(a) Except as provided by § 50-1401.02 , any motor vehicle or trailer operated in the District of Columbia shall be registered with the Department of Transportation by the owner of that motor vehicle or trailer.
(1) Except as provided in subsections (d) and (e) of this section, a registration shall be valid for a period determined by the Mayor and shall expire at midnight of the last day of the designated period. During the 30-day period immediately preceding the date, as specified by the Mayor, on which registration expires, it shall be lawful to operate a motor vehicle or trailer registered for the ensuing registration year.
(2) The Mayor shall notify an owner of the expiration date of the owner’s motor vehicle or trailer registration. The required notice shall be mailed to the named owner at the address of record at least 30 days prior to the date of expiration. If the Director does not deliver the notice as required, the first of any tickets issued for failure to display current registration for that registration period may be dismissed through mail or in-person adjudication.
(c) The Mayor shall issue a registration certificate and identification tag or tags for a motor vehicle or trailer to the owner of the motor vehicle or trailer, if the owner:
(1) Has applied for registration on a form supplied by the Mayor;
(2) Has paid all applicable fines, fees, and taxes for the motor vehicle or trailer pursuant to § 50-2301.05 ;
(3) Has a valid certificate of title in effect for the motor vehicle or trailer;
(4) Has a valid document issued by the District of Columbia attesting that the vehicle meets applicable District of Columbia vehicle inspection standards as of the date of the application; and
(A) Is domiciled in the District of Columbia; except that the person need not be domiciled in the District of Columbia if:
(I) The owner is a leasing company and the lessee is not domiciled in the District of Columbia;
(II) The vehicle is housed in the District of Columbia;
(III) The vehicle is provided to an employee of the lessee for the employee’s use;
(IV) The employee is domiciled in the District of Columbia; and
(V) The owner submits an affidavit affirming compliance with this paragraph and agreeing that the address on the registration certificate and in the Department of Motor Vehicles’ records shall be the address of the operator and that the employee’s address shall be considered the owner’s address for the purpose of sending any notices required by any statute or regulation for that vehicle.
(ii) The owner is a member of Congress and has a District of Columbia residence;
(iii) The owner is a lessor and the vehicle is leased to a person domiciled in the District of Columbia; or
(iv) The owner meets the requirements set forth in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.
(B) An owner of a vehicle need not be a resident of the District if:
(i) The owner is an individual who holds a valid license to operate a taxicab or limousine within the District of Columbia;
(ii) The owner held a valid license to operate a taxicab or limousine within the District of Columbia at some point during the 5 years prior to the owner’s first attempt to register a vehicle under this subparagraph; provided, that the license to operate a taxicab or limousine shall have been first issued no later than March 1, 2006;
(iii) The owner resided outside the District of Columbia on March 1, 2006;
(iv) The owner had registered a vehicle with the Department of Motor Vehicles on or before March 1, 2006, while residing outside the District of Columbia;
(v) The owner has no other vehicle currently registered within the District of Columbia;
(vi) The owner is registering the vehicle for use as a taxicab or limousine within the District of Columbia; and
(vii) The owner of the vehicle has, no later than September 28 of the year prior to first registering a vehicle under this subparagraph, registered with the Office of Tax and Revenue for business taxes by completing a tax registration form; provided, that:
(I) The owner of the vehicle shall be permitted to register the vehicle for the 2007 year without having to undergo Clean Hands certification pursuant to §§ 47-2862 and 47-2863 ; and
(II) The owner of the vehicle must meet the franchise tax filing and payment requirements as set forth in §§ 47-1805.02 , 47-1807.02 , and 47-1808.03 on a prospective basis for the 2007 year and subsequent years.
(1) The Mayor shall issue annually, upon payment by a dealer of all applicable fees and taxes, dealer’s registration certificates and identification tags bearing a distinguishing dealer’s mark or symbol for the interchangeable use on motor vehicles and trailers;
(2) The Mayor shall issue, without charge, registration certificates and identification tags for all motor vehicles and trailers owned by the District of Columbia and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority;
(2A) The Mayor, through the issuance of rules, shall permit the use of vintage license plates on historic motor vehicles in place of historic motor vehicle license plates, provided that the plate is legible and corresponds to the year of the vehicle’s make. The owner, through approval and registration of the vintage license plates, shall have the same rights, privileges, and obligations as if he or she had purchased new historic motor vehicle license plates. The rules promulgated pursuant to this paragraph, shall be issued no later than 90 days from March 26, 1999. The Mayor may impose a reasonable fee to carry out the provisions of this paragraph.
