3.050 Penalties (VC §§9552–9554.5 and 9561 and CR&TC §10854)

• A late penalty is assessed whenever fees are due and not paid as required.
• The penalty is assessed at a rate based on the extent of the delinquency.

Exceptions

A penalty is not assessed in the following situations:

• The fees for an application for original California registration are paid within 20 days of the date fees become due.
• A California dealer or lessor-retailer submits the fees and application for registration or transfer of a used vehicle within 30 days from the date of sale (VC §9553(c)(1)).
  • This includes nonresident vehicles and vehicles where the registration expires while in the dealer inventory.
• A transferee acquires a vehicle, the registration subsequently expires, and the transferee pays the renewal fees within 20 days from the transfer date.
• A legal owner or its agent repossesses a vehicle and all renewal fees due are paid within 60 days of the repossession date.
• A repossessed vehicle is sold through a motor vehicle auction dealer and all renewal fees due are paid within 60 days of sale at auction.
• A garage or storage facility keeper establishes a lien against a vehicle and the registration expires while in the garage/storage facility keeper’s possession.
• A Certificate of Non-Operation (REG 102) (PDF) form is acceptable and renewal fees are paid on or before the date of first operation of the vehicle.
• The registration expiration date or the last penalty-free date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or state holiday, and the fees are paid on the next business day.

3.045 Payment of Fees (VC §§4000, 5902.5, 9550 and 9553)

Vehicles operated or parked on public roads or in an off-street public parking facility in California must be registered.

Exception: An off-highway vehicle (OHV) which displays an OHV identification plate may be driven, moved, or left standing in an off-street parking facility without being registered or paying registration fees.

All fees required to be paid for registration of a vehicle must be paid within 20 days of the date the fees became due or the fees are subject to a late penalty. Refer to the penalties section in this chapter for exceptions.

California dealers have 30 days from the date of sale on the Report of Sale–Used Vehicle (REG 51) form to submit fees without penalty.

Applications for registration presented within 30 days of the registration expiration date must include the renewal fees in addition to any other fees due.

3.040 Determination of Penalty Due Dates

Use the Table of Penalty Dates, Appendix 1D, to determine if registration or transfer penalties are due.

When determining if a transfer penalty is due, the date of transfer is considered to be the day the transferee receives the properly endorsed California Certificate of Title from the previous owner.

For dealer transactions, the transfer date is the date the purchaser took possession of the vehicle from the dealer.

When computing any penalty period, always use the same formula reflected in Appendix 1D and do not count the first day.

Important The penalty-free period is extended to include the next business day when the last penalty-free day is a Saturday, Sunday, or state holiday.

Dealer violations for timely submission of applications may also be determined by Appendix 1D. Locate the date of sale in Column 1 and for:

New Vehicles—Column 4 (20 days) and Column 6 (40 days).

Used Vehicles—Column 5 (30 days) and Column 7 (50 days).

Note When the title for a vehicle is held by DMV on the actual date of sale, the 20-day period starts the date the California Certificate of Title is issued by DMV.

3.035 Dealer Responsibility for Fee Collection (VC § 11713.4)

Dealers and lessor-retailers are responsible for itemizing and collecting the proper fee amounts from the buyer and dispersing the fees to the proper agency (CCC §2982(a)(2)):

Buyers cannot be charged more than the amount required to complete the registration transaction.

Buyers may be charged all fees due to DMV, including fees for replacements/substitutes and fees/penalties that accrued prior to the vehicle entering the dealer inventory, unless those fees/penalties accrued through untimely submission of fees and/or documents by the dealer.

Fees paid by a dealer to avoid penalties may usually be charged to the buyer.

Fees collected by the dealer in excess of the amount required to register/transfer the vehicle must be refunded to the purchaser, whether or not requested by the purchaser.

Note Administrative service fees (ASF) cannot be charged to the buyer.

3.030 Dealer’s Document Preparation and Electronic Filing Service Fee (VC §§ 4456.5 and 11713.1)

A dealer may charge the purchaser or lessee of a vehicle the following charges:

• A document processing charge for the preparation and processing of documents, disclosures, titling, registration, and information security obligations imposed by state and federal law. The dealer document processing charge shall not be represented as a governmental fee.

The following rules apply when collecting fees from buyers:

• If a dealer has a contractual agreement with DMV to be a private industry partner pursuant to Section 1685, the document processing charge shall not exceed eighty-five dollars ($85).
• If a dealer does not have a contractual agreement with DMV to be a private industry partner pursuant to §1685, the document processing charge shall not exceed seventy dollars ($70).
• A dealer may not charge an electronic filing fee to the purchaser or lessor if the dealer uses a registration service to complete the electronic filing process.
• A dealer may not collect, or must immediately refund, an electronic filing fee to the purchaser or lessor if the dealer is unable to complete the transaction electronically for any reason.

This fee is not required or collected by DMV and it is unlawful to represent this charge as a governmental fee.

