Trans 128.08(1)(g)
(g) Acquire registration as part of the transfer of ownership of a vehicle.
Trans 128.08(2)
(2) Withdrawal of registration by cancellation. The department shall cancel any registration issued in violation of the provisions of this chapter.
Trans 128.08 Note
Note: Section
342.255 (3) requires the department to cancel any registration issued in violation of any law.
Trans 128.08(3)
(3) Applications for certificate of title and registration by debtor registrant. Trans 128.08(3)(a)(a) Titling of vehicles is generally governed by
ch. 342, Stats., and not by this chapter, except as provided in
s. Trans 128.09. The department may issue a title to a vehicle transferred to a person to whom registration must be refused under this chapter.
Trans 128.08 Note
Note: Refusal of registration is different than suspension, revocation or cancellation of registration.
Trans 128.08(3)(b)
(b) If an application for certificate of title identifies a vehicle or vehicle owner that is subject to refusal of registration and indicates that the vehicle has been operated upon public highways, any required registration fee shall be collected and retained at the time of issuing title, but the department may not issue registration for that vehicle. The department shall assign registration to the vehicle according to the provisions of
ch. 341, Stats., but shall withhold sending the proof of registration to the vehicle owner until the department receives evidence that all judgments, citations and towing and storage charges associated with a parking citation are paid. The certificate of title shall be sent to the vehicle owner with a notice that registration is being withheld because of unpaid judgments, unpaid citations, or unpaid towing and storage charges associated with parking citations, and indicating that the registration shall be withheld until the department receives evidence that each identified debt is paid.
Trans 128.08(4)
(4) Criteria for identifying a person subject to refusal of registration. The department may rely on information supplied by a court or an authority to identify persons whose registration may be refused and may supplement that information with department records. The department shall refuse the renewal, transfer or issuance of registration when any of the following occur:
Trans 128.08(4)(a)
(a) The applicant's or registrant's name and address are both the same as the name and address supplied on a notice of unpaid judgment or unpaid citation or unpaid towing and storage charges associated with a parking citation.
Trans 128.08(4)(b)
(b) The name shown on the department's record for the license plate number supplied on the notice of unpaid judgment or notice of unpaid citation or unpaid towing and storage charges associated with a parking citation is similar or a reasonably logical variation of the name supplied on the notice of unpaid judgment or notice of unpaid citation or unpaid towing and storage charges associated with a parking citation regardless of whether the address information is the same.
Trans 128.08(4)(c)
(c) The applicant's or registrant's name is exactly the same or a reasonably logical variation of a name as stated in
pars. (a) and
(b), and the address is the same as one of the following:
Trans 128.08(4)(c)1.
1. The address supplied on the notice of unpaid judgment or notice of unpaid citation or unpaid towing and storage charges associated with a parking citation.
Trans 128.08(4)(c)2.
2. The address obtained from the department's record for the license plate number supplied on the notice of unpaid judgment or notice of unpaid citation or unpaid towing and storage charges associated with a parking citation.
Trans 128.08(4)(c)3.
3. The address obtained from department's driver license records using information supplied by the notice of unpaid judgment.
Trans 128.08(4)(d)
(d) The applicant or registrant has the same customer identification number, driver license number or social security number on the department's records as the person identified on the notice of unpaid judgment or unpaid citation or unpaid towing and storage charges associated with a parking citation.
Trans 128.08 History
History: CR 07-065: cr.
Register December 2007 No. 624, eff. 1-1-08.
Trans 128.09
Trans 128.09 Transfer of vehicle ownership while registration suspended. Trans 128.09(1)
(1)
Transfer prohibited. No person may transfer ownership of any vehicle that is subject to a suspending authority's registration refusal or suspension under s.
341.63 (1) (c), Stats., for nonpayment of citations or towing and storage charges associated with a parking citation until the registration is reinstated under s.
341.63 (2), Stats., or until the department is satisfied that the transfer is proposed in good faith and not for the purpose or with the effect of defeating the purpose of a TVRP case. Except as provided in
sub. (3), the department may decline to issue a vehicle title to any person other than the debtor registrant.