(3) The Mayor shall issue, without charge, registration certificates and identification tags for all motor vehicles and trailers officially used by any accredited representative of a foreign government;
(A) The Mayor shall issue a duplicate registration certificate or identification tag or tags for any motor vehicle or trailer which is registered, upon proof satisfactory to the Mayor of the loss, mutilation, or destruction of the previously issued registration certificate or identification tags;
(B) The Mayor shall issue a dealer’s proof of ownership certificate to any dealer upon application and upon proof of ownership as the Mayor may require; and
(C) A fee of $25 shall be paid for each duplicate registration certificate issued, a fee of $15 shall be paid for each replacement tag issued, and a fee of $30 shall be paid for each dealer's proof of ownership certificate issued;
(A) The Mayor shall issue, for a temporary period not to exceed 45 days, a special use certificate and special use identification tags bearing a distinguishing mark to the owner of a motor vehicle or trailer upon payment of the fee of $15;
(B) The Mayor shall issue a special use certificate and special use identification tags bearing a distinguishing mark to the owner of a motor vehicle or trailer, for the exclusive purpose of allowing that person to comply with the requirements of Chapter 11 of this title , upon payment of a fee of $15; and
(C) The issuance of a special use certificate and special use identification tags under this subsection shall not constitute a registration of a motor vehicle or trailer for any other purposes than herein provided.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, any registration shall expire upon the sale or other transfer of the motor vehicle or trailer to another owner;
(2) Any owner selling or otherwise transferring a motor vehicle or trailer may apply the unexpired portion of the existing registration to another motor vehicle or trailer belonging to that owner, upon payment of a fee of $15 plus any amount by which the registration fee for the newly registered motor vehicle or trailer, as computed under § 50-1501.03 , exceeds the original registration fee paid;
(3) In the case of a joint ownership, the unexpired portion of the existing registration may be applied to another motor vehicle or trailer by any person who was formerly a party to the joint ownership upon the consent of all the former joint owners;
(4) The name of a spouse or domestic partner as defined in § 32-701(3) may be added as joint owner to the registration of a motor vehicle or trailer, subject to the applicable provisions of law relating to the titling of motor vehicles and trailers; and
(5) Upon the death of a joint owner of a motor vehicle or trailer registered under this subchapter, the registration shall be transferred to the surviving joint owners upon the payment of a fee of $15.
(6) Repealed.
(f) In order to facilitate the identification and the regulation of motor vehicles and trailers operated in the District of Columbia the Mayor shall establish:
(1) The application forms for registrations and for special use certificates;
(2) The forms of registration certificates and special use certificates;
(3) The design of identification tags; and
(4) A program for keeping records of registration, issuance of special use certificates, and transfers of registrations.
(1) Identification tags designed pursuant to subsection (f)(3) of this section, not including identification tags for vehicles for-hire, motor vehicles bearing organization plates, motorcycles, or autocycles, shall display the phrase "End Taxation Without Representation".
(2) An individual who does not wish to display the phrase "End Taxation Without Representation" on his or her identification tag may request an identification tag featuring an alternate design, to be supplied by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
(g) The Mayor shall issue rules:
(1) To implement this subchapter;
(2) To provide for the suspension or revocation of any registration issued to an owner or dealer who has violated any provision of this subchapter or Title 18, Chapters 4 and 5, DCMR, or who provides or obtains a counterfeit, stolen, or otherwise fraudulent vehicle identification tag, regardless of the jurisdiction of issuance; and
(A) To establish procedures for the immobilization or impoundment of a motor vehicle or trailer for which the registration has been suspended or revoked or which is not properly registered in accordance with this subchapter and Title 18, Chapters 4 and 5, DCMR;
(B) To establish procedures for the recovery or removal of any registration certificate or identification tags issued under this subchapter and Title 18, Chapters 4 and 5, DCMR, from a motor vehicle or trailer for which the registration has been suspended or revoked or which is not properly registered in accordance with this subchapter and Title 18, Chapters 4 and 5, DCMR;
(C) To establish procedures, consistent with the Parking Enforcement Modernization Act of 2024 , for the seizure and forfeiture of a motor vehicle used with a counterfeit, stolen, or otherwise fraudulent vehicle identification tag; and
(D) To establish procedures for the forgiveness of infractions issued to individuals as a result of violations incurred because another individual falsified a vehicle identification tag associated with a vehicle registered in their name.
