2010 Pennsylvania Code
Title 75 - VEHICLES
Chapter 11 - Certificate of Title and Security Interests
1103.1 - Application for certificate of title.

     § 1103.1.  Application for certificate of title.
        (a)  Contents of application.--Application for a certificate
     of title shall be made upon a form prescribed and furnished by
     the department and shall contain a full description of the
     vehicle, the vehicle identification number, odometer reading,
     date of purchase, the actual or bona fide name and address of
     the owner, a statement of the title of applicant, together with
     any other information or documents the department requires to
     identify the vehicle and to enable the department to determine
     whether the owner is entitled to a certificate of title, and the
     description of any security interests in the vehicle. Program
     participants in the Address Confidentiality Program under 23
     Pa.C.S. Ch. 67 (relating to domestic and sexual violence victim
     address confidentiality) may use a substitute address designated
     by the Office of Victim Advocate as their address.
        (b)  Signing and filing of application.--Application for a
     certificate of title shall be made within 20 days of the sale or
     transfer of a vehicle or its entry into this Commonwealth from
     another jurisdiction, whichever is later. The application shall
     be accompanied by the fee prescribed in this title and any tax
     payable by the applicant under the laws of this Commonwealth in
     connection with the acquisition or use of a vehicle or evidence
     to show that the tax has been collected. The application shall
     be signed and verified by oath or affirmation by the applicant
     if a natural person; in the case of an association or
     partnership, by a member or a partner; and in the case of a
     corporation, by an executive officer or some person specifically
     authorized by the corporation to sign the application.
        (c)  Manufacturer's Statement of Origin for new vehicles.--If
     the application refers to a new vehicle, it shall be accompanied
     by the Manufacturer's Statement of Origin for the vehicle.
        (d)  Vehicles purchased from dealers.--If the application
     refers to a vehicle purchased from a dealer, the dealer shall
     mail or deliver the application to the department within 20 days
     of the date of purchase. The application shall contain the names
     and addresses of any lienholders in order of priority and the
     amounts and the dates of the security agreements and be assigned
     by the dealer to the owner and signed by the owner. Any dealer
     violating this subsection is guilty of a summary offense and
     shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of $50 for
     each violation. The requirement that the dealer mail or deliver
     the application to the department does not apply to vehicles
     purchased by fleet owners or governmental or quasi-governmental
     agencies.
        (d.1)  Presumption of receipt and grace period prior to
     prosecution.--Within one business day of receiving an
     application referring to a vehicle purchased from a dealer, the
     department shall stamp the application with a work
     identification number, which shall include the year and day that
     the application was received at the department. In determining
     whether a dealer has submitted an application in accordance with
     subsection (d), an additional ten-day period shall be calculated
     and allotted to the dealer to account for any possible delay of
     the mail or by the department in timely stamping an application
     as to the year and day received. No issuing authority or court
     shall extend this period. An application, or copy thereof
     certified by the department, which displays the stamped work
     identification document number shall be accepted by any issuing
     authority or court in any proceeding as prima facie evidence of
     the date that the application was received by the department. If
     the displayed stamp is not legible, a certification by the
     department of the date that the application was received shall
     be accepted by the issuing authority or court as prima facie
     evidence of that date.
        (e)  Out-of-State vehicles.--If the application refers to a
     vehicle last previously titled or registered in another state or
     country, the following information shall be contained in or
     accompany the application or be forwarded in support of the
     application as required by the department:
            (1)  Any certificate of title issued by the other state
        or country.
            (2)  A tracing of the vehicle identification number taken
        from the official number plate or, where it is impossible to
        secure a legible tracing, verification that the vehicle
        identification number of the vehicle has been inspected and
        found to conform to the description given in the application.
        The department shall provide by regulation the persons who
        are authorized to verify vehicle identification numbers under
        this paragraph.
            (3)  Any other information and documents the department
        reasonably requires to establish the ownership of the vehicle
        and the existence or nonexistence of security interests in
        the vehicle.
        (f)  Foreign vehicles owned by military personnel.--If the
     application refers to a vehicle last previously registered in
     another country by a person on active duty in the armed forces
     of the United States, the department may accept a complete form
     issued by the United States Department of Defense as evidence of
     ownership.
        (g)  Specially constructed, reconstructed or modified
     vehicles.--If the vehicle to be titled is a specially
     constructed, reconstructed or modified vehicle, that fact shall
     be stated in the application. The department may promulgate
     rules and regulations pertaining to the titling of specially
     constructed, reconstructed or modified vehicles.
        (g.1)  Verification.--In lieu of notarization of any document
     required to be submitted with the application for certificate of
     title, the department shall accept the verification of a
     person's signature by a wholesale vehicle auction licensed by
     the State Board of Vehicle Manufacturers, Dealers and
     Salespersons or its employee, or an issuing agent who is
     licensed as a vehicle dealer by the State Board of Vehicle
     Manufacturers, Dealers and Salespersons, or its employee. The
     name and identification number and the signature of the issuing
     agent or wholesale vehicle auction or respective employee shall
     be written in the space reserved for a notarization or
     verification. If an issuing agent or wholesale vehicle auction
     or respective employee falsely verifies a person's signature,
     the department shall suspend the issuing agent's or wholesale
     vehicle auction's authority to issue temporary registration
     plates and cards for not less than 30 days. When verification is
     used in lieu of notarization, the issuing agent or its employee
     shall verify a person's identity by using at least one form of
     government-issued photo identification. A copy of the form of
     identification used shall be maintained by the issuing agent for
     a period of three years from the date of the verification.
        (h)  Penalties.--Any person who falsely verifies a signature
     under subsection (g.1) or a vehicle identification number under
     subsection (e)(2) or who verifies a vehicle identification
     number without being authorized as provided in subsection (e)(2)
     commits a summary offense punishable by a fine of $300.
     (June 30, 1990, P.L.266, No.63, eff. imd.; July 10, 1990,
     P.L.356, No.83, eff. imd.; Dec. 7, 1994, P.L.820, No.115, eff.
     60 days; Dec. 21, 1998, P.L.1126, No.151, eff. 60 days; Dec. 9,
     2002, P.L.1278, No.152, eff. 60 days; Nov. 30, 2004, P.L.1474,
     No.188, eff. 180 days; July 14, 2005, P.L.285, No.50, eff. 60
     days)

        2005 Amendment.  Act 50 amended subsec. (g.1).
        2004 Amendment.  Act 188 amended subsec. (a).
        2002 Amendment.  Act 152 amended subsecs. (g) and (g.1).
        1998 Amendment.   Act 151 amended subsec. (h) and added
     subsec. (g.1).
        1994 Amendment.  Act 115 added subsec. (d.1).
        1990 Amendments.  Acts 63 and 83 added section 1103.1. The
     amendments by Acts 63 and 83 are identical except for a
     reference by Act 83 in subsecs. (b) and (d) to "20 days" which
     has been given effect in setting forth the text of section
     1103.1.
        Cross References.  Section 1103.1 is referred to in section
     1111 of this title.