                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

SURRENDER OF CERTIFICATE OF TITLE, ETC., WHERE MOTOR VEHICLE ACQUIRED FOR
DEMOLITION; RECORDS TO BE KEPT BY DEMOLISHER OR SCRAP METAL PROCESSOR (§
46.2-1206)

No demolisher or scrap metal processor who purchases or otherwise acquires a
motor vehicle for wrecking, dismantling, or demolition shall be required to
obtain a certificate of title for the motor vehicle in his own name. After the
motor vehicle has been demolished, processed, or changed so that it physically
is no longer a motor vehicle, the demolisher or scrap metal processor shall
surrender to the Department for cancellation the certificate of title, Vehicle
Removal Certificate, properly executed vehicle disposition history, or sales
receipt from a foreign jurisdiction for the vehicle. The Department shall issue
the appropriate forms for the surrender of sales receipts, certificates of
title, vehicle disposition histories, and vehicle removal certificates.
		Demolishers and scrap metal processors shall keep accurate and complete
records, in accordance with § 46.2-1608, of all motor vehicles purchased or
received by them in the course of their business. Demolishers and scrap metal
processors shall also collect and verify:

1. The towing company&#8217;s name;

2. One of the ownership or possession documents set out in this section
following verification of its accuracy;

3. The driver&#8217;s license of the person delivering the motor vehicle; and

4. The license plate number of the vehicle that delivered the motor vehicle or
scrap.
			In addition, a photocopy or electronic copy of the appropriate ownership
document or a Vehicle Removal Certificate presented by the customer shall be
maintained. Ownership documents shall consist of either a motor vehicle title or
a sales receipt from a foreign jurisdiction or a vehicle disposition history.
These records shall be maintained in a permanent ledger in a manner acceptable
to the Department at the place of business or at another readily accessible and
secure location within the Commonwealth for at least five years. The personal
identifying information contained within these records shall be protected from
unauthorized disclosure through the ultimate destruction of the information.
Disclosure of personal identifying information by anyone other than the
Department is subject to the Driver&#8217;s Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C.
&#xA7; 2721 et seq.).
			If requested by a law-enforcement officer, a licensee shall make available,
during regular business hours, a report of all the purchases of motor vehicles.
Each report shall include the information set out in this chapter and be
available electronically or in an agreed-upon format. Any person who violates
any provision of this chapter or who falsifies any of the information required
to be maintained by this article shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor for
the first offense. Any licensee or scrap metal processor who is found guilty of
second or subsequent violations shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The
Department shall also assess a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for the first
offense and $1,000 for the second and subsequent offenses. Those penalties shall
be paid into the state treasury and set aside as a special fund to be used to
meet the expenses of the Department.
			If the vehicle identification number has been altered, is missing, or appears
to have been otherwise tampered with, the demolisher or scrap metal processor
shall take no further action with regard to the vehicle except to safeguard it
in its then-existing condition and shall promptly notify the Department. The
Department shall, after an investigation has been made, notify the demolisher or
scrap metal processor whether the motor vehicle can be freed from this
limitation. In no event shall the motor vehicle be disassembled, demolished,
processed, or otherwise modified or removed prior to authorization by the
Department. If the vehicle is a motorcycle, the demolisher or scrap metal
processor shall cause to be noted on the title or salvage certificate,
certifying on the face of the document, in addition to the above requirements,
the frame number of the motorcycle and motor number, if available.

HISTORY: 1968, c. 421, § 46.1-555.8; 1989, c. 727; 2009, c. 664; 2012, cc. 803,
835.