(h) The Mayor may amend Chapters 4 and 5 of Title 18 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (“DCMR”) and may establish dealer registration eligibility requirements that are more stringent than the business licensing requirements in Title 16 of the DMCR; provided, that the proposed rules shall be submitted to the Council for a 45-day period of review, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, and days of Council recess. If the Council does not disapprove the proposed rules by resolution, within the 45-day review period, the proposed rules shall be deemed approved. The Council may approve or disapprove the proposed rules by resolution prior to the expiration of the 45-day review period.”.
(i) A dealer violating any provision of Chapters 4 or 5 of Title 18, DCMR, shall be subject to a fine of up to $1000. Notices of infractions shall be issued by the Mayor and adjudicated by the Department of Motor Vehicles, pursuant to Chapter 10 of Title 18, DCMR, and subject to following provisions:
(1) A notice of infraction shall be mailed to the dealer’s address on record at the Department of Motor Vehicles, personally served on the dealer, or left with an employee at the dealer’s place of business.
(2) A person to whom a notice of infraction has been issued must answer by either requesting a hearing or by paying the fine due within 30 calendar days of the date of receipt of the notice of infraction.
(3) If a person fails to answer the notice within the 30-day period, the person’s dealer registration may be suspended until the person pays the fine amount due.
(4) An infraction pursuant to this subsection shall be established by the government by a preponderance of evidence.
(j) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any bus from any state or country used in the transportation of a chartered party, as that term is used in the International Registration Plan, with a seating capacity of greater than 15 passengers shall, prior to entering the District of Columbia, either:
(1) Register as a Class B commercial vehicle under § 50-1501.03(b)(2) ;
(2) Obtain proportional registration in its base jurisdiction through the International Registration Plan, as provided by § 50-1507.03 ; or
(3) Obtain a trip permit, as provided by § 50-1507.03 .
(k) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall, upon request, provide to the electric company a registered owner’s address, zip code, and make and model of electric vehicles registered in the District. This information shall be transferred to the electric company for use in planning for the availability and reliability of the electric power supply upon a vehicle being registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles; provided, that the electric company shall not publish or re-disclose to any persons, including affiliates of the electric company, information about the registered electric vehicle owner, nor can the transferred information be used for any purpose except as set forth in this section.
(1) Upon receipt of a report for a stolen motor vehicle registered in the District that MPD reasonably believes to be true, MPD shall transmit the following information to the District Department of Transportation ("DDOT"), the Department of Motor Vehicles ("DMV"), and the Department of Public Works ("DPW") within 5 business days:
(A) The name, contact information, and driver's license number or identification card number of the stolen motor vehicle's owner;
(B) The make, model, year, vehicle identification number, and plate number of the stolen motor vehicle; and
(C) The dates during which the motor vehicle was or is alleged to have been stolen.
(2) If, after transmitting information as described in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the MPD subsequently determines that it no longer reasonably believes a report of a stolen motor vehicle to be true, it shall notify the DMV of that determination within 5 business days.
(3) DDOT shall not issue a notice of infraction for a moving violation detected by the automated traffic enforcement system authorized pursuant to § 50-2209.01(a) if:
(A) DDOT has received notice that the motor vehicle captured by the automated traffic enforcement system was stolen at the time of the violation as described in paragraph (1) of this subsection; and
(B) MPD has not subsequently notified the DMV that it no longer reasonably believes the report of a stolen motor vehicle to be true.
(4) DPW shall not issue a notice of infraction for any parking violation detected by a District agency if:
(A) DPW has received notice that the motor vehicle was stolen at the time of the violation under paragraph (1) of this subsection; and
(B) MPD has not subsequently notified DPW that it no longer reasonably believes the report of a stolen motor vehicle to be true.