RELATING TO VEHICLE TITLES.

SB820

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

820

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to vehicle titles
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION
1
.
�
Section 286-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended as follows:

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1.
�
By amending subsection (b) to read:

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"
(b)
�
Within [
thirty
]
fourteen

calendar days thereafter, the transferee shall forward the certificate of
ownership so endorsed to the director of finance who shall file the same;
provided that if the recorded lien holder does not have an office in the State,
the applicable period shall be sixty days.
�

Whenever a transferee fails to comply with these provisions, the
director of finance shall charge a fee of $50, in addition to the fee provided
in section 286-51, for a new certificate of ownership.
�
If after fourteen calendar days, or sixty
days as appropriate, the transferee has not forwarded the endorsed certificate
of ownership, the transferor may submit an attestation about the transfer that
includes the names and addresses of the transferor and transferee, date of
transfer, vehicle description, and date that the notice required pursuant to
subsection (j) was submitted to the director of finance, who shall treat the
attestation in the same manner as an endorsed certificate.
"

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2.
�
By amending subsection (d) to read:

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"
(d)
�
The director of finance, upon receipt of the
certificate of ownership properly endorsed,
or the transferor's attestation
pursuant to subsection (b),
shall register the vehicle, and shall issue to
the owner and legal owner entitled thereto by reason of the transfer a new
certificate of registration and the certificate of ownership, respectively, in
the manner and form hereinabove provided for original registration."

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3.
�
By amending subsection (k) to read:

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"
(k)
�
Whenever the registered owner of any motor
vehicle or any licensed dealer has given notice to the director of finance of a
transfer of the title or interest in the motor vehicle, as provided in
subsection (i) or (j), and has delivered the certificate of ownership bearing
the transferor's signature to the transferee as required by subsection (a)[
,
]

or the transferor's attestation pursuant to subsection (b),
the
transferor shall be relieved from any liability, civil or criminal, from the
date the transferor delivers the motor vehicle into the transferee's
possession, which the transferor might otherwise subsequently incur by reason
solely of being the registered owner of the vehicle."

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4.
�
By amending subsection (m) to read:

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"
(m)
�
Any person who falsely or fraudulently gives
notice to the director of finance of a transfer of title or interest in a motor
vehicle
or who falsely or fraudulently provides an attestation pursuant to
subsection (b)
shall be subject to the penalty provided in section 286-61."

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SECTION
2.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

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SECTION 3.
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This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Motor
Vehicle; Title Transfer; Ownership; Attestation

Description:

Reduces
the period in which a transferee is required to forward the certificate of
ownership to the director of finance when a title of vehicle is transferred
from thirty days to fourteen days.
�

Allows a letter of attestation to the Director of Finance to act as an
endorsed certificate for motor vehicle transfer.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.