§ 39-30-01 — Definitions

As used in this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires:
1. "Chop shop" means any building, lot, or other premises where one or more persons
knowingly, as defined by section 12.1-02-02, engage in altering, destroying,
disassembling, dismantling, reassembling, or storing any motor vehicle, or motor
vehicle part known to be illegally obtained by theft, fraud, or conspiracy to defraud, in
order to either:
a. Alter, counterfeit, deface, destroy, disguise, falsify, forge, obliterate, or remove the
identity, including the vehicle identification number of the motor vehicle or motor
vehicle part, in order to misrepresent the identity of the motor vehicle or motor
vehicle part, or to prevent the identification of the motor vehicle or motor vehicle
part; or
b. Sell or dispose of the motor vehicle or motor vehicle part.
2. "Motor vehicle" includes every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is
or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, which is self-propelled or which may
be connected to and towed by a self-propelled device, and includes any and all other
land-based devices that are self-propelled but which are not designed for use upon a
highway, including farm machinery and construction equipment.
3. "Person" includes a natural person, company, corporation, limited liability company,
unincorporated association, partnership, professional corporation, professional limited
liability company, and any other legal entity.
4. "Unidentifiable" means that the uniqueness of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part
cannot be established by either expert law enforcement investigative personnel
specially trained and experienced in motor vehicle theft investigative procedures and
motor vehicle identification examination techniques, or by expert employees of
not-for-profit motor vehicle theft prevention agencies specially trained and experienced
in motor vehicle theft investigation procedures and motor vehicle identification
examination techniques.
5. "Vehicle identification number" means a number or numbers, a letter or letters, a
character or characters, a datum or data, a derivative or derivatives, or a combination
or combinations thereof, used by the manufacturer or the department of transportation
for the purposes of uniquely identifying a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part. The term
includes a number or numbers, a letter or letters, a character or characters, a datum or
data, a derivative or derivatives, or a combination or combinations thereof.