Motor Vehicle Registration Reform & Fees

Colorado law sets fees for the titling and registration of vehicles and authorizes county clerks, as authorized agents of the department of revenue (department), to retain a portion of these fees to cover their costs. The department must increase these fees to account for inflation, but the department must not increase a fee by more than 5% per year.

Colorado law authorizes a county clerk to set fees for shipping and handling of license plates. The act authorizes the county clerk to set fees for the shipping and handling of motor vehicle documents. The county clerk is authorized to set and publish the fee by October 15 for registration periods beginning January 1 of the following year.

The act allows an owner to select a vehicle registration period that is less than one year for any reason. The request for a shortened registration period may be made only one time in the 12 months after the transaction date.

Colorado law requires a salvage vehicle's title to have a brand that says "rebuilt from salvage". The act requires this brand to include a disclosure statement, which must:

• Include the reason the vehicle is salvage, as listed in statute;
• Contain a statement from the owner stating the nature of the damage that resulted in the determination that the vehicle is a salvage vehicle; and
• Contain the signature of the seller and buyer to sell the salvage vehicle.

Colorado law requires the seller of a salvage vehicle to provide a disclosure statement of the fact and have it signed, and, if the buyer does not know about the vehicle being rebuilt from salvage, the buyer is entitled to a refund. The act requires this disclosure statement and the buyer to be provided the refund only if the title of a salvage vehicle does not have the brand on the title or the vehicle is subject to multiple assignments.

Colorado law provides the option to have a rebuilder's certificate of title when a motor vehicle is a collector's item, the applicant is unable to provide appropriate evidence of ownership, and the applicant posts a bond. The act authorizes the department to issue a rebuilder's certificate of title to people who can prove ownership and changes the process to require only one bond.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)