§726.1. Tampering with or altering odometers prohibited; penalties

A. No person shall knowingly tamper with, adjust, alter, change, set back, disconnect or fail to connect the odometer of any motor vehicle, or cause any of the foregoing to occur to an odometer of a motor vehicle, so as to reflect a lower mileage than the true mileage driven by the motor vehicle.

B. No person shall with intent to defraud operate a motor vehicle on any street or highway knowing that the odometer of the motor vehicle is disconnected or nonfunctional.

C. No person shall advertise for sale, sell, use or install on any part of a motor vehicle or on any odometer in a motor vehicle any device which causes the odometer to register any mileage other than the true mileage.

D. In the event any odometer is repaired or replaced, the reading of the repaired or replaced odometer shall be set at the reading of the odometer repaired or replaced immediately prior to repair or replacement, and the adjustment shall not be deemed a violation of any provision of this section. If the odometer cannot be repaired or replaced a written notice shall be posted on the vehicle that the odometer has been reset at zero, the date of the repair and the mileage indicated at the time of repair.

E. No certificate of title shall be issued for a motor vehicle which was equipped with an odometer by the manufacturer unless the statement required in Subsection F of this section has been furnished by the transferor. However, a certificate of title may be issued for a motor vehicle to a person who moves into this state if such person acquired ownership of the motor vehicle prior to moving to this state.

F. Except where a transfer is made by operation of law the transferor of any motor vehicle which was equipped with an odometer by the manufacturer, shall provide to the buyer a statement signed by the transferor which shall set forth the mileage on the odometer at the time of transfer and which shall state that to the transferor's best knowledge and belief it is the true mileage. If the transferor has knowledge that the mileage shown on the odometer is not the true mileage traveled by the motor vehicle, he shall so indicate on the statement and he shall state the true mileage to his best knowledge and belief. The mileage disclosed on such statement shall be included in the application for certificate of title and the new certificate issued in the name of the buyer shall have the mileage recorded on the face thereof.

G. A transferee of a motor vehicle reassigning the certificate of title to such motor vehicle pursuant to the provisions of the Certificate of Title Law shall not be guilty of a violation of this section if such transferee has in his possession the statement signed by his transferor as required by Subsection F of this section and if he has no knowledge that the odometer does not reflect the true mileage of such motor vehicle.

H.(1) Any person, except a new or used car dealer, who violates the provisions of this Section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars or by imprisonment not to exceed ninety days or both. On each subsequent conviction, the offender shall be fined not more than fifty thousand dollars, or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.

(2) A new or used car dealer who violates the provisions of this Section shall be fined not more than fifty thousand dollars, or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.

(3) A new or used car dealer who violates the provisions of this Section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars.

Added by Acts 1972, No. 564, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1973. Amended by Acts 1977, No. 371, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1048, §1.