{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/46.2-1000.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/46.2-1000.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/46.2-1000.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/46.2-1000.html"}],"law_id":56760,"edition_id":1,"section_id":56760,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1000","catch_line":"Department to suspend registration of vehicles lacking certain equipment; officer to take possession of registration card, license plates and decals when observing defect in motor vehicle; when to be returned","history":"Code 1950, \u00a7 46-56; 1958, c. 541, \u00a7 46.1-58; 1960, c. 119; 1964, c. 414; 1972, c. 609; 1989, c. 727; 2017, c. 670.","full_text":"The Department shall suspend the registration of any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer which the Department or the Department of State Police determines is not equipped with proper (i) brakes, (ii) lights, (iii) horn or warning device, (iv) turn signals, (v) safety glass when required by law, (vi) mirror, (vii) muffler, (viii) windshield wiper, (ix) steering gear adequate to ensure the safe movement of the vehicle as required by this title or when such vehicle is equipped with a smoke screen device or cutout or when such motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is otherwise unsafe to be operated.\n\t\tAny law-enforcement officer shall, when he observes any defect in a motor vehicle as described above, take possession of the registration card, license plates, and decals of any such vehicle and retain the same in his possession for a period of 15 days unless the owner of the vehicle corrects the defects or obtains a new safety inspection sticker from an authorized safety inspection station. When the defect or defects are corrected as indicated above the registration card, license plates, and decals shall be returned to the owner.\n\t\tFor any summons issued for a violation of this section, the court may, in its discretion, dismiss the summons, where proof of compliance with this section is provided to the court on or before the court date.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":207707,"text":"The Department shall suspend the registration of any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer which the Department or the Department of State Police determines is not equipped with proper (i) brakes, (ii) lights, (iii) horn or warning device, (iv) turn signals, (v) safety glass when required by law, (vi) mirror, (vii) muffler, (viii) windshield wiper, (ix) steering gear adequate to ensure the safe movement of the vehicle as required by this title or when such vehicle is equipped with a smoke screen device or cutout or when such motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is otherwise unsafe to be operated.\n\t\tAny law-enforcement officer shall, when he observes any defect in a motor vehicle as described above, take possession of the registration card, license plates, and decals of any such vehicle and retain the same in his possession for a period of 15 days unless the owner of the vehicle corrects the defects or obtains a new safety inspection sticker from an authorized safety inspection station. When the defect or defects are corrected as indicated above the registration card, license plates, and decals shall be returned to the owner.\n\t\tFor any summons issued for a violation of this section, the court may, in its discretion, dismiss the summons, where proof of compliance with this section is provided to the court on or before the court date.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":14848,"edition_id":1,"name":"Vehicle and Equipment Safety, Generally","identifier":"1","label":"article","depth":4,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12828,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:50:23","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:50:23","permalink":{"id":228601,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14848,"identifier":"1","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1","url":"\/46.2\/III\/10\/1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12828,"edition_id":1,"name":"Motor Vehicle and Equipment Safety","identifier":"10","label":"chapter","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12827,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","permalink":{"id":228599,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12828,"identifier":"10","token":"46.2\/III\/10","url":"\/46.2\/III\/10\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12827,"edition_id":1,"name":"Operation","identifier":"III","label":"subtitle","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12770,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","permalink":{"id":228597,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12827,"identifier":"III","token":"46.2\/III","url":"\/46.2\/III\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12770,"edition_id":1,"name":"Motor Vehicles","identifier":"46.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:52","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:52","permalink":{"id":225289,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12770,"identifier":"46.2","token":"46.2","url":"\/46.