(a) Driving unregistered vehicle prohibited.--No person shall drive or move and no owner or motor carrier shall knowingly permit to be driven or moved upon any highway any vehicle which is not registered in this Commonwealth unless the vehicle is exempt from registration.

(b) Proof of residency.--A person charged under this section has the burden of proving that he is a nonresident whenever he asserts a defense based on section 1303 (relating to vehicles of nonresidents exempt from registration). If he produces at the office of the issuing authority satisfactory proof that he is a nonresident and is in compliance with section 1303 within five days after being charged with a violation of this section, the issuing authority shall dismiss the charge.

(c) Certificate of title prerequisite to registration.--No vehicle shall be registered unless a certificate of title has been applied for or issued if one is required by Chapter 11 (relating to certificate of title and security interests).

(c.1) Reconstructed, recovered theft, flood, modified and specially constructed vehicles.--Only the department shall issue a temporary registration plate or card, or permit the transfer of a registration plate, in conjunction with any application for reconstructed, recovered theft, flood, modified and specially constructed vehicles. Proof of financial responsibility must accompany the application for registration prior to the issuance of a registration plate.

(c.2) Special inspection prerequisite to operation.--After the effective date of this section, no reconstructed, modified or specially constructed vehicle may be operated on the highway until it has successfully passed an inspection at a reconstructed vehicle inspection station.

(d) Penalty.--Any person violating the provisions of subsection (a) is guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of $75 or double the registration fee, whichever is greater, except when the vehicle was previously registered in this Commonwealth within 60 days of the commission of the offense whereupon the fine shall be $25. In the case of a motor carrier vehicle other than a trailer, the fine shall be $50 if the motor carrier vehicle was previously registered in this Commonwealth within 60 days of the commission of the offense or, if the registration occurs outside the 60-day period, the fine shall be double the registration fee for the maximum weight at which the vehicle could have been registered in this Commonwealth.

(July 22, 1983, P.L.122, No.32, eff. imd.; Mar. 29, 1984, P.L.155, No.30, eff. 60 days; July 10, 1984, P.L.679, No.146, eff. 60 days; July 8, 1986, P.L.432, No.90, eff. imd.; Dec. 21, 1998, P.L.1126, No.151, eff. 60 days; Dec. 9, 2002, P.L.1278, No.152, eff. 60 days; Dec. 1, 2004, P.L.1767, No.228, eff. Jan. 1, 2007)

2004 Amendment. Act 228 added subsec. (c.2).

2002 Amendment. Act 152 added subsec. (c.1).

1998 Amendment. Act 151 amended subsecs. (a) and (d).

Cross References. Section 1301 is referred to in sections 1311, 6309, 6309.1 of this title.