Driving Force Newsletter - September 2009

[4N2NR]

Tarheel Triumph
Street Rod and Replica Bill Becomes Law in North Carolina

The roller coaster ride through North Carolina’s legislative process came to a full stop when a version of SEMA-model legislation to create a vehicle registration classification for street rods, replicas and custom vehicles was approved by the legislature and signed into law by North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue. The new law is the product of more than two years of negotiations between SEMA, the extensive hobbyist network in North Carolina and hobby-friendly state legislators. The law is slated to take effect on Oct. 1, 2009. In the end, the law retains the key components of the SEMA-model bill while relieving vehicle owners of unfair title branding and inspection concerns. Among other things, the measure:

• Provides specific registration and titling classes for street rods, customs and replicas
• Allows for the use of non-original materials
• Creates a titling and registration criterion that assigns replica vehicles the same model year designation as the production vehicle intended to be replicated
• Requires that the title of a replica vehicle clearly indicates that the vehicle is a replica and not an original
• Requires that street rods, customs and replicas be designated as “specially constructed vehicles.”

In addition, for out-of-state vehicles that are 35 model years old or older and specially constructed vehicles, the law calls for a vehicle verification conducted by the License and Theft Bureau of the Division of Motor Vehicles. For these out-of-state vehicles, the inspection will only consist of verifying the vehicle identification number to ensure that it matches the vehicle and ownership documents.

Entire September Newsletter