the Chief, Field Investigations Branch, and the investigators of the department, including rank-and-file, supervisory, and management personnel, shall have the powers of peace officers for the purpose of enforcing those provisions of law committed to the administration of the department or enforcing the law on premises occupied by the department.
(b)Any person designated in subdivision (a) may inspect any vehicle of a type required to be registered under this code, or any component part thereof, in any garage, repair shop, parking lot, used car lot, automobile dismantler’s lot, steel mill, scrap metal processing facility, or other establishment engaged in the business of selling, repairing, or dismantling vehicles, or reducing vehicles or the integral parts thereof to their component materials for the purpose of investigating the title and registration of the vehicle, inspecting wrecked or dismantled vehicles, or locating stolen vehicles.
Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 254, Sec. 1. (AB 174) Effective September 23, 2021.
The department shall publish a synopsis or summary of the laws regulating the operation of vehicles and the use of the highways and may deliver a copy of the synopsis or summary without charge with each original vehicle registration and each original driver’s license. The department shall publish
as many copies of the synopsis or summary in Spanish as the director determines are needed to meet the demand for those copies. The department shall furnish both English and Spanish copies to its field offices and to law enforcement agencies for general distribution and, when it does so, shall furnish the copies without charge.
Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 332, Sec. 2. (AB 2537) Effective January 1, 2023.
The Department of Justice shall, in conjunction with the department and the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, develop and create a video demonstrating the proper conduct by a peace officer and an individual during a traffic stop. The department shall post this video on its internet website.
Repealed (in Sec. 19) and added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 451, Sec. 20. (SB 491) Effective January 1, 2016. Section operative January 1, 2017, by its own provisions.
(a)The department shall prepare and publish a printed summary describing the penalties for noncompliance with Sections 16000 and 16028, which shall be included with each motor vehicle registration, registration renewal, and transfer of registration and with each driver’s license and license renewal. The printed summary may contain, but is not limited to, the following wording:
California law requires every driver to carry written evidence of valid automobile liability insurance, a $35,000 bond, a $35,000 cash deposit, or a certificate of
self-insurance that has been issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
You must provide evidence of financial responsibility when you renew the registration of a motor vehicle, and after you are cited by a peace officer for a traffic violation or are involved in any traffic accident. The law requires that you provide the officer with the name and address of your insurer and the policy identification number. Your insurer will provide written evidence of this number. Failure to provide evidence of your financial responsibility can result in fines of up to $500 and loss of your driver’s license. Falsification of evidence can result in fines of up to $750 or 30 days in jail, or both, in addition to a one-year suspension of driving privileges.
Under existing California law, if you are involved in an
accident that results in damages of over $1,000 to the property of any person or in any injury or fatality, you must file a report of the accident with the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days of the accident. If you fail to file a report or fail to provide evidence of financial responsibility on the report, your driving privilege will be suspended for up to four years. Your suspension notice will notify you of the department’s action and of your right to a hearing. Your suspension notice will also inform you that if you request a hearing, it must be conducted within 30 days of your written request, and that a decision is to be rendered within 15 days of the conclusion of the hearing.”
(b)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2017.
Repealed (in Sec. 3) and added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 805, Sec. 4. (AB 2773) Effective January 1, 2023. Operative January 1, 2024, by its own provisions.
(a)The department shall include within the California Driver’s Handbook, as specified in Section 1656, information regarding each of the following:
(1)Rail transit safety.
(2)Abandonment or dumping of any animal on a highway.
(3)The importance of respecting the right-of-way of others, particularly pedestrians, bicycle riders, and motorcycle riders.
(4)A person’s civil rights during a traffic stop. The information shall address the extent and limitations of a peace officer’s authority during a traffic stop and the legal rights of drivers and passengers, including,
but not limited to, the right to file complaints against a peace officer. The information to be included in the handbook shall be developed by the civil rights section of the Department of Justice in consultation with the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, and civil rights organizations, including community-based organizations.
(5)The requirement that a peace officer disclose the reason for a traffic or pedestrian stop before engaging in questioning related to a criminal investigation or traffic violation, unless the officer reasonably believes that withholding the reason for the stop is necessary to protect life or property from imminent threat, and the requirement for the officer to document the reason for the stop on any citation or police report resulting from the stop.