Trans 128.09(2)
(2) Sham transactions ineffective. An attempt to transfer ownership of a vehicle that is subject to a registration suspension or refusal for nonpayment of a citation under s.
341.63 (1) (c), Stats., shall be considered to be an effort to defeat the purpose of that TVRP case in any of the following circumstances:
Trans 128.09(2)(a)
(a) Any situation in which the debtor registrant would continue to have possession, use of, or receive any benefit from the operation of the vehicle.
Trans 128.09(2)(b)
(b) Any situation in which the vehicle is transferred to a person residing at the same address as the debtor registrant.
Trans 128.09 Note
Note: The prohibition on transfer of ownership is set forth in s.
341.64, Stats., and does not prohibit transfer of ownership of vehicles subject to registration refusal because of unpaid judgments or unpaid towing and storage charges associated with a parking citation.
Trans 128.09(3)
(3) Exceptions to refusing a transfer of ownership. Notwithstanding
sub. (1), the department may transfer title to a vehicle and issue a title to a person other than the debtor registrant if any of the following apply:
Trans 128.09(3)(b)
(b) The purchaser does not reside at the same address as the debtor registrant and provides the department with a signed statement that the seller of the vehicle will not have possession, use of, or receive any benefit from the operation of the vehicle after the requested transfer of title is completed by the department.
Trans 128.09(3)(c)
(c) The transfer constitutes an involuntary transfer of ownership under any of the following circumstances:
Trans 128.09(3)(c)3.
3. Transfer is required under a divorce settlement or order and the transferring party does not execute and deliver the title to the vehicle to the transferee.
Trans 128.09(3)(c)4.
4. A bankruptcy trustee seeks title to a vehicle titled in the name of a debtor or transfers ownership to a third person.
Trans 128.09(3)(c)5.
5. The vehicle is an abandoned vehicle that was or is being disposed of by a duly authorized municipal or county representative under s.
342.40 (2), Stats.
Trans 128.09(3)(c)8.
8. Transfer of title to the vehicle is ordered by a court, or a court declares a person to be the vehicle owner.
Trans 128.09(3)(c)9.
9. Any other situation in which the interest of an owner in a vehicle passes to a different person other than by voluntary transfer.
Trans 128.09 Note
Note: A person attempting to register a vehicle that is subject to suspension for an unpaid citation may be subject to the forfeiture in s.
341.04 (2), Stats. Making a knowingly false statement on an application for title is a Class H felony. s.
342.06 (2), Stats. Making a false statement on an application for a duplicate title or license or to induce any other action by the department subjects a person to a forfeiture of up to $500. s.
345.17 (2), Stats.
Trans 128.09(4)
(4) Requests for additional information. The department may request information sufficient to make a determination as to the applicability of the exceptions specified in
sub. (3) from a purchaser and may withhold issuance of title and registration pending receipt of that information.
Trans 128.09 Note
Note: Section
342.12 (2), Stats., permits withholding of title where ownership is unclear.
Trans 128.09(5)
(5) Application disposition when transfer of ownership refused. Trans 128.09(5)(a)(a) When the department refuses to allow a transfer of ownership under s.
341.63 (1) (c), Stats., because of unpaid citations, and a transfer of ownership is determined not to have been made in good faith or in order to defeat the purpose of the TVRP case under
sub. (2), the department may do any of the following:
Trans 128.09(5)(a)1.
1. Create a new title, without charge, in the name of the seller and send it to the seller with a letter explaining why the transfer of ownership was refused.
Trans 128.09(5)(a)2.
2. Return to the purchaser all fees submitted by the purchaser with an explanation why the transfer of ownership was refused. If proof of registration was issued in error, the fees may be returned only after the purchaser complies with a department request for return of that proof of registration.
Trans 128.09(5)(a)3.
3. Notify by letter any secured party shown on the purchaser's application for transfer of ownership that transfer of ownership was refused.
Trans 128.09(5)(b)
(b) The decision to refuse registration under this section is reviewable. All decisions shall include the reason transfer of title was denied and include the following notice or a similar writing providing notice of the person's right to a hearing:
RIGHT TO A HEARING: s. 342.26, Stats., provides you a right to a hearing on this order to decline to issue a title before the Division of Hearings and Appeals as a Ch.
