§ 31-3.1-4. Application for first certificate of title. [Effective until January 1, 2026.]
(a) The application for the first certificate of title of a vehicle in this state shall
be made by the owner to the division of motor vehicles on the form it prescribes and
shall contain:
(1) The name, residence, and mailing address of the owner;
(2) A description of the vehicle including, so far as the following data exists: its make,
model, identifying number, type of body, the number of cylinders, and whether new
or used;
(3) The date of purchase by the applicant, the name and address of the person from whom
the vehicle was acquired, and the names and addresses of any lienholders in the order
of their priority and the dates of their security agreements; and
(4) Any further information the division reasonably requires to identify the vehicle and
to enable it to determine whether the owner is entitled to a certificate of title,
and the existence or nonexistence of security interests in the vehicle.
(b) If the application refers to a vehicle purchased from a dealer, it shall contain the
name and address of any lienholder holding a security interest created or reserved
at the time of the sale and the date of this security agreement and be signed by the
dealer as well as the owner, and the dealer or buyer shall promptly mail or deliver
the application to the division. The buyer shall also complete a security lien statement
as provided in § 31-3.1-19.
(c) If the application refers to a vehicle last previously registered in another state
or country, the application shall contain or be accompanied by:
(1) Any certificate of title issued by the other state or country;
(2) Any other information and documents the division reasonably requires to establish
the ownership of the vehicle and the existence or nonexistence of a security interest
in it; and
(3) The certificate of a person authorized by law that the identifying number of the vehicle
has been inspected and found to conform to the description given in the application,
or any other proof of the identity of the vehicle the division reasonably requires.
(d)(1) Chiefs of police, their designees, who shall be employees of the police department,
a licensed Rhode Island new motor vehicle dealer, or, in an emergency, the administrator
of the division of motor vehicles, or the administrator's designee, shall conduct
the inspection of the vehicle identifying number, and certify, on forms provided by
the division, that it has been found to conform to the description given in the application
or any other form of the identity of the vehicle the division reasonably requires.
An inspection and certification fee of ten dollars ($10.00) shall be assessed against
the applicant by the city or town whose police conduct the inspection or by the licensed
Rhode Island new motor vehicle dealer who conducts the inspection. The inspection
by the chiefs of police, or their designees, who shall be employees of the police
department, shall be conducted at the local city or town police station, at a municipally
owned building, or at a licensed new motor vehicle dealership. A licensed Rhode Island
new motor vehicle dealer shall conduct the inspection at their business location.
This provision eliminates the responsibility for the inspection to be performed by
division personnel.
(2) Upon inspection of the vehicle identifying number as provided for in this section,
each vehicle identification number shall be submitted for a National Crime Information
Center (NCIC) check, and the results, sometimes called the "NCIC check number,� shall
be attached to the TR-5 form provided by the division or to any other form consistent
with this provision that the division might reasonably require. The vehicle identification
number shall be submitted for a NCIC check by the chiefs of police, or designees,
who shall be employees of the police department. Ten dollars ($10.00) collected by
the licensed Rhode Island new motor vehicle dealer who conducts the inspection in
subsection (d)(1) of this section shall be payable to the city or town whose police
conduct the NCIC check.
(e) No person, partnership, or corporation shall charge a fee in excess of ten dollars
($10.00) for obtaining a certificate of title for a motor vehicle.
(f) In the town of Exeter, the town sergeant, or designees, who shall also be employees
of the Exeter town sergeant's office, are authorized to conduct the inspection required
by this section.