(a) General rule.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, no motor vehicle required to bear current registration plates issued by this Commonwealth and no farm vehicle with a gross weight or gross vehicle weight rating of greater than 17,000 pounds for which a Type D biennial certificate of exemption has been issued shall be driven and no trailer required to bear current registration plates issued by this Commonwealth shall be moved on a highway and no mass transit vehicle shall be operated unless the vehicle displays a currently valid certificate of inspection issued under this chapter.

(b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) does not apply to:

(1) Special mobile equipment.

(2) Implements of husbandry.

(2.1) Registered commercial implement of husbandry with an implement of husbandry body type.

(3) Motor vehicles being towed.

(4) Motor vehicles being operated or trailers being towed by an official inspection station owner or employee for the purpose of inspection.

(5) Trailers having a registered gross weight of 3,000 pounds or less.

(5.1) A trailer or semitrailer with a gross weight or gross vehicle weight rating of greater than 17,000 pounds displaying a currently valid Federal certificate of inspection.

(6) Motorized pedalcycles.

(7) Vehicles being repossessed by a financier or collector-repossessor business or vehicles enroute to a wholesale vehicle auction by a transporter business using the appropriate miscellaneous motor vehicle business registration plates.

(8) New vehicles while they are in the process of manufacture, including testing, and not in transit from the manufacturer to a purchaser or dealer.

(9) Any military vehicle used for training by a private, nonprofit, tax exempt military educational institution when such vehicle does not travel on public roads in excess of one mile and the property on both sides of the public road is owned by the institution.

(10) A motor vehicle registered as an antique pursuant to section 1340 (relating to antique, classic and collectible plates).

(11) A motor vehicle being operated by the vehicle owner while enroute to an inspection station where an appointment for inspection has been scheduled, provided that such operation occurs no later than ten days after the expiration of a valid certificate of inspection issued under this chapter.

(12) (Deleted by amendment).

(13) New vehicles in the possession of a second-stage manufacturer which are in transit:

(i) from a dealer or distributor for completion; or

(ii) to a dealer or distributor upon completion.

(14) A neighborhood electric vehicle.

(c) Inspection of vehicles reentering this Commonwealth.--Vehicles subject to registration and inspection in this Commonwealth which have been outside this Commonwealth continuously for 30 days or more and which, at the time of reentering this Commonwealth, do not bear a currently valid certificate of inspection shall not be required to be inspected until ten days after reentering this Commonwealth.

(d) Newly-purchased vehicles.--Newly-purchased vehicles may be driven without a current inspection certificate for ten days after sale or resale or entry into this Commonwealth, whichever occurs later.

(e) Display of unauthorized certificate of inspection.--No certificate of inspection shall be displayed unless an official inspection has been made and the vehicle or mass transit vehicle is in conformance with the provisions of this chapter.

(f) Authority of police.--Any police officer may stop any motor vehicle, mass transit vehicle or trailer and require the owner or operator to display an official certificate of inspection for the vehicle being operated. A police officer may summarily remove an unauthorized, expired or unlawfully issued certificate of inspection from any vehicle or mass transit vehicle. For the purposes of administering the requirements of regulations promulgated by the department, a qualified Commonwealth employee or an authorized department representative may remove an unauthorized, expired or unlawfully issued certificate of inspection from any vehicle.

(g) Limitation on prosecution.--A motor vehicle, mass transit vehicle or trailer shall be the subject of only one prosecution under subsection (a) in any 24-hour period.

(h) Penalty.--

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a person violating this section is guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of up to $25.

(2) Where the subject vehicle is a motor carrier vehicle, bus or school bus, the police officer or qualified Commonwealth employee shall place the vehicle out of service and require that the vehicle not be operated under its own power until such time as the vehicle is issued a valid official certificate of inspection. In addition, the person violating this section commits a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500.

(June 18, 1980, P.L.223, No.67, eff. imd.; June 18, 1980, P.L.229, No.68, eff. 60 days; Mar. 7, 1982, P.L.152, No.49, eff. imd.; May 26, 1982, P.L.435, No.129, eff. imd.; July 10, 1984, P.L.679, No.146, eff. 60 days; Feb. 7, 1990, P.L.11, No.6, eff. 60 days; June 11, 1992, P.L.266, No.47, eff. 60 days; Dec. 18, 1992, P.L.1411, No.174, eff. 60 days; May 20, 1993, P.L.30, No.10, eff. 60 days; Dec. 7, 1994, P.L.820, No.115, eff. 60 days; July 6, 1995, P.L.246, No.30, eff. imd.; Dec. 21, 1998, P.L.1126, No.151; June 22, 2001, P.L.411, No.33, eff. 60 days; Dec. 23, 2002, P.L.1982, No.229, eff. 6 months; July 14, 2005, P.L.285, No.50, eff. 60 days; Oct. 24, 2012, P.L.1407, No.174, eff. 60 days; Oct. 22, 2014, P.L.2543, No.154, eff. May 1, 2015)

2014 Amendment. Act 154 added subsec. (b)(14).

2012 Amendment. Act 174 amended subsec. (a).

2005 Amendment. Act 50 amended subsec. (b).

2002 Amendment. Act 229 amended subsec. (h).

1998 Amendment. Act 151 amended subsecs. (b)(10) and (f) and added subsec. (b)(13), effective immediately as to subsec. (f) and 60 days as to subsec. (b)(10) and (13).

1995 Amendment. See section 5 of Act 30 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to equipment standards and inspection criteria.

1990 Amendment. Act 6 amended subsec. (d).

1982 Amendment. Act 129 amended subsecs. (b), (c) and (d).

Cross References. Section 4703 is referred to in section 4729 of this title.