North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 19A - TRANSPORTATION › Chapter 03 - DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES › Subchapter E - INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION PLAN (IRP) SECTION › Section .0500 - SAFETY RULES AND REGULATIONS › Section 03E .0521 - VEHICLE REGISTRATION AND IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) A
				  motor carrier shall not operate a vehicle or engage in driveaway operations
				  within the borders of the state unless and until the vehicle or driveaway
				  operation has been registered and identified with the Division and has complied
				  with all other requirements.
(b) On
				  or before the thirty-first of January of each calendar year, but not earlier
				  than the preceding first day of October, such motor carrier shall apply to the
				  Division for the issuance of an identification stamp or stamps, for the
				  registration and identification of the vehicle or vehicles which it intends to
				  operate, or driveaway operations which it intends to conduct, within the
				  borders of this state during the ensuing year. The motor carrier may apply for
				  such number of stamps as is sufficient to cover its vehicles or driveaway
				  operations which it anticipates will be placed in operation or conducted during
				  the period for which the stamps are effective. The motor carrier may thereafter
				  file one or more supplemental applications for additional stamps if the need
				  therefore arises or is anticipated.
(c) If the Division determines that the motor
				  carrier has complied with all applicable provisions, the Division shall issue
				  to the motor carrier the number of identification stamps requested.
(d) An identification stamp issued or
				  assigned under the provisions of this Rule shall be used for the purpose of
				  registering and identifying a vehicle or driveaway operations as being operated
				  or conducted by a motor carrier, and shall not be used for the purpose of
				  distinguishing between the vehicles operated by the same motor carrier. A motor
				  carrier receiving an identification stamp under the provisions of this Rule
				  shall not knowingly permit the use of same by any other person or
				  organization.
(e) On or before the
				  thirty-first day of January of each calendar year, but not earlier than the
				  preceding first day of October, such motor carrier shall apply to the National
				  Association of Regulatory Utility Commission­ers for the issuance of a
				  sufficient supply of uniform identification cab cards for use in connection
				  with the registration and identification of the vehicle or vehicles which it
				  intends to operate, or driveaway operations which it intends to conduct, within
				  the borders of the state during the ensuing year.
(f) The NARUC shall issue to the motor
				  carrier the number of cab cards requested. A motor carrier receiving a cab card
				  under the provisions of this Rule shall not knowingly permit the use of same by
				  any other person or organization. Prior to operating a vehicle, or conducting a
				  driveaway operation, within the borders of the state during the ensuing year,
				  the motor carrier shall place one of such identification stamps on the back of
				  a cab card in the square bearing the name of the state in such a manner that
				  the same cannot be removed without defacing it. The motor carrier shall
				  thereupon duly complete and execute the form of certificate printed on the
				  front of the cab card so as to identify itself and such vehicle or driveaway
				  operation and, in the case of a vehicle leased by the motor carrier, such
				  expiration date shall not exceed the expiration date of the lease. The
				  appropriate expiration date shall be entered in the space provided below the
				  certificate. Such expiration date shall be within a period of 15 months from
				  the date the cab card is executed and shall not be later in time than the
				  expiration date of any identification stamp or number placed on the back
				  thereof.
(g) The registration and
				  identification of a vehicle or driveaway operations under the provisions of
				  this Rule and the identification stamp evidencing the same and the cab card
				  prepared therefore shall become void on the first day of February in the
				  succeeding calendar year, unless such registration is terminated prior
				  thereto.
(h) The application for
				  the issuance of such identification stamps shall be in the form set forth in
				  Form B-1 which is available from the Motor Carrier Regulatory Unit. The
				  application shall be printed on a rectangular card or sheet of paper 11 inches
				  in height and 8 and 1/2 inches in width. The application shall be duly
				  completed and executed by an official of the motor carrier, and shall be
				  accompanied by a filing fee in the amount of one dollar ($1.00) for each
				  identification stamp applied for. Applications for annual reregistration of
				  such motor vehicles shall be accompanied by a filing fee in the amount of one
				  dollar ($1.00) for each identification stamp applied for. Provided, that
				  vehicles of such carriers domiciled in another jurisdiction which extends
				  reciprocity to vehicles of carriers domiciled in North Carolina, pursuant to
				  the general reciprocal agreements heretofore or hereafter entered into with the
				  North Carolina Commissioner of Motor Vehicles under Article 1A of Chapter 20 of
				  the General Statutes, shall be exempt from the payment of registration fees
				  required in this Paragraph to the same extent as such jurisdiction exempts
				  vehicles of carriers domiciled in North Carolina from annual interstate public
				  utilities vehicle registration fees similar to the fee required in this
				  Paragraph.
