Chap. 385.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Sections 4, 18 as amended, 25 and
28 as amended, of Chapter 342 of the Acts of Assembly of 1932, approved March

26, 1932, known as “The Motor Vehicle Code of Virginia”, these sections relat-

ing generally to principal and branch offices of the Division of Motor Vehicles,

its agents, their compensation, etc.; release of liens on motor vehicles; tem-
porary registrations ; transfer of title; and to further amend that Code by add-
ing a new section numbered 28- -a relating to transfer of title of motor vehicle
when owner in armed forces, and to refunds of certain fees under certain cir-
cumstances. {H 220}

Approved March 31, 1944

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That sections four, eighteen as amended, twenty-five and twenty-
eight as amended, of chapter three hundred forty-two of the Acts of As-
sembly of nineteen hundred thirty-two, approved March twenty-six,
nineteen hundred thirty-two, known as “The Motor Vehicle Code of
Virginia”, be amended and re-enacted, and that the Motor Vehicle Code
of Virginia be further amended by adding thereto a section numbered
twenty-eight-a, as follows:

Section 4. Principal office; branch offices; payment of moneys into
State treasury ; agents to be bonded ; compensation of agents.—(a) The
Commissioner shall maintain his principal office in the city of Richmond,
and may appoint such agents and may maintain branch offices in such
places in the State as he deems necessary properly to carry out the
provisions of this act and all other motor vehicle laws.

(b) All moneys accruing to the Division under this act shall, ex-
cept as herein otherwise provided, be paid into the State Treasury in full,
and all expenses incident to the maintenance of the Division, including
those branch offices and agencies, and other expenses incurred in the
proper enforcement of this act shall be paid by the State Treasurer upon
receipt of the proper authorization by the Commissioner

(c) The personnel of each branch office and each agency shall be
appointed by the Commissioner and each bonded in an amount fixed
oy the Commissioner. The person in charge of the branch office and
each agency shall remit weekly to the Commissioner all moneys collected.
accompanied by a complete record of what such remittance is intended
o cover. The Commissioner shall not be held liable in the event of the
oss of any moneys collected by such agents resulting from their failure
o forward such moneys to the Division, or because of the failure or in-
solvency of any bank or banking institution in which such funds are
leposited to the credit of the Commissioner or because of any defalcation
of any officer or employee of any such bank or banking institution.

The compensation of the personnel of each branch office and each
gency is to be fixed by the Commissioner. The compensation fixed for
ach agency shall not exceed an amount in excess of the aggregate of
wenty-five cents for each set of number plates issued or sold annually
it each agency. For the purpose of maintaining adequate annual service
it places established solely for the sale of number plates, the Commis-
sioner may, in his discretion, prorate the annual compensation fixed
it each agency in such manner as will best secure adequate service at al]
times throughout each calendar year and no agent selling and issuing
licenses shall be entitled to the fees for each license issued by him.

(d) The compensation awarded shall belong to the agents for
their services under this section, but from such compensation they shall
pay all freight, cartage, premium on bond, and postage, and any extra
clerk hire or other expense occasioned by their duties.

Section 18. Release of lien or encumbrance shown on certificate of
title—An owner upon securing the release of any lien or encumbrance
upon a motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer shown upon the certificate
of title issued therefor may exhibit the documents evidencing such release,
signed by the person or persons making such release and acknowledged
before a notary public or some one authorized by the laws of this State
to take acknowledgments of deeds, and the certificate of title to the
Division; or when it is impossible to secure such release from the bene-
ficiary of the lien, the owner may exhibit to the Division whatever evi-
dence available showing that the debt secured has been satisfied, together
with a statement by the owner under oath that the debt has been paid;
the Division when satisfied as to the genuineness and regularity thereof
shall issue to the owner either a new certificate of title in proper form
or an indorsement or rider showing the release of the lien or encumbrance
which the Division shall attach to the outstanding certificate of title.

Section 25. When Commissioner may grant temporary registration
or permit.—The Commissioner may, if in his opinion it is equitable, grant
a special temporary registration or permit for the operation of tractors,
tractor-trucks, trucks and heavy duty trailers for the transportation of
heavy construction equipment, cranes, well-digging apparatus, and other
heavy equipment upon the highways of this State from one point to
another within this State, or from this State to a point or points without
this State, or from without this State to a point or points within this
State. Such special registration or permit shall give the registration or
permit number, the date of issue, the date of expiration and the route to
be traveled, and shall be displayed in a prominent place on the vehicle
or other apparatus.

For each special temporary registration or permit the applicant shall
pay a fee based upon the sum of ten cents per mile for each and every
mile to be traveled by the tractor, tractor-truck, truck, heavy duty trailer,
crane, well-digging apparatus, or other heavy equipment.

Section 28. Transfer of title or interest—(a) The owner of a
motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer registered under the foregoing pro-
visions of this act transferring or assigning his title or interest thereto
shall endorse an assignment and warranty of title upon the reverse side
of the certificate of title of the motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer, to the
purchaser thereof, with a statement of all liens or encumbrances thereon,
shall acknowledge his signature thereto before a person authorized to ad-
minister oaths and shall deliver the certificate to the purchaser or trans-
feree at the time of delivering the motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer.

(b) The transferee shall thereupon write his name and address with
pen and ink upon the certificate of title, and except as provided in the
next subdivision of this section, shall immediately forward the certificate
to the Division with.an application for the registration of the motor
vehicle, trailer, or semi-trailer and for a certificate of title.