3.025 Computation of Fees and Penalties (VC §9559)

When a registration fee, weight fee, or penalty computation results in a fraction of a dollar and the odd-cents amount is:

• $0.49 or less, round down the full dollar (Example: $22.35 = $ 22).
• $0.50 to $0.99, round up to the next full dollar (Example: $22.60 = $ 23).

No single fee or penalty shall be less than $1.

3.020 City and County Fees

Various fees are collected with the registration fees for cities and counties that have adopted resolutions to impose such fees.

Fee assessment is based on the registered owner’s county or city of residence and is collected whenever a registration fee is collected.

County fees for CVRA vehicles are higher than other vehicles.

No penalties are charged for the city and county fees.

See Appendix 1A for fees for each county/city.

3.015 Certificate of Non-Operation (CNO-REG 102) (VC §4604.2 and CR&TC §10856)

If a vehicle has not been operated, moved, or left standing upon any highway subsequent to the vehicle expiration date and the vehicle is exempt from planned nonoperation (PNO) filing, a CNO-REG 102 may be required upon registration of the vehicle.

• The CNO may be signed by the vehicle owner or person in possession of the vehicle and/or who has knowledge of the vehicle’s nonoperation.
• A CNO cannot be signed by power of attorney and cannot be used when the vehicle is required to be currently registered or have a PNO status on record.
• A CNO may be submitted for any period of past time, not future time, and must cover the beginning and ending dates of the period in question.

Exception: The CNO ending date for a partial-year registration (PYR) vehicle may be up to 30 days beyond date the fees are paid (date fees received).

CNO Required

A CNO is required when renewal fees are paid, and:

• The vehicle is exempt from the PNO requirements (example: vehicle of historical interest) and has not been operated since the expiration date.
• A vehicle registered as PYR has not been operated since the PYR expiration.
  Example: PYR fees are paid through April 30. The vehicle has not been operated since that date and fees are paid in June for four more months. Fees must be paid prior to first operation.
• The vehicle was deleted from an International Registration Plan (IRP) fleet and not operated since the date of deletion.
  • If a Statement of Facts (REG 256) (PDF) form includes the fact that the vehicle has not been operated since the date of deletion, a separate CNO is not required.
• The vehicle is no longer on DMV records (unavailable records).
  • If a REG 256 submitted to meet the unavailable record requirement includes a statement that the vehicle has not been operated since _(date)____ , a separate CNO is not required.
• A commercial vehicle going from PNO status to registered status with the date of first operation as a future date.
  • The CNO date can be up to 75 days beyond the “Date Fees Received”.
• A PYR vehicle is applying for PNO status.
  • The CNO date can be up to 75 days beyond the “Date Fees Received” for PYR vehicles.
  • A PNO application cannot be submitted on a PYR vehicle until the year following the last PYR registration.

CNO Not Required

A CNO is not required:

• From the owner who traded the vehicle to the dealer.
• For a vehicle held in the dealer’s inventory or transferred between dealers if the application contains evidence that the registration was valid when sold by the registered owner to the dealer.
  • Evidence of valid registration could be the date of release on the title or bill of sale prior to the registration expiration date.
• For a vehicle moved out of state on a trailer or with a moving permit, not registered in another state, and returns to California in a subsequent registration year.
  • A REG 256 with the dates the vehicle left and returned to California must be part of the application.
  • Fees must be paid prior to the entry into California unless the vehicle re-enters on a trailer or with a permit.
• For a vehicle moved out of state on a trailer or with a moving permit, not registered in another state, and returns to California in the same registration year.

Trailer Coaches

A CNO cannot be used for a trailer coach, unless it was:

• Unoccupied and held as part of a dealer’s or manufacturer’s inventory for sale.
• Moved in conformance with the VC provisions relating to dealers, manufacturers, or transporters (VC §§11715 and 11716).
• Destroyed by fire, flood, or other disaster.
• Located outside of California.
• Owned by a member of a military service and located on a military installation.
• Owned by an Indian Tribal Member while parked off-road on a Federal Indian Reservation or Rancheria.
• Located in a federal enclave (Cabrillo National Monument [except the area within Point Iowa traffic circle], Fort Point National Historic Site, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, or Yosemite National Park).

Note Vehicles towed on a highway by a tow vehicle pursuant to a court order or by order of a peace officer are exempt from registration and license fees (VC §4000).

The sheriff, marshal, or peace officer who authorized the movement must complete a statement giving the authority for movement. This statement may be on a REG 102 (PDF) or a REG 256.

3.010 CHP Fee

• A California Highway Patrol (CHP) fee is collected each time a registration fee is collected.
• CVRA vehicles pay a higher CHP fee than other vehicles.
• The CHP fee, including the CVRA CHP fee, is subject to a penalty based on the date the fee was paid. See the Waiver of Fees and/or Penalties section in this chapter.

3.005 Calculating Penalties

The penalty structure for original registration or registration renewal separates the registration fee from the vehicle license fee (VLF) and any weight fee due.

A flat penalty is assessed on the registration fee and California Highway Patrol (CHP) fee.