(b)In
order to minimize costs, the information referred to in paragraphs (4) and (5) of subdivision (a) shall be initially included at the earliest opportunity when the handbook is otherwise revised or reprinted.
(c)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2024.
Added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 722, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1997.
(a)The department, in consultation with the Department of Consumer Affairs, shall make available on its Internet web site, on or before July 1, 1997, information to assist consumers who plan to purchase a vehicle or who have purchased a vehicle. The information shall, at a minimum, contain the names, addresses, electronic addresses, and telephone numbers of all of the following:
(1)State and federal government agencies that deal with consumer affairs and vehicles.
(2)Vehicle arbitration services.
(3)Consumer organizations that provide information and direct assistance to consumers with vehicle concerns.
(b)Money deposited in the Consumer Fraud Protection Program Fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the consumer protection activities of the department, including, but not limited to, expenditures by the department to comply with the requirements specified in subdivision (a).
Added by Stats. 2007, Ch. 407, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2008.
(a)The Legislature finds that the department, by virtue of its interaction with millions of California drivers and vehicle owners each year, represents a valuable resource for the disbursement of important public safety and consumer information.
(b)The department may enter into a contract with a private vendor for the purpose of acquiring and utilizing message display systems. These systems may be used on the department’s mailings or other property owned, leased, or controlled by the department. The information displayed shall be of appropriate benefit to the motoring public and the state’s consumers, as determined by the department.
(c)A vendor under contract with the department may utilize a portion of the available time and space on the display systems that it provides for the purpose of advertising products or services. The advertising on a message display system shall not exceed 15 minutes in a 60-minute period. The extent of the access shall be established under the terms of the contract.
(d)The department shall determine whether a vendor’s advertised product or service is consistent with and appropriate to the best interests of the motoring public. The department shall not enter into a contract with a vendor whose advertised product or service the department determines is not consistent with or appropriate to the best interests of the motoring public.
Amended by Stats. 1971, Ch. 438.
The director may assign qualified employees of the department to advise with the State Board of Education and with the governing boards of districts maintaining secondary schools in the preparation, establishment, and conduct of courses in automobile driver education and automobile driver training in secondary schools under the provisions of the Education Code.
Enacted by Stats. 1959, Ch. 3.
The department may pay membership fees, join, and participate in affairs of associations having for their purpose the interchange of information relating to the registration of vehicles and the issuance of operators’ licenses, financial responsibility, and subjects relating to highway safety and to the powers and duties of the department.
Added by Stats. 1965, Ch. 447.
The department may develop criteria, establish standards for, and coordinate a program of motor vehicle driver education and motor vehicle driver training for drivers whose licenses have been suspended or revoked.
The purpose of the program shall be to promote safe driving. To carry out this purpose the department may seek the advice or cooperation of the schools, courts, and other interested persons.
Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 460, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2002.
(a)Any institution or organization described in subdivision (o) of Section 286 shall keep the following records for not less than three years:
(1)The name and address of each vehicle donor and the year, make, vehicle identification number, and, if available, the license plate number of the donated vehicle.
(2)An itemized listing by vehicle identification number of the date each vehicle was donated, the date sold, and the amount for which it was sold.
(3)If the donated vehicle is being sold by an institution or organization on behalf of another institution or organization pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (o) of Section 286, the following documentation shall be retained in the following manner:
(A)A signed, written agreement shall remain on the premises that identifies the percentage of the proceeds that may be retained by the selling institution or organization, a statement that each vehicle meets, or, unless sold at wholesale, by the time of sale will meet, the equipment requirements of Division 12 (commencing with Section 24000), and a statement that each vehicle is in compliance, or, unless sold at wholesale, at the time of sale will be in compliance, with emission control certification requirements pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 44015 of the Health and Safety Code.
(B)A separate listing that identifies each vehicle by year, make, and vehicle identification number.
(C)All itemized listings pursuant to subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (o) of Section 286.
(D)The selling institution or organization shall retain all documentation pertaining to the sale of vehicles on behalf of another institution or organization in the same manner as is required for the sale of vehicles donated to the selling institution or organization.
(b)The department may inspect the records of any nonprofit institution or organization that obtains donated vehicles in order to ascertain whether it meets the conditions specified in subdivision (o) of Section 286.
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