GA Code § 40-3-23 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 40 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic|Chapter 3 - Certificates of Title, Security Interests, and Liens|Article 2 - Certificates of Title|§ 40-3-23. Issuance of Certificate of Title; Maintenance of Record of Certificates Issued; Public Inspection; Furnishing Records for Fee

  The commissioner or the commissioner's duly authorized county tag agent shall file each application received and, when satisfied as to its genuineness and regularity and that the applicant is entitled to the issuance of a certificate of title, shall issue a certificate of title of the vehicle.   The commissioner or the commissioner's duly authorized county tag agent shall maintain a record of all certificates of title issued:   Under a distinctive title number assigned to the vehicle;   Under the identifying number of the vehicle;   Alphabetically, under the name of the owner;   Under the vehicle tag registration number; and   In the discretion of the commissioner, in any other method the commissioner determines.     The commissioner or the commissioner's duly authorized county tag agent is authorized and empowered to provide for photographic and photostatic recording of certificate of title records in such manner as the commissioner or the commissioner's duly authorized county tag agent may deem expedient. The photographic or photostatic copies authorized in this subsection shall be sufficient as evidence in tracing of titles of the motor vehicles designated therein and shall also be admitted in evidence in all actions and proceedings to the same extent that the originals would have been admitted.   The motor vehicle records which the commissioner or the commissioner's duly authorized county tag agent is required to maintain under this Code section or any other provision are exempt from the provisions of any law of this state requiring that such records be open for public inspection; provided, however, that, subject to subsection (f) of this Code section, the records may be disclosed for use as provided in the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. Chapter 123, and by the following:   Any licensed dealer of new or used motor vehicles;   Any tax collector, tax receiver, or tax commissioner; and   A person or entity authorized by the commissioner for use in providing notice to the owners of towed or impounded vehicles.     In addition to any public inspection of records authorized under subsection (d) of this Code section, motor vehicle records consisting of vehicle description, title status, title brands, last recorded mileage, recorded liens, or recorded security interests which the commissioner or the commissioner's duly authorized county tag agent is required to maintain under this Code section shall, in such manner and under such conditions as prescribed by the commissioner, be furnished individually or in bulk to any person upon payment of a reasonable fee, for any purpose not otherwise prohibited by law, including without limitation for the purpose of providing information to allow for informed motor vehicle purchase and safety decisions. Records furnished in accordance with this subsection may be subsequently transferred to third parties. Personal information of any registrant, including name, address, date of birth, or driver's license or social security number, shall not be furnished or transferred by or to any person pursuant to this subsection.   Except as otherwise required in the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. Chapter 123, personal information furnished under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (d) of this Code section shall be limited to the natural person's name, address, and driver identification number. The personal information obtained by a business under this Code section shall not be resold or redisclosed for any purposes other than those permitted under the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. Chapter 123, without the written consent of the individual. Furnishing of information to a business under this Code section shall be pursuant to a contract entered into by such business and the state which specifies the consideration to be paid by such business to the state for such information and the frequency of updates.     (Ga. L. 1961, p. 68, § 10; Ga. L. 1962, p. 79, § 7; Ga. L. 1969, p. 92, § 1; Ga. L. 1981, p. 473, § 1; Code 1981, §40-3-24; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1784, §§ 1, 2; Code 1981, §40-3-23, as redesignated by Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 3; Ga. L. 1997, p. 739, § 7; Ga. L. 2000, p. 951, § 4-4; Ga. L. 2001, p. 1173, § 1-6; Ga. L. 2003, p. 484, § 2; Ga. L. 2004, p. 471, § 9; Ga. L. 2008, p. 803, § 2/HB 945.)   Law reviews.   - For article, "Georgia's Open Records and Open Meetings Laws: A Continued March Toward Government in the Sunshine," see 40 Mercer L. Rev. 1 (1988).   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   Certified transcript by commissioner showing vehicle lien.    - Under Ga. L. 1962, p. 79, § 7 (see now O.C.G.A. § 40-3-23), once a certificate of title is issued, a transcript certified to by the commissioner showing a notice of a lien on a motor vehicle is prima facie evidence of the liens' existence so as to protect the holder as against a subsequent transferee of the vehicle. Capital Auto. Co. v. Continental Credit Corp., 117 Ga. App. 451, 160 S.E.2d 836 (1968).   Admissibility of copy of application in evidence.    - Copy of application is admissible in evidence to the same extent as the original application. Harper v. Green, 115 Ga. App. 525, 154 S.E.2d 762 (1967).   Records incorporated into investigatory case file.    - Although motor vehicle records used by police during the "Atlanta child murders" case were not open for public inspection under the Public Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq., this did not preclude public disclosure when a law-enforcement officer who had inspected the records incorporated information therefrom into an investigatory case file. Napper v. Georgia Television Co., 257 Ga. 156, 356 S.E.2d 640 (1987).   Disclosure by bank of customer financing.    - Disclosure by bank that customer was involved with motor vehicles financed through bank was not an invasion of privacy based on public disclosure of private facts as at the time of the disclosure, motor vehicle certificates of title were public records open to public inspection. Williams v. Coffee County Bank, 168 Ga. App. 149, 308 S.E.2d 430 (1983).    Cited in  In re Firth, 363 F. Supp. 369 (M.D. Ga. 1973).   OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL   Access to information in Registration and Title Information System.    - Department of Revenue is authorized to provide access to the information contained in the Georgia Registration and Title Information System only for the purposes mandated by the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. § 2721 et seq., or to those state agencies designated in O.C.G.A. §§ 33-34-9,40-2-130(c), and40-3-23(d). 2008 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 2008-2.   RESEARCH REFERENCES   Am. Jur. 2d.   - 7A Am. Jur. 2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic, § 29. 8 Am. Jur. 2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic, §§ 648, 1207.   C.J.S.   - 60 C.J.S., Motor Vehicles, § 96 et seq.   U.L.A.   - Uniform Motor Vehicle Certificate of Title and Anti-Theft Act (U.L.A.) § 9.   ALR.    - Presumption of ownership of automobile by one in whose name it is registered or whose license plates it bears, 103 A.L.R. 138.   Right to inspect motor vehicle records, 84 A.L.R.2d 1261.