(i) The application for
				  the issuance of such cab cards shall be duly executed by an official of the
				  motor carrier.
(j) The
				  identification stamp issued under the provisions of this Rule by the Division
				  shall bear its name or symbol and such other distinctive markings or
				  information, if any, as the Division deems appropriate. In addition, such stamp
				  shall bear an expiration date of the first day of February in the succeeding
				  calendar year. The stamp shall be in the shape of a square and shall not exceed
				  one inch in diameter.
(k) The cab
				  card referred to in Paragraphs (a) through (j) of this Rule shall be in the
				  form set forth in Form D-1 which is available from NARUC, and shall bear the
				  seal of the NARUC. The cab card shall be printed on a rectangular card 11
				  inches in height and 8 and 1/2 inches in width.
(l) In the case of a vehicle not used in a
				  driveaway operation, the cab card shall be maintained in the cab of such
				  vehicle for which prepared whenever the vehicle is operated by the carrier
				  identified in the cab card. Such cab card shall not be used for any vehicle
				  except the vehicle for which it was originally prepared. A motor carrier shall
				  not prepare two or more cab cards which are effective for the same vehicle at
				  the same time.
(m) In the case of a
				  driveaway operation, the cab card shall be maintained in the cab of the vehicle
				  furnishing the motor power for the driveaway operation whenever such an
				  operation is conducted by the carrier identified in the cab card.
(n) A cab card shall, upon demand, be
				  presented by the driver to any authorized agent or representative of the North
				  Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles.
(1) Each
				  motor carrier shall destroy a cab card immediately upon its expiration, except
				  as otherwise provided in the proviso to Subparagraph (2) of this
				  Paragraph.
(2) A motor carrier
				  permanently discontinuing the use of a vehicle, for which a cab card has been
				  prepared, shall nullify the cab card at the time of such discontinuance:
				  Provided, however, that if such discontinuance results from destruction, loss
				  or transfer of ownership of a vehicle owned by such carrier, or results from
				  destruction or loss of a vehicle operated by such carrier under lease of 30
				  consecutive days' duration or more, and such carrier provides a newly acquired
				  vehicle in substitution therefore within 30 days of the date of such
				  discontinuance, each identification stamp and number placed on the cab card
				  prepared for such discontinued vehicle, if such card is still in the possession
				  of the carrier, may be transferred to the substitute vehicle by compliance with
				  the following procedure:
(A) Such motor
				  carrier shall duly complete and execute the form of certificate printed on the
				  front of a new cab card, so as to identify itself and the substitute vehicle
				  and shall enter the appropriate expiration date in the space provided below
				  such certificate;
(B) Such motor
				  carrier shall indicate the date it terminated use of the discontinued vehicle
				  by entering same in the space provided for an early expiration date which
				  appears below the certificate of the cab card prepared for such vehicles;
				  and
(C) Such motor carrier shall
				  affix the cab card prepared for the substitute vehicle to the front of the cab
				  card prepared for the discontinued vehicle, by permanently attaching the upper
				  left-hand corners of both cards together in such a manner as to permit
				  inspection of the contents of both cards and, thereupon, each identification
				  stamp or number appearing on the back of the card prepared for the discontinued
				  vehicle shall be deemed to apply to the operation of the substitute
				  vehicle.
(3) Any
				  erasure, improper alteration, or unauthorized use of a cab card shall render it
				  void.
(4) If a cab card is lost,
				  destroyed, mutilated, or becomes illegible, a new cab card may be prepared and
				  new identification stamps may be issued therefore upon application by the motor
				  carrier and upon payment of the fee prescribed. See
				  G.S.
				  20-385.