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":56760,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1000","catch_line":"Department to suspend registration of vehicles lacking certain equipment; officer to take possession of registration card, license plates and decals when observing defect in motor vehicle; when to be returned","url":"\/46.2-1000\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1000","metadata":false},{"id":79566,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1001","catch_line":"Removal of unsafe vehicles; penalty","url":"\/46.2-1001\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1001","metadata":false},{"id":82819,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1001.1","catch_line":"Special equipment required for converted electric vehicles","url":"\/46.2-1001.1\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1001.1","metadata":false},{"id":70555,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1002","catch_line":"Illegal possession or sale of certain unapproved equipment","url":"\/46.2-1002\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1002","metadata":false},{"id":86371,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1003","catch_line":"Illegal use of defective and unsafe equipment","url":"\/46.2-1003\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1003","metadata":false},{"id":71468,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1004","catch_line":"Trademark or name and instructions required","url":"\/46.2-1004\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1004","metadata":false}],"next_section":{"id":79566,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1001","catch_line":"Removal of unsafe vehicles; penalty","url":"\/46.2-1001\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1001","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/46.2-1000\/","history_text":"

The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 6 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1958, chapter 541; in 1960, chapter 119; in 1964, chapter 414; in 1972, chapter 609; in 1989, chapter 727; in 2017, chapter 670<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":68913,"section_number":"16.1-69.48:1","catch_line":"Fixed fee for misdemeanors, traffic infractions and other violations in district court; additional fees to be added","order_by":null,"url":"\/16.1-69.48_1\/"},{"id":66333,"section_number":"46.2-325","catch_line":"Examination of applicants; waiver of Department's examination under certain circumstances; behind-the-wheel and knowledge examinations","order_by":null,"url":"\/46.2-325\/"},{"id":74958,"section_number":"46.2-730","catch_line":"License plates for antique motor vehicles and antique trailers; fee","order_by":null,"url":"\/46.2-730\/"},{"id":82211,"section_number":"46.2-730.1","catch_line":"License plates for military surplus motor vehicles; fee; penalty","order_by":null,"url":"\/46.2-730.1\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":228603,"object_type":"law","relational_id":56760,"identifier":"46.2-1000","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1000","url":"\/46.2-1000\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/46.2-1000\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1000","dublin_core":{"Title":"Department to suspend registration of vehicles lacking certain equipment; officer to take possession of registration card, license plates and decals when observing defect in motor vehicle; when to be returned","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 46.2-1000","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Department<\/span> shall suspend<\/span> the registration of any motor vehicle<\/span>, trailer<\/span>, or semitrailer<\/span> which the Department<\/span> or the Department<\/span> of State Police determines is not equipped with proper (i) brakes, (ii) lights<\/span>, (iii) horn or warning device, (iv) turn signals, (v) safety glass when required by law<\/span>, (vi) mirror, (vii) muffler, (viii) windshield wiper, (ix) steering gear adequate to ensure the safe movement of the vehicle as required by this title or when such vehicle is equipped with a smoke screen device or cutout or when such motor vehicle<\/span>, trailer<\/span>, or semitrailer<\/span> is otherwise unsafe to be operated.\n\t\tAny law<\/span>-enforcement officer<\/span> shall, when he observes any defect in a motor vehicle<\/span> as described above, take possession<\/span> of the registration card, license plates<\/span>, and decals<\/span> of any such vehicle and retain the same in his possession<\/span> for a period of 15 days unless the owner<\/span> of the vehicle corrects the defects or obtains a new safety inspection sticker from an authorized safety inspection station. When the defect or defects are corrected as indicated above the registration card, license plates<\/span>, and decals<\/span> shall be returned to the owner<\/span>.\n\t\tFor any summons<\/span> issued for a violation of this section, the court<\/span> may, in its discretion, dismiss the summons<\/span>, where proof of compliance with this section is provided to the court<\/span> on or before the court<\/span> date.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nDEPARTMENT TO SUSPEND REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES LACKING CERTAIN EQUIPMENT;\nOFFICER TO TAKE POSSESSION OF REGISTRATION CARD, LICENSE PLATES AND DECALS WHEN\nOBSERVING DEFECT IN MOTOR VEHICLE; WHEN TO BE RETURNED (\u00a7 46.2-1000)\n\nThe Department shall suspend the registration of any motor vehicle, trailer, or\nsemitrailer which the Department or the Department of State Police determines is\nnot equipped with proper (i) brakes, (ii) lights, (iii) horn or warning device,\n(iv) turn signals, (v) safety glass when required by law, (vi) mirror, (vii)\nmuffler, (viii) windshield wiper, (ix) steering gear adequate to ensure the safe\nmovement of the vehicle as required by this title or when such vehicle is\nequipped with a smoke screen device or cutout or when such motor vehicle,\ntrailer, or semitrailer is otherwise unsafe to be operated.\n\t\tAny law-enforcement officer shall, when he observes any defect in a motor\nvehicle as described above, take possession of the registration card, license\nplates, and decals of any such vehicle and retain the same in his possession for\na period of 15 days unless the owner of the vehicle corrects the defects or\nobtains a new safety inspection sticker from an authorized safety inspection\nstation. When the defect or defects are corrected as indicated above the\nregistration card, license plates, and decals shall be returned to the owner.\n\t\tFor any summons issued for a violation of this section, the court may, in its\ndiscretion, dismiss the summons, where proof of compliance with this section is\nprovided to the court on or before the court date.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1950, \u00a7 46-56; 1958, c. 541, \u00a7 46.1-58; 1960, c. 119; 1964, c.\n414; 1972, c. 609; 1989, c. 727; 2017, c. 670.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}