Colorado Code § 42-3-113

Records of application and registration - disability of a driver - rules - definitions
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(1) The department shall file each application received and, when satisfied that the
applicant is entitled to register the vehicle, shall register the vehicle and its owner as follows:
(a) The owner and vehicle are assigned a distinct registration number, referred to in this
article as the "registration number". Each registration number assigned to a vehicle and its owner
is designated "urban" if the owner resides within the limits of a city or incorporated town. Each
registration number assigned to a vehicle and its owner is designated "rural" if the owner resides
outside the limits of a city or incorporated town. The authorized agent of each county shall
certify to the department as soon as possible after the end of the calendar year, but not later than
May 1 of the following year, the total number of vehicles classified as "urban" and the total
number of vehicles classified as "rural".
(b) The registration shall be filed alphabetically under the name of the owner.
(c) The registration shall be filed numerically and alphabetically under the identification
number and name of the vehicle.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (2.5) of this section, the department, upon
registering a vehicle, shall issue to the owner two registration cards, each of which contains upon
its face the following:
(a) The date issued;
(b) The registration number assigned to the owner and vehicle;
(c) The name and address of the owner;
(d) A notice, in type that is larger than the other information contained on the
registration card:
(I) That motor vehicle insurance coverage is compulsory in Colorado;
(II) That noncompliance is a misdemeanor traffic offense;
(III) to (V) Repealed.
(d.5) A notice containing the minimum and maximum penalties for failing to have motor
vehicle insurance coverage under section 42-4-1409;
(e) A notice that Colorado law provides for a one-month grace period after a registration
is due for renewal;
(f) A description of the registered vehicle, including the identification number;
(g) If it was a new vehicle sold in this state after January 1, 1932, the date of sale by the
manufacturer or dealer to the person first operating such vehicle; and
(h) Such other statements of fact as may be determined by the department, but not the
owner's signature.
(2.5) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, the department shall print one
registration card without the owner's address and issue the card to the owner; except that, if the
motor vehicle is a commercial vehicle, the department shall print both registration cards issued
to the owner with the owner's address. The department shall print the following statement on
each registration card that is printed without an address:
Thieves have been known to use the address from a registration card to steal from the
vehicle's owner. For added security, you are encouraged to keep only this registration card in
your vehicle. It does not contain your address.
(3) A notice for renewal of registration shall include a notice, in type that is larger than
the other information contained in the notice, that specifies that motor vehicle insurance
coverage is compulsory in Colorado, that noncompliance is a misdemeanor traffic offense, that
the minimum penalty for such offense is a five-hundred-dollar fine, and that the maximum
penalty for such offense is one year's imprisonment and a one-thousand-dollar fine.
(4) The department shall notify all registered owners of the provisions and requirements
of subsections (2) and (3) of this section.
(5) The department shall not require the owner to sign the registration card.
(6) The registration card issued for a vehicle required to be registered under this article
shall, at all times while the vehicle is being operated upon a highway, be in the possession of the
driver or carried in the vehicle and subject to inspection by any peace officer.
(7) Within thirty days after moving from an address listed upon a vehicle registration, a
person shall notify the county of residence in which the vehicle is to be registered.
(8) (a) As used in this subsection (8):
(I) "Eligible vehicle" means a motor vehicle that has a valid certificate of registration
issued by the department of revenue to a person whose address of record is within the boundaries
of the program area, as defined in section 42-4-304 (20). The term "eligible vehicle" does not
include motor vehicles held for lease or rental to the general public, motor vehicles held for sale
by motor vehicle dealers, including demonstration vehicles, motor vehicles used for motor
vehicle manufacturer product evaluations or tests, law enforcement and other emergency
vehicles, or nonroad vehicles, including farm and construction vehicles.
(II) "Program area fleet" means a person who owns ten or more eligible vehicles. In
determining the number of vehicles owned or operated by a person for purposes of this
subsection (8), all motor vehicles owned, operated, leased, or otherwise controlled by such
person shall be treated as owned by such person.
(b) (I) Upon the registration of an eligible vehicle, the owner shall report on forms
provided by the department:
(A) The types of fuel used by such vehicle; and
(B) Whether such vehicle is dual-fueled or dedicated to one fuel.
