Section 10858 Of Article 1. Payments From California Revenue And Taxation Code >> Division 2. >> Part 5. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 1.
10858
. (a) When a transferee or purchaser of a vehicle applies for
transfer of registration, as provided in Section 5902 of the Vehicle
Code, and it is determined by the department that vehicle license fee
penalties accrued prior to the purchase of the vehicle and that the
transferee or purchaser was not cognizant of the nonpayment of the
vehicle license fee for the current or prior registration years, the
department may waive the vehicle license fee penalties upon payment
of the vehicle license fees due.
(b) Other provisions of this code notwithstanding, the Director of
Motor Vehicles may, at his discretion, investigate into the
circumstances of any application for registration to ascertain if
penalties had accrued through no fault or intent of the owner.
Provided such circumstances prevail, the director may waive any
penalties upon payment of the license fee then due.
(c) When a transferee or purchaser of a vehicle applies for
transfer of registration of a vehicle, and it is determined by the
department that license fees for the vehicle for any year are unpaid
and due, that the fees became due prior to the transfer or purchase
of the vehicle by the transferee or purchaser, and that the
transferee or purchaser was not cognizant of the fact that the fees
were unpaid and due, the department may waive the fees and any
penalty thereon when both of the following conditions exist:
(1) The license plate assigned to the vehicle displays a
validating device issued by the department, and the validating device
contains the year number of the registration year for which the
transferee or purchaser is requesting a waiver of fees and penalties.
(2) The transferee or purchaser has submitted to the department
the registration card that indicates the vehicle is registered for
the registration year indicated on the validating device displayed on
the license plate assigned to the vehicle.
(d) Upon the transfer of a vehicle for which license fees and any
penalties thereon are unpaid and due, such fees and penalties are,
notwithstanding the provisions of Article 2 (commencing with Section
10876), the personal debt of the transferor of the vehicle who did
not pay the fees and penalties when they became due or accrued. The
fees and penalties may be collected by the department in an
appropriate civil action if the department has waived the fees and
penalties pursuant to subdivision (c).