(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 sections 1111, 6308 of this title.