§ 50–2705. Effect of failure to reclaim vehicle; issuance of scrap title.

(a) If a vehicle is not reclaimed within the reclamation period in accordance with § 50-2703, the towing company in possession of the vehicle may submit an application for a scrap title to the Director, along with any information or documents that the Director may reasonably require in order to establish that the vehicle was properly towed and was not properly reclaimed. If the Director concludes that the vehicle was properly towed and was not properly reclaimed, the Director shall request that the Department of Motor Vehicles issue a scrap title to the towing company upon payment of any fees required for the issuance of a scrap title, and the Department of Motor Vehicles shall issue that title.

(b) An officer of the Metropolitan Police Department or other District of Columbia government employee deemed qualified by the Director shall physically inspect each vehicle for which an application for a scrap title has been submitted and notify the National Insurance Crime Bureau or other national organization identified by the Director that collects data on stolen vehicles of the vehicle identification numbers as part of an effort to verify the accuracy of the vehicle identification numbers of vehicles stored at privately owned tow truck storage lots and to determine whether a stolen vehicle record has been cleared.

(c) The scrap title authorized by this chapter shall give the holder of the title the right to possess the vehicle and to use or sell some or all of the vehicle for parts only.

(d) All future titles issued for a vehicle titled under the provisions of this chapter shall be scrap titles.

(e) After a scrap title is issued for a vehicle, that vehicle may not be registered in the District of Columbia.