Section 761.405.15. Salvage theft examination.

Except for foreign salvage titles assigned to licensed new motor vehicle dealers or authorized vehicle recyclers, a salvage theft examination may only be conducted on a vehicle with an Iowa salvage title. The vehicle shall not be examined until it has been completely repaired, except for minor body parts such as trim, body marking or paint.

       405.15(1) General procedure.

        a.           A salvage theft examination shall be conducted by a peace officer who has been specially certified, and recertified when required, by the Iowa law enforcement academy to perform salvage theft examinations.

       (1)             To arrange for a salvage theft examination by an investigator from the department of transportation, the applicant shall contact the office of motor vehicle enforcement. The address is: Office of Motor Vehicle Enforcement, Department of Transportation, P.O. Box 10473, Des Moines, Iowa 50306-0473.

       (2)             To arrange for a salvage theft examination by any other authorized peace officer, the applicant shall contact the local law enforcement agency for instructions.

        b.           The owner of the vehicle may drive the vehicle to and from the examination location by completing the permit section located on the affidavit of salvage vehicle repairs form.

       (1)             The affidavit shall state that the vehicle is reasonably safe for operation and shall list the parts that have been replaced on the vehicle. The affidavit must be signed by the owner or the owner’s authorized agent.

       (2)             To be valid, the permit to drive the vehicle to and from the examination location must be signed by the owner or owner’s authorized agent.

        c.           The owner of the vehicle must be present for the examination or certify, on the affidavit of salvage vehicle repairs, the name of the person who will be representing the owner at the examination.

        d.           The owner or owner’s representative, when appearing with the vehicle for the examination, shall submit to the peace officer for review the salvage title or a certified copy of the salvage title; the affidavit of salvage vehicle repairs; and, pursuant to subrules 405.15(3) and 405.15(4), bills of sale for all component parts replaced.

        e.           A $30 fee paid by check or money order made payable to the agency conducting the salvage theft examination shall be collected. The agency shall retain $20 and forward $10 to the office of vehicle services at the Des Moines address. The department shall deposit the $10 into the funds specified by law.

        f.            If the vehicle passes the salvage theft examination, the peace officer shall complete a salvage theft examination certificate on a form prescribed by the department. The form shall be distributed as follows:

       (1)             The white copy shall be mailed with the $10 to the office of vehicle services at the Des Moines address.

       (2)             The canary copy shall be given to the owner or the owner’s representative. This copy must be surrendered when applying for title.

       (3)             The pink copy shall be retained by the examining officer for three years for verification purposes.

        g.           Reserved.

        h.           The peace officer shall return the salvage title or the certified copy of the salvage title, the permit to drive section, if applicable, on the affidavit of salvage vehicle repairs, and the bills of sale to the owner or the owner’s representative.

       405.15(2) Affidavit of salvage vehicle repairs form and salvage theft examination certificate.

        a.           The affidavit of salvage vehicle repairs form may be obtained from the office of motor vehicle enforcement at the Des Moines address, any local enforcement agency with officers certified to conduct salvage theft examinations or any local county treasurer’s office.

        b.           The salvage theft examination certificate shall be a controlled form and furnished by the department.

        c.           The owner of the vehicle may obtain a duplicate copy of the salvage theft examination certificate upon written request to the issuing officer or agency.

        d.           The salvage theft examination certificate is not transferable.

       405.15(3) Bill of sale. A bill of sale is a document from the seller to the buyer containing the name, address and telephone number of the seller, a description and identification number of the component part and, if applicable, the vehicle identification number (VIN) of the vehicle from which it was removed.

       405.15(4) Component part. For salvage theft examinations, the definition of component part as found in Iowa Code section 321.1 shall apply.

[ARC 0136C, IAB 5/30/12, effective 7/4/12]