227 Contested Case.
You may request a hearing by filing a written appeal within 30 days of the date of this order with the Division of Hearings and Appeals, 5005 University Avenue, Room 201, Madison, WI 53705.
All appeals must include the name and address of the appellant, a description of the action that is being contested, the effective date of the action, a copy of this order if possible, a concise statement of the reasons for objecting to the action, the type of relief the appellant is seeking, the name and address of any person who may be expected to appear on behalf of the appellant, and the request for a hearing.
s. HA 1.04 (2).
Trans 128.09 Note
Note: s.
HA 1.04 (1) imposes the 30-day time limit for appeals.
Trans 128.09 History
History: CR 07-065: cr.
Register December 2007 No. 624, eff. 1-1-08.
Trans 128.10
Trans 128.10 Effect of bankruptcy on vehicle registration. Trans 128.10(1)(1)
Bankruptcy that precedes TVRP suspension. In any case in which the department is notified of a pending bankruptcy proceeding and applicability of a stay under
11 USC 362, the department shall release any registration suspension imposed under this chapter affecting the vehicle registration of the debtor. The authority may not refile its notice of unpaid judgment, citation or towing and storage charges associated with a parking citation until the stay is no longer in effect.
Trans 128.10 Note
Note: The co-debtor stay under
11 USC 1301 applies only to consumer debt. Fines, forfeitures, and towing and storage charges associated with parking citations are not consumer debt. Therefore the co-debtor stay of
11 USC 1301 does not impact TVRP cases involving a non-bankrupt person who is liable with a bankruptcy person.
Trans 128.10(2)(a)(a)
Reinstatement. A vehicle owner whose vehicle registration is suspended or subject to refusal under this chapter who files a petition in bankruptcy, and from whom collection of a pre-bankruptcy debt arising prior to the filing of the petition is stayed under
11 USC 362, may reinstate his or her vehicle registration. The person shall be subject to all the same reinstatement, filing and fee requirements as any other person seeking registration reinstatement following a registration refusal or suspension.
Trans 128.10 Note
Note: Liability for forfeitures is not “consumer debt" under
11 USC 101 (8). Therefore, Ch.
13 co-debtor stay does not prohibit collection against non-bankrupt persons who are liable on a debt with a bankrupt person.
Trans 128.10(2)(b)
(b)
Release of suspension ordered in violation of automatic stay. If the department is notified that a stay prohibiting action against a debtor under
11 USC 362 was in effect at the time the department suspended a debtor's vehicle registration under this chapter, the department shall reinstate the bankruptcy debtor's vehicle registration without any reinstatement fee.
Trans 128.10(2)(c)
(c)
Reimposition of suspension. The department may suspend or refuse a debtor's vehicle registration that was released under
sub. (1) or this subsection upon a subsequent TVRP case filing by a suspending authority. Such a filing shall be deemed a representation by the authority that the debt described in the filing was not discharged or satisfied within the bankruptcy proceeding and that no bankruptcy stay is in effect.
Trans 128.10 Note
Note: While forfeitures are not generally dischargeable under
11 USC 523 (a) (8), towing and storage charges would ordinarily be discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding. Authorities and delegated agencies are encouraged to consider each type of debt separately in deciding whether to order the department to suspend or refuse registration.
Trans 128.10(2)(d)
(d)
Proof. The department may require satisfactory proof that a registrant's debts from a forfeiture or towing and storage charges associated with a parking citation have been discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding in any case where a debtor seeks to reinstate a vehicle registration after the bankruptcy case is closed or dismissed, a discharge has been granted, the automatic stay has been lifted, terminated, annulled or modified, or a suspending authority has filed a subsequent notice under
par. (c). Acceptable proof may include copies of the schedules for the bankruptcy case listing the suspending authority as a claimant in the bankruptcy, proof of the filing date, such as the notice of bankruptcy filing mailed by the bankruptcy court or a copy of the petition containing the clerk's file stamp showing the date the petition was filed, and an affidavit that the debt is dischargeable under the United States bankruptcy code and has been discharged.
Trans 128.10 Note
Note: Forfeitures and fine debts are not dischargeable in Ch.
7 bankruptcies.
