39-05-17.2. Body damage disclosure - Rules - When required - Penalty.
560 words·~3 min read·
/nd/title-39/chapter-39-05/39-05-17-2A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
1. The department shall adopt rules relating to the manner and form of disclosing motor
vehicle body damage on the certificate of title to a motor vehicle. The rules must
provide for a damage disclosure statement from the transferor to the transferee at the
time ownership of a motor vehicle is transferred and provide that the department may
not transfer the title without the required damage disclosure statement.
2. Motor vehicle body damage disclosure requirements apply only to the transfer of title
on motor vehicles of a model year which have been released in the current calendar
year and those motor vehicles of a model year which were released in the seven
calendar years before the current calendar year. When a motor vehicle has been
subject to this disclosure requirement and a motor vehicle of a model year has not
been released in the current calendar year or the seven calendar years before the
current calendar year, the holder of the certificate of title with the damage disclosure
may have the disclosure removed and a new certificate of title issued for a fee of five
dollars.
3. As used in this section, "motor vehicle body damage" means a change in the body or
structure of a motor vehicle, generally resulting from a vehicular crash or accident,
including loss by fire, vandalism, weather, or submersion in water, resulting in damage
to the motor vehicle which equals or exceeds the greater of ten thousand dollars or
twenty-five percent of the predamage retail value of the motor vehicle as determined
by the national automobile dealers association official used car guide. The term does
not include body or structural modifications, normal wear and tear, glass damage, hail
damage, or items of normal maintenance and repair.
4. A person repairing, replacing parts, or performing body work on a motor vehicle of a
model year which was released in the current calendar year or the seven calendar
years before the current calendar year shall provide a statement to the owner of the
motor vehicle when the motor vehicle has sustained motor vehicle body damage
requiring disclosure under this section. The owner shall disclose this damage when
ownership of the motor vehicle is transferred. When a vehicle is damaged in excess of
seventy-five percent of its retail value as determined by the national automobile
dealers association official used car guide, the person repairing, replacing parts, or
performing body work on the motor vehicle of a model year which has been released
in the current calendar year or the seven calendar years before the current calendar
year shall also advise the owner of the motor vehicle that the owner of the vehicle
must comply with section 39-05-20.2.
5. The amount of damage to a motor vehicle is determined by adding the retail value of
all labor, parts, and material used in repairing the damage. When the retail value of
labor has not been determined by a purchase in the ordinary course of business, for
example when the labor is performed by the owner of the vehicle, the retail value of
the labor is presumed to be the product of the repair time, as provided in a generally
accepted autobody repair flat rate manual, multiplied by thirty-five dollars.
6. A person who violates this section or rules adopted pursuant to this section is guilty of
a class A misdemeanor.