(II) The forms provided by the department shall include spaces for the following fuels:
Gasoline, diesel, propane, electricity, natural gas, methanol or M85, ethanol or E85, biodiesel,
and other.
(c) Upon registration of a vehicle that is a part of a program area fleet, the owner shall
report on forms provided by the department that such vehicle is owned by a program area fleet
and shall list the owner's tax identification number.
(d) Within a reasonable period of time and upon the request of a political subdivision or
the state of Colorado or any institution of the state or the state's political subdivisions, the
department shall provide a report listing the owners of eligible vehicles that use fuels other than
gasoline or diesel, listing the fuel type of each such eligible vehicle, and identifying whether or
not such eligible vehicles are part of a program area fleet.
(9) Except for vehicles owned by a trust created for the benefit of a person with a
disability, for purposes of enforcing disabled parking privileges granted pursuant to section 42-4-
1208, the department, when issuing a registration card under this section, shall clearly indicate
on the card if an owner of a vehicle is a person with a disability as defined in section 42-3-204. If
the vehicle is owned by more than one person and the registration reflects that joint ownership,
the department shall clearly indicate on the registration card which of the owners are persons
with disabilities and which of the owners are not.
(9.5) (a) Upon completion of the application created pursuant to subsection (9.5)(b) of
this section, when registering or renewing the registration of a vehicle pursuant to this section,
the department shall collect information that the owner of a vehicle voluntarily discloses about
the disability of a person who is either authorized to drive, or a regular passenger of, the
registered vehicle for a person who has a disability as defined in the federal "Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990", 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101 et seq., and the disability interferes with the
person's ability to effectively communicate with a peace officer. The department shall make this
information immediately available to a peace officer who queries information about the
registered vehicle.
(b) (I) The department shall promulgate a rule creating an application and renewal form
that is signed by a professional, under penalty of perjury, to affirm that the driver or regular
passenger of a vehicle has a disability and the disability interferes with the person's ability to
effectively communicate with a peace officer and setting out the penalties for affirming before
verifying that the person has a disability that interferes with the person's ability to effectively
communicate with a peace officer.
(II) As used in this subsection (9.5)(b), "professional" means a physician licensed to
practice medicine under article 240 of title 12 or practicing medicine under section 12-240-107
(3)(i), a physician assistant licensed under section 12-240-113, a mental health professional
licensed or certified under article 245 of title 12, an advanced practice registered nurse registered
under section 12-255-111, a person with a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling, or a
physician, physician assistant, mental health professional, or advanced practice registered nurse
authorized to practice professionally by another state that shares a common border with
Colorado.
(c) The department shall not charge a fee for collecting or making this information
available to peace officers.
(d) An owner of a vehicle may choose to no longer have the information regarding a
disability available to a peace officer who queries the vehicle registration. At an owner's request,
the department shall remove the disability information attached to the owner's vehicle
registration. The department shall not retain any disability information for an owner who
chooses to remove disability information from the owner's vehicle registration.
(e) By January 15, 2023, and each year thereafter, the department shall report to the
house of representatives health and insurance committee and transportation and local
government committee and the senate health and human services committee and transportation
and energy committee, or their successor committees, on the percentage of persons registering a
vehicle who have disclosed disability information in accordance with this subsection (9.5) in the
previous calendar year.
(10) (a) Whenever a person asks the department or any other state department or agency
for the name or address of the owner of a motor vehicle registered under this section, the
department or agency shall require the person to disclose if the purpose of the request is to
determine the name or address of a person suspected of a violation of a state or municipal law
detected through the use of an automated vehicle identification system as described in section
42-4-110.5. If the purpose of the request is to determine the name or address of such a suspect,
the department or agency shall release such information only if the county or municipality for
which the request is made complies with section 42-4-110.5.
(b) No person who receives the name or address of the registered owner of a motor
vehicle from the department or from a person who receives the information from the department
shall release such information to a county or a municipality unless the county or municipality
complies with state laws concerning the use of automated identification devices.
(11) The department shall not place an expiration date on the registration card for a
Class A commercial trailer or semitrailer registered in Colorado.

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