23 USC 527 (a) (7). Criminal fines are not dischargeable in Ch.
13 bankruptcies either.
23 USC 1328 (a) (3).
Trans 128.10(2)(e)
(e)
Disputes. In any case where a debtor registrant and a suspending authority dispute whether a discharge has affected debt for which registration refusal or suspension is requested, or in any case where a debtor registrant claims a forfeiture was discharged in a ch.
7 bankruptcy or a criminal fine was discharged in any bankruptcy proceeding, the department may require one or both parties to obtain a court order that decides whether the debt is discharged.
Trans 128.10(2)(f)
(f)
Court determinations. The department shall accept court findings or orders regarding discharge of a claim in an action between the registrant and the suspending authority as determinative, and may impose or release a registration suspension or refusal in accordance with the determination of the court.
Trans 128.10 Note
Note: While the Department does not have authority to require debtors to provide a certain type of notice of bankruptcy filing to it under federal law, debtors who are subject vehicle registration suspensions under s.
345.28 (4) (a) 2., Stats., will find that the Department's reaction to a bankruptcy filing is faster and more predictable under this section if the Department is listed on the mailing matrix for the proceeding with an address of Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Uninsured Motorists Unit, P.O. Box 7919, Madison, WI 53707-7919.
Trans 128.10(3)
(3) Voluntary proceedings by wage earners for amortization of debts. The department may not release a registration refusal or suspension based solely upon a court order entered under s.
128.21, Stats.
Trans 128.10 Note
Note: Voluntary wage earner proceedings affect only executions, attachments or garnishments, and do not affect suspensions of vehicle registration. s.
128.21 (1), Stats.
Trans 128.10 History
History: CR 07-065: cr.
Register December 2007 No. 624, eff. 1-1-08.
Trans 128.11
Trans 128.11 Renewal forms for vehicle registration. Trans 128.11(1)(1)
Record keeping. The department is not required to keep copies of renewal notices nor to maintain any record of evidence of mailing renewal notices or of renewal notices that are returned to the department or its agent as undeliverable by the U.S. postal service.
Trans 128.11(2)
(2) Renewal notice not provided. The department is not required to create or mail a vehicle registration renewal notice to a registrant if any of the following apply:
Trans 128.11(2)(d)
(d) The vehicle was not registered in the preceding registration period.
Trans 128.11 Note
Note: If a person did not register a vehicle during the last registration period (lengths of these periods vary by vehicle type), the department assumes the vehicle does not need to be registered because it was sold, scrapped, or moved to another state.
Trans 128.11 History
History: CR 07-065: cr.
Register December 2007 No. 624, eff. 1-1-08.
Trans 128.12(1)(a)(a) If a person notifies the department that a department error has resulted in suspension or refusal of a vehicle's registration, the department shall review its records related to the suspension and conduct such additional investigations as it deems appropriate. If the department concludes as a result of the review and any investigation that refusal or suspension of registration is unwarranted, the department shall modify its records and allow registration for the vehicles to be issued.
Trans 128.12(1)(b)
(b) If the department does not modify its records and allow registration to be issued under
sub. (2), the department shall direct the person to contact the suspending authority that submitted the order for registration refusal or suspension to the department and have it investigate the matter and, if appropriate, submit a notice of satisfaction to the department in the manner described in
s. Trans 128.04 (5).
Trans 128.12(2)
(2) Error identified by suspending authority. To correct an error in a notice of unpaid judgment, unpaid citation or unpaid towing and storage charges associated with a parking citation sent to the department, a suspending authority shall submit a notice of satisfaction to the department as described in
s. Trans 128.04 (5). To establish a correct record, the suspending authority shall submit a new notice of unpaid judgment, unpaid citation or unpaid towing and storage charges associated with a parking citation containing the correct information and fee required by
s. Trans 128.05 (13).
Trans 128.12 History
History: CR 07-065: cr.
Register December 2007 No. 624, eff. 1-1-08.
Trans 128.13
Trans 128.13 Cost of traffic violation and registration program. Trans 128.13(1)(1)
General. In accordance with s.
85.13, Stats., the department shall charge the cost of the development and operation of the traffic violation and registration program to all participating local units of government or other authorities based on the number of cases processed on their behalf.
