TEMPORARY REGISTRATION STICKERS/PERMITS

Ensure That You Have Proof of Valid Registration

TEMPORARY REGISTRATION STICKERS/PERMITS

Regarding Temporary Registration Stickers/Permits, Vehicle Code § 4000 mandates that a proper registration is required for an offstreet parking facility; compliance with vehicular air pollution control provisions; exceptions; driver's license as rebuttable presumption of ownership.

TEMPORARY REGISTRATION STICKERS/PERMITS CASE LAW

In People v. Saunders (2006) 38 Cal.4th 1129  the Court found an officer's traffic stop to investigate a possible Vehicle Code violation was justified based on missing front license plate this appeared to be a violation of Vehicle Code Section 4000, subdivision (a)(1), which requires the vehicle be currently registered.

Also regarding Temporary Registration Stickers/Permits, Vehicle Code Section 4601, subdivision (a), which requires the vehicle's registration be renewed annually prior to the expiration of the registration year; and Vehicle Code Section 5204, subdivision (a), which requires proof of a current registration.  The Court held the officer could order a traffic stop to investigate possible Vehicle Code violations when vehicle's front license plate was missing and registration tabs on rear license plate had expired but vehicle's rear window displayed what appeared to be current temporary operating permit; such an investigative stop was supported by reasonable suspicion of Vehicle Code violations and did not violate the Fourth Amendment, inasmuch as officer had no other ready means of verifying the vehicle’s registration.

In People v. Nabong (2004) 115 Cal.App.4th Supp. 1, the Court here found that the  officer's personal experience that temporary vehicle registration stickers on cars were invalid about half the time, without more, did not constitute reasonable suspicion of Vehicle Code violation so as to justify stop of defendant's vehicle that displayed unexpired registration sticker in window.

VEHICLE CODE SECTION 4000

(a)(1) A person shall not drive, move, or leave standing upon a highway, or in an offstreet public parking facility, any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole or pipe dolly, or logging dolly, unless it is registered and the appropriate fees have been paid under this code or registered under the permanent trailer identification program, except that an off-highway motor vehicle which displays an identification plate or device issued by the department pursuant to Section 38010 may be driven, moved, or left standing in an offstreet public parking facility without being registered or paying registration fees.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “offstreet public parking facility” means either of the following:

(A) Any publicly owned parking facility.

(B) Any privately owned parking facility for which no fee for the privilege to park is charged and which is held open for the common public use of retail customers.

(3) This subdivision does not apply to any motor vehicle stored in a privately owned offstreet parking facility by, or with the express permission of, the owner of the privately owned offstreet parking facility.

(4) Beginning July 1, 2011, the enforcement of paragraph (1) shall commence on the first day of the second month following the month of expiration of the vehicle's registration. This paragraph shall become inoperative on January 1, 2012.

(b) No person shall drive, move, or leave standing upon a highway any motor vehicle, as defined in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 39010) of Part 1 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, that has been registered in violation of Part 5 (commencing with Section 43000) of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code.

(c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) do not apply to off-highway motor vehicles operated pursuant to Sections 38025 and 38026.5.

(d) This section does not apply, following payment of fees due for registration, during the time that registration and transfer is being withheld by the department pending the investigation of any use tax due under the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(e) Subdivision (a) does not apply to a vehicle that is towed by a tow truck on the order of a sheriff, marshal, or other official acting pursuant to a court order or on the order of a peace officer acting pursuant to this code.

(f) Subdivision (a) applies to a vehicle that is towed from a highway or offstreet parking facility under the direction of a highway service organization when that organization is providing emergency roadside assistance to that vehicle. However, the operator of a tow truck providing that assistance to that vehicle is not responsible for the violation of subdivision (a) with respect to that vehicle. The owner of an unregistered vehicle that is disabled and located on private property, shall obtain a permit from the department pursuant to Section 4003 prior to having the vehicle towed on the highway.

(g)(1) Pursuant to Section 4022 and to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (o) of Section 22651, a vehicle obtained by a licensed repossessor as a release of collateral is exempt from registration pursuant to this section for purposes of the repossessor removing the vehicle to his or her storage facility or the facility of the legal owner. A law enforcement agency, impounding authority, tow yard, storage facility, or any other person in possession of the collateral shall release the vehicle without requiring current registration and pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 14602.6.

(2) The legal owner of collateral shall, by operation of law and without requiring further action, indemnify and hold harmless a law enforcement agency, city, county, city and county, the state, a tow yard, storage facility, or an impounding yard from a claim arising out of the release of the collateral to a licensee, and from any damage to the collateral after its release, including reasonable attorney's fees and costs associated with defending a claim, if the collateral was released in compliance with this subdivision.

REGISTRATION TABS

Regarding Temporary Registration Stickers/Permits, an officer's personal experience that temporary vehicle registration stickers on cars were invalid about half the time, without more, did not constitute reasonable suspicion of a Vehicle Code violation justifying a stop of the defendant's vehicle that displayed unexpired registration sticker in window. People v. Nabong (2004) 115 Cal.App.4th Supp.1.

Field Sobriety Testing Defenses - Orange County

VEHICLE CODE SECTION 5204

(a) Except as provided by subdivisions (b) and (c), a tab shall indicate the year of expiration and a tab shall indicate the month of expiration. Current month and year tabs shall be attached to the rear license plate assigned to the vehicle for the last preceding registration year in which license plates were issued, and, when so attached, the license plate with the tabs shall, for the purposes of this code, be deemed to be the license plate, except that truck tractors, and commercial motor vehicles having a declared gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more, shall display the current month and year tabs upon the front license plate assigned to the truck tractor or commercial motor vehicle. Vehicles that fail to display current month and year tabs or display expired tabs are in violation of this section.(b) The requirement of subdivision (a) that the tabs indicate the year and the month of expiration does not apply to fleet vehicles subject to Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 5300) or vehicles defined in Section 468.(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply when proper application for registration has been made pursuant to Section 4602 and the new indicia of current registration have not been received from the department.(d) This section is enforceable against any motor vehicle that is driven, moved, or left standing upon a highway, or in an offstreet public parking facility, in the same manner as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 4000.