32-36-8. Notice to owner and lien holders after removal--Contents--Form--Publication of notice--Violation as misdemeanor. Within forty-five days after any abandoned or junk motor vehicle, any wrecked vehicle as provided by § 32-30-14, or any impounded vehicle, or other scrap metal has been removed, the removal agency shall send written notice by certified mail to the registered owner, if any, of the abandoned or junk motor vehicle, wrecked vehicle, or scrap metal and to all readily identifiable lien holders of record at their last known address. If the removal agency does not give notice within ten days from the date of removal, no storage may be charged beyond the ten-day period until the notice is mailed. The notice shall set forth the date and place of the taking, the year, the make, model and serial number of the abandoned or wrecked motor vehicle and the place where the vehicle is being held, and shall inform the owner and any lien holders of their right to reclaim the vehicle under § 32-36-9. The notice shall be on a form provided by the Department of Revenue.

If it is impossible to determine with reasonable certainty the identity and address of the registered owner and all lien holders, the notice shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the motor vehicle was abandoned or wrecked. Published notices may be grouped together for convenience and economy.

A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.

Source: SL 1972, ch 197, § 5 (4); SL 1985, ch 268, § 7; SL 1987, ch 245, § 3; SL 1990, ch 158, § 4; SL 1994, ch 264, § 5; SL 1998, ch 195, § 4.