(a) General rule.--The department upon receipt of an abandoned vehicle information report shall notify by certified mail, return receipt requested, the last known registered owner of the vehicle and all lienholders of record that the vehicle is being held as abandoned.

(b) Contents of notice.--The notice shall:

(1) Describe the make, model, title number, vehicle identification number and registration plate number of the abandoned vehicle, if known.

(1.1) State the location of the police department that processed the vehicle.

(2) State the location where the vehicle is being held.

(3) Inform the owner and any lienholders of their right to reclaim the vehicle and its contents within 30 days after the date the notice was mailed at the place where the vehicle is being held by the salvor, upon payment of all towing, storage charges, the fee authorized in section 7306 (relating to payment of costs upon reclaiming vehicle) and penalties under section 3712(d)(1) (relating to abandonment and stripping of vehicles).

(4) State that the failure of the owner or lienholder to reclaim the vehicle and its contents is deemed consent by the owner to the destruction, sale or other disposition of the abandoned vehicle and its contents and of all lienholders to dissolution of their liens.

(5) Inform the owner and any lienholders of their right, within 30 days of the mailing date of the notice, to request from the appropriate police department a copy of the abandoned vehicle information report and of their right to a hearing conforming to the requirements of 2 Pa.C.S. Ch. 5 Subch. B (relating to practice and procedure of local agencies). The hearing shall be before a civilian officer or employee of the municipality in which the vehicle was reported as abandoned. If as a result of the hearing it is determined that the vehicle was not abandoned, the owner or lienholder may retrieve the vehicle within 48 hours without payment of any of the fees and penalties under paragraph (3).

(c) Notice by publication.--If the identity of the last registered owner and of all lienholders cannot be determined with reasonable certainty, the contents of the notice set forth in subsection (b) shall be published one time in one newspaper of general circulation in the area where the vehicle was abandoned. The notice may contain multiple listings of abandoned vehicles. Notice by publication locally shall be the responsibility of the salvor. The notice shall have the same effect as notice sent by certified mail.

(Apr. 16, 1992, P.L.169, No.31, eff. 60 days; Dec. 9, 2002, P.L.1278, No.152, eff. 60 days)

Cross References. Section 7305 is referred to in section 7304.1 of this title.