(c) When the transferee of the motor vehicle, trailer, or semi-
trailer is a dealer who holds same for resale and operates same only for
sales purposes under a dealer’s license plate or when the transferee does
not drive the motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer nor permit it to be
driven upon the highways, the transferee shall not be required to register
it nor forward the certificate of title to the Division, as provided in the
preceding paragraph, but such transferee upon transferring his title or
interest to another person shall give notice of the transfer to the Division
and shall endorse and acknowledge an assignment and warranty of title
upon the certificate and deliver it to the person to whom the transfer is
made. .

_ (d)The Division, upon receipt of a certificate of title properly assigned
and acknowledged, accompanied by an application for registration, shall
register the motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer therein described and
shall issue to the person entitled thereto by reason of the transfer a new
registration card, license plate or plates, and certificate of title in the
manner and form for the fees herein provided for original registration.

(e) Whenever the applicant for the registration of a motor vehicle,
trailer or semi-trailer or a new certificate of title thereto is unable to
present a certificate of title by reason of same being lost or unlawiully
detained by one in possession, or same is not otherwise available, the
Division is authorized to receive the application and to examine into the
circumstances of the case and may require the filing of affidavits or other
information, and when the Division 1s satisfied that the applicant is en-
titled thereto, is hereby authorized to register the motor vehicle, trailer, or
semi-trailer and issue a new registration card, license plate or plates and
certificate of title to the person entitled thereto.

({) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (g) of this section,
in the event of the transfer by operation of law of the title or interest
of an owner in and to a motor vehicle, trailer, or semi-trailer registered
under the provisions of this act, as legatee or distributee, order in bank-
ruptcy or insolvency, execution sale, repossession upon default in the
performing of the terms of a lease or executory sales contract or otherwise
than by the voluntary act of the person whose title or interest is so trans-
ferred, the tranferee or his legal representative shall make application
to the Division for a certificate of title therefor, giving the name and ad-
dress of the person entitled thereto, and accompany such application with
the registration card and certificate of title previously issued for the
motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer, if available, together with such
instruments or documents of authority, or certified copies thereof, as are
required by law to evidence or effect a transfer of title or interest in or to
chattels in such case. The Division when satisfied of the genuineness
and regularity of the transfer, shall cancel the registration of the motor
vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer and issue a new certificate of title to the
person entitled thereto. The transferee may also apply for and obtain the
registration of the motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer. If the holder of
. certificate of title be dead and there has been no qualification on his
>state, a transfer may be made by a legatee or distributee if there be
>resented to the Division an affidavit made by a legatee or distributee
o the effect that the motor vehicle covered by such certificate is the
only personal property belonging to the estate of the deceased owner

und that his debts have been paid in full, or the proceeds from the sale
>f such motor vehicle will be used to apply against his debts. The affi-
davit shall state the name, residence at the time of death, date of death,
and the names of all other persons, if any, having an interest in the motor
vehicle which is sought to be transferred, and if there are such other
yersons who are of legal age, they shall signify in writing their consent to
such transfer of the title.

(g) An owner who sells or transfers a registered motor vehicle,
-railer or semi-trailer may have the license plates and the registration
number thereon, assigned to another vehicle of like design and weight
titled in such owner’s name according to the provisions of this act, upon
application to the Division, accompanied by a fee of one dollar ($1 00), or
if such other vehicle be of greater weight or different design from that
for which the license plates were assigned, upon the payment of a fee of
one dollar ($1.00) and the amount of the difference in registration fees
between the two vehicles, all such transfers to be in accordance with the
rules and regulations of the Division.

Upon the death of an owner of a registered motor vehicle, trailer or
semi-trailer, its registration shall continue in force as a valid registration
until the end of the year for which the license is issued or until the owner-
ship of the motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer is transferred before the
end of the year, by the executor or administrator of the estate of the de-
ceased owner, or by a legatee or distributee of the estate, as provided in
paragraph (f) of this section.

Section 28-a. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the
Division may transfer title of a motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer owned
by a person in the armed service of the United States assigned to foreign
duty upon the affidavit of a member of the immediate family of the owner,
and without the formalities otherwise provided for transfers, that the
affhant has been authorized by the owner to transfer the motor vehicle,
trailer or semi-trailer. Any person holding a current registration certifi-
cate and license plate who disposes of the vehicle for which it was issued
and does not purchase another vehicle may surrender the license plates
and registration certificate to the Commissioner with a statement that
the vehicle for which the license plate was issued has been sold and re-
quest a refund for the unused portion of the fee paid. The Commissioner
shall refund to the applicant that part of the total cost of the registration
and license plate which is represented by a fraction whose numerator is the
number of full months remaining in the license year and whose denomi-
nator is twelve. All refunds hereunder shall be paid out of revenues col-
lected by the Division of Motor Vehicles and credited to the State High-
way Maintenance and Construction Fund as appropriated to the Division
of Motor Vehicles for such purpose.
2. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions for refunds 1
section twenty-eight-a added to the Motor Vehicle Code of Virgin
this act there is appropriated for each year of the biennium ending
thirty, nineteen hundred forty-six, to the Division of Motor Vehicle
of the revenues collected and paid into the State Treasury by the Diy
of Motor Vehicles and credited to the State Highway Maintenance
Construction Fund a sum sufficient.