§32-8-84. Reports to department of stolen, converted, recovered and unclaimed vehicles; suspension of registration of stolen or converted vehicles.

(a) A peace officer who learns of the theft of a vehicle not since recovered or of the recovery of a vehicle whose theft or conversion he knows or has reason to believe has been reported to the department shall forthwith report the theft or recovery to the department.

(b) An owner or a lienholder may report the theft of a vehicle, or its conversion if a crime, to the department, but the department may disregard the report of a conversion unless a warrant has been issued for the arrest of a person charged with the conversion. A person who has so reported the theft or conversion of a vehicle shall, forthwith after learning of its recovery, report the recovery to the department.

(c) An operator of a place of business for garaging, repairing, parking or storing vehicles for the public, in which a vehicle remains unclaimed for a period of 30 days, shall, within 30 days after the expiration of that period, report the vehicle as unclaimed to the department. Such report shall be on a form prescribed by the department.

A vehicle left by its owner whose name and address are known to the operator or his employee is not considered unclaimed. A person who fails to report a vehicle as unclaimed in accordance with this subsection forfeits all claims and liens for its garaging, repairing, parking or storing and is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $100.00.

(d) The department shall maintain and appropriately index weekly cumulative public records of stolen, converted, recovered and unclaimed vehicles reported to it pursuant to this section. The department may make and distribute weekly lists of such vehicles so reported to it to peace officers upon request without fee and to others for the fee, if any, the department prescribes.

(e) The department may suspend the registration of a vehicle whose theft or conversion is reported to it pursuant to this section; until the department learns of its recovery or that the report of its theft or conversion was erroneous, it shall not issue a certificate of title for the vehicle. A title shall be issued by the department in the name of an insurance company on a vehicle that is reported stolen when a settlement between the insured and his or her insurance company has occurred. The title shall be issued electronically in the name of the insurance company until the vehicle has been recovered, and, if recovered, the title may be issued in paper form.

(Acts 1973, No. 765, p. 1147, §38; Act 2011-645, p. 1643, §1.)