2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 17. Roads and Highways › Article 24A. Disposal of Abandoned Motor Vehicles, Junked Motor Vehicles, and Abandoned or Inoperative Household Appliances › §17-24A-1. Definitions

Unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning, as used in this article:
(1) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of the Division of Highways or his or her designee.
(2) “Abandoned household appliance” means a refrigerator, freezer, range, stove, automatic dishwasher, clothes washer, clothes dryer, trash compactor, television set, radio, air conditioning unit, commode, bed springs, mattress or other furniture, fixtures or appliances to which no person claims ownership and which is not in an enclosed building, a licensed salvage yard or the actual possession of a demolisher.
(3) “Abandoned motor vehicle” means any motor vehicle, or major part thereof, which is inoperative and which has been abandoned on public property for any period over five days, other than in an enclosed building or in a licensed salvage yard or at the business establishment of a demolisher; or any motor vehicle, or major part thereof, which has remained on private property without consent of the owner or person in control of the property for any period over five days; or any motor vehicle, or major part thereof, which is unattended, discarded, deserted and unlicensed and is not in an enclosed building, a licensed salvage yard or the actual possession of a demolisher: Provided, That a motor vehicle, or major part thereof, is not an abandoned motor vehicle if: (a) The owner of the motor vehicle is storing the motor vehicle on the owner’s property; (b) the motor vehicle is being stored for the purpose of using its parts on other motor vehicles owned by the owner; (c) the owner owns other motor vehicles similar to the motor vehicle being stored; and (d) the owner is a business licensed to do business in the State of West Virginia and not in the primary business of offering motor vehicles or parts thereof for sale.
(4) “Abandoned antique motor vehicle” means a vehicle that qualifies as both an abandoned motor vehicle and an antique motor vehicle.
(5) "Antique motor vehicle" means a vehicle that was manufactured more than twenty-five years before the current date.
(6) “Demolisher” means any person licensed by the Commissioner of the Division of Highways whose business, to any extent or degree, is to convert a motor vehicle or any part thereof or an inoperative household appliance into processed scrap or scrap metal or into saleable parts or otherwise to wreck or dismantle vehicles or appliances.
(7) The "Division" means the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles.
(8) “Enclosed building” means a structure surrounded by walls or one continuous wall and having a roof enclosing the entire structure and includes a permanent appendage thereto.
(9) “Enforcement agency” means any of the following or any combination of the following:
(a) Public law-enforcement officers of this state, including natural resources police officers;
(b) Public law-enforcement officers of any county, city or town within this state; and
(c) The Commissioner of the Division of Highways, his or her duly authorized agents and employees.
(10) “Inoperative household appliance” means a refrigerator, freezer, range, stove, automatic dishwasher, clothes washer, clothes dryer, trash compactor, television set, radio, air conditioning unit, commode, bed springs, mattress or other furniture, fixture or appliance which by reason of mechanical or physical defects can no longer be used for its intended purpose and which is either not serving a functional purpose or use or is not in an enclosed building, a licensed salvage yard or the actual possession of a demolisher.
(11) “Junked motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle, or any part thereof which: (a) Is discarded, wrecked, ruined, scrapped or dismantled; (b) cannot pass the state inspection required by article sixteen, chapter seventeen-c of this code; and (c) is either not serving a functional purpose or use or is not in an enclosed building, a licensed salvage yard or the actual possession of a demolisher: Provided, That a motor vehicle, or major part thereof, is not a junked motor vehicle if: (a) The owner of the motor vehicle is storing the motor vehicle on the owner’s property; (b) the motor vehicle is being stored for the purpose of using its parts on other motor vehicles owned by the owner; (c) the owner owns other motor vehicles similar to the motor vehicle being stored; and (d) the owner is a business licensed to do business in the State of West Virginia and not in the primary business of offering motor vehicles or parts thereof for sale.
(12) “Licensed salvage yard” means a salvage yard licensed under article twenty-three of this chapter.
(13) “Motor vehicle” means a vehicle which is or was self-propelled, including, but not limited to, automobiles, trucks, buses and motorcycles.
(14) “Person” means a natural person, corporation, firm, partnership, association or society and the plural as well as the singular.
(15) “Vehicle Identification Number” means a unique number or mark placed on a vehicle or part thereof by the manufacturer so as to identify it particularly and distinguish the vehicle or part from all other such vehicles or parts.