SECTION 217.82. Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) Casual sale--The sale by a salvage vehicle dealer, insurance company, or salvage pool operator of not more than five nonrepairable or salvage motor vehicles to the same person during a calendar year. The term does not include a sale to a salvage vehicle dealer or the sale of an export-only motor vehicle to a person who is not a resident of the United States.

(2) Certificate of title--A written instrument that may be issued solely by and under the authority of the department and that reflects the transferor, transferee, vehicle description, license plate and lien information, and rights of survivorship agreement as specified in Subchapter A of this chapter or as required by the department.

(3) Application for Title--A form prescribed by the director of the department's Vehicle Titles and Registration Division that reflects the information required by the department to create a motor vehicle title record.

(4) Damage--Sudden damage to a motor vehicle caused by the motor vehicle being wrecked, burned, flooded, or stripped of major component parts. The term does not include gradual damage from any cause, sudden damage caused by hail, or any damage caused only to the exterior paint of the motor vehicle.

(5) Date of sale--The date of the transfer of possession of a specific vehicle from a seller to a purchaser.

(6) Department--The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.

(7) Export-only sale--The sale of a nonrepairable or salvage motor vehicle, by a salvage vehicle dealer, including a salvage pool operator acting as agent for an insurance company, or a governmental entity, to a person who resides outside the United States.

(8) Flood damage--A title remark that is initially indicated on a nonrepairable or salvage vehicle title to denote that the damage to the vehicle was caused exclusively by flood and that is carried forward on subsequent title issuance.

(9) Insurance company--A person authorized to write automobile insurance in this state or an out-of-state insurance company that pays a loss claim for a motor vehicle in this state.

(10) Manufacturer's certificate of origin--A form prescribed by the department showing the original transfer of a new motor vehicle from the manufacturer to the original purchaser, whether importer, distributor, dealer, or owner, and when presented with an application for title, showing, on appropriate forms prescribed by the department, each subsequent transfer between distributor and dealer, dealer and dealer, and dealer and owner.

(11) Metal recycler--A person who:

(A) is predominately engaged in the business of obtaining ferrous or nonferrous metal that has served its original economic purpose to convert the metal, or sell the metal for conversion, into raw material products consisting of prepared grades and having an existing or potential economic value;

(B) has a facility to convert ferrous or nonferrous metal into raw material products consisting of prepared grades and having an existing or potential economic value, by a method other than the exclusive use of hand tools, including the processing, sorting, cutting, classifying, cleaning, baling, wrapping, shredding, shearing, or changing the physical form or chemical content of the metal; and

(C) sells or purchases the ferrous or nonferrous metal solely for use as raw material in the production of new products.

(12) Motor vehicle--A vehicle described by Transportation Code, §501.002(17).

(13) Nonrepairable motor vehicle--A motor vehicle as defined by Transportation Code, §501.091(9).

(14) Nonrepairable vehicle title--A document that evidences ownership of a nonrepairable motor vehicle.

(15) Out-of-state buyer--A person licensed in an automotive business by another state or jurisdiction if the department has listed the holders of such a license as permitted purchasers of salvage motor vehicles or nonrepairable motor vehicles based on substantially similar licensing requirements and on whether salvage vehicle dealers licensed in Texas are permitted to purchase salvage motor vehicles or nonrepairable motor vehicles in the other state or jurisdiction.

(16) Out-of-state ownership document--A negotiable document issued by another jurisdiction that the department considers sufficient to prove ownership of a nonrepairable or salvage motor vehicle and to support issuance of a comparable Texas certificate of title for the motor vehicle. The term does not include a title issued by the department, including a:

(A) regular certificate of title;

(B) nonrepairable vehicle title;

(C) salvage vehicle title;

(D) salvage certificate;

(E) Certificate of Authority to Demolish a Motor Vehicle; or

(F) any other ownership document issued by the department.

(17) Person--An individual, partnership, corporation, trust, association, or other private legal entity.

(18) Rebuilt salvage certificate of title--A regular certificate of title evidencing ownership of a nonrepairable motor vehicle that was issued a nonrepairable vehicle title prior to September 1, 2003, or salvage motor vehicle that has been rebuilt.

(19) Salvage motor vehicle--A motor vehicle, regardless of the year model:

(A) that is:

(i) damaged or is missing a major component part to the extent that the cost of repairs exceeds the actual cash value of the motor vehicle immediately before the damage; or

(ii) damaged and comes into this state under an out-of-state ownership document that states on its face "accident damage," "flood damage," "inoperable," "rebuildable," "salvageable," or similar notation, and is not an out-of-state ownership document with a "rebuilt," "prior salvage," or similar notation, or a nonrepairable motor vehicle; and

(B) does not include:

(i) a motor vehicle for which an insurance company has paid a claim for repairing hail damage, or theft, unless the motor vehicle was damaged during the theft and before recovery to the extent that the cost of repair exceeds the actual cash value of the motor vehicle immediately before the damage;

(ii) the cost of materials or labor for repainting the motor vehicle; or

(iii) sales tax on the total cost of repairs.

(20) Salvage vehicle dealer--A person engaged in this state in the business of acquiring, selling, dismantling, repairing, rebuilding, reconstructing, or otherwise dealing in nonrepairable motor vehicles or salvage motor vehicles or used parts, including a person who is in the business of a salvage vehicle dealer, regardless of whether the person holds a license issued by the department to engage in the business. The term does not include a person who casually repairs, rebuilds, or reconstructs fewer than three salvage motor vehicles in the same calendar year.

(21) Salvage vehicle title--A document issued by the department that evidences ownership of a salvage motor vehicle.

Source Note: The provisions of this §217.82 adopted to be effective March 12, 2015, 40 TexReg 1096; amended to be effective December 4, 2016, 41 TexReg 9335; amended to be effective November 14, 2017, 42 TexReg 6382