Veh. Code, § 4453 · Article 4. Evidences of Registration
Veh. Code, § 4453
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) The registration card shall contain upon its face, the date issued, the name and residence or business address or mailing address of the owner and of the legal owner, if any, the registration number assigned to the vehicle, and a description of the vehicle as complete as that required in the application for registration of the vehicle.
(b) The following motor vehicles shall be identified as such on the face of the registration card whenever the department is able to ascertain that fact at the time application is made for initial registration or transfer of ownership of the vehicle:
(1) A motor vehicle rebuilt and restored to operation that was previously declared to be a total loss salvage vehicle because the cost of repairs exceeds the retail value of the vehicle.
(2) A motor vehicle rebuilt and restored to operation that was previously reported to be dismantled pursuant to Section 11520.
(3) A motor vehicle previously registered to a law enforcement agency and operated in law enforcement work.
(4) A motor vehicle formerly operated as a taxicab.
(5) A motor vehicle manufactured outside of the United States and not intended by the manufacturer for sale in the United States.
(6) A park trailer, as described in Section 18009.3 of the Health and Safety Code, that when moved upon the highway is required to be moved under a permit pursuant to Section 35780.
(7) A motor vehicle that has been reacquired under circumstances described in subdivision (c) of Section 1793.23 of the Civil Code, a vehicle with out-of-state titling documents reflecting a warranty return, or a vehicle that has been identified by an agency of another state as requiring a warranty return title notation, pursuant to the laws of that state. The notation made on the face of the registration and pursuant to this subdivision shall state “Lemon Law Buyback.”
(c) The director may modify the form, arrangement, and information appearing on the face of the registration card and may provide for standardization and abbreviation of fictitious or firm names on the registration card whenever the director finds that the efficiency of the department will be promoted by so doing.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 451, Sec. 17. Effective January 1, 2004.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=4453.
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- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
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