(a) Any manufacturer transferring a new motor vehicle to another shall, at the time of the transfer, supply the transferee with a manufacturer's certificate of origin assigned to the transferee.
(b) Any dealer transferring a new vehicle to another dealer shall, at the time of transfer, give such transferee the proper manufacturer's certificate assigned to the transferee.
(c) Upon sale of a new vehicle by a dealer to a consumer-purchaser, the dealer shall execute in the presence of a person authorized to administer oaths an assignment of the manufacturer's certificate of origin for the vehicle, including in such assignment the name and address of the transferee and no title to a new motor vehicle acquired by a dealer under the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall pass or vest until such assignment is executed and the motor vehicle delivered to the transferee.
Any dealer transferring title to, or an interest in, a new vehicle shall deliver the manufacturer's certificate of origin duly assigned in accordance with the foregoing provision to the transferee at the time of delivering the vehicle, except that where a security interest is obtained in the motor vehicle from the transferee in payment of the purchase price or otherwise, the transferor shall deliver the manufacturer's certificate of origin to the lienholder and the lienholder shall forthwith forward the manufacturer's certificate of origin together with the transferee's application for certificate of title and necessary fees to the Division. Any person who delivers or accepts a manufacturer's certificate of origin assigned in blank shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor, unless done in accordance with subsection (d) of this section.
(d) When a manufacturer's statement of origin or an existing certificate of title on a motor vehicle is unavailable, a motor vehicle dealer licensed under Article 12 of this Chapter may also transfer title to a vehicle to another by certifying in writing in a sworn statement to the Division signed by the dealer principal, general manager, general sales manager, controller, owner, or other manager of the dealership that, to the best of the signatory's knowledge and information as of the date of sworn certification, all prior perfected liens on the vehicle that are known or reasonably ascertainable by the signatory have been paid and that the motor vehicle dealer, despite having used reasonable diligence, is unable to obtain the vehicle's statement of origin or certificate of title. For purposes of this subsection, a dealer may certify that the dealer is unable to obtain the vehicle's statement of origin or certificate of title because the statement of origin or certificate of title was either (i) not delivered to the dealer or (ii) lost or misplaced. The Division is authorized to require any information it deems necessary for the transfer of the vehicle and shall develop a form for this purpose. The knowing and intentional filing of a false sworn certification with the Division pursuant to this subsection shall constitute a Class H felony. A dealer principal, owner, or manager who is not a signatory of the sworn certification under this subsection may only be charged for a criminal violation for filing a false certification under this subsection by another dealership employee if the dealer principal, owner, or manager had actual knowledge of the falsity of the sworn certification at the time the sworn certification was submitted to the Division. The dealer shall hold harmless and indemnify the consumer-purchaser from any damages arising from the use of the procedure authorized by this subsection. No person shall have a cause of action against the Division or Division contractors arising from the transfer of a vehicle by a sworn certification pursuant to this section. (1961, c. 835, s. 4; 1967, c. 863; 1975, c. 716, s. 5; 1993, c. 539, s. 331; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 2000-182, s. 1; 2018-42, s. 2(a); 2018-145, s. 4; 2019-181, s. 5(a); 2020-51, s. 3(a).)
Notes of Decisions
Am. Clipper Corp. v. Howerton, 316 S.E.2d 186 (N.C. 1984).
· cites it 12× “The Court of Appeals, having determined that this statute controlled the case, concluded as follows: In all respects, the transactions involving the vehicle were conducted in violation of G.S. 20-52.1. Under the statute, record title to the new vehicle cannot ‘pass or vest’…”
In Re Meade, 174 B.R. 49 (Bankr. M.D.N.C. 1994).
· cites it 11× “G.S. 20-52.1 is a continuation of G.S. § 20-52 and specifies the procedure to be followed in registering new vehicles.”
King Homes, Inc. v. Bryson, 159 S.E.2d 329 (N.C. 1968).
· cites it 2× “Any dealer who transfers a new ve- *89 hide to a consumer-purchaser is required, at the time of transfer, to give the purchaser the proper manufacturer’s certificate assigned to the transferee. G.S. 20-52.1 (c).”
North Carolina Nat'l Bank v. Robinson, 336 S.E.2d 666 (N.C. Ct. App. 1985).
· cites it 2× “In that case, the manufacturer of a recreational vehicle retained the manufacturer's certificate of origin after shipping the vehicle to a dealer in an attempt to secure itself against loss by default of the dealer, in violation of G.S. 20-52.1, a provision of the Motor Vehicle…”
Bank of Alamance v. Isley, 328 S.E.2d 867 (N.C. Ct. App. 1985).
“Since filing under the provisions of Article 9 is neither necessary nor effective to perfect a security interest in this case, we turn to an examination of priorities as governed by Chapter 20 on motor vehicles.”
Am. Clipper Corp. v. Howerton, 277 S.E.2d 136 (N.C. Ct. App. 1981).
· cites it 4× “In all respects, the transactions involving the vehicle were conducted in violation of G.S. 20-52.1. Under the statute, record title to the new vehicle cannot “pass or vest” until the MSO is properly assigned.”
Hicks v. Dunn-benson Ford, Inc., 680 S.E.2d 272 (N.C. Ct. App. 2009).
“It is important to note that North Carolina recognizes the validity of a conditional contract of sale; however, according to the following statute, in order to have a conditional delivery of a vehicle, the dealer must provide the insurance, not the buyer: Notwithstanding G.S.…”
Alexander v. Daimlerchrysler Corp., 2004 NCBC 2 (N.C. Bus. Ct. 2004).
“{12} New motor vehicles are specifically defined as follows: "New motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle for which a certificate of origin, as required by G.S. 20-52.1 or a similar requirement in another state, has never been supplied to a {13} The statutory scheme is fairly…”
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-52.1(a) — 2 cases
Am. Clipper Corp. v. Howerton, 316 S.E.2d 186 (N.C. 1984).
“The Court of Appeals, having determined that this statute controlled the case, concluded as follows: In all respects, the transactions involving the vehicle were conducted in violation of G.S. 20-52.1. Under the statute, record title to the new vehicle cannot ‘pass or vest’…”
In Re Meade, 174 B.R. 49 (Bankr. M.D.N.C. 1994).
“G.S. 20-52.1 is a continuation of G.S. § 20-52 and specifies the procedure to be followed in registering new vehicles.”
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-52.1(c) — 3 cases
Am. Clipper Corp. v. Howerton, 316 S.E.2d 186 (N.C. 1984).
“The Court of Appeals, having determined that this statute controlled the case, concluded as follows: In all respects, the transactions involving the vehicle were conducted in violation of G.S. 20-52.1. Under the statute, record title to the new vehicle cannot ‘pass or vest’…”
Bank of Alamance v. Isley, 328 S.E.2d 867 (N.C. Ct. App. 1985).
“Since filing under the provisions of Article 9 is neither necessary nor effective to perfect a security interest in this case, we turn to an examination of priorities as governed by Chapter 20 on motor vehicles.”
Am. Clipper Corp. v. Howerton, 277 S.E.2d 136 (N.C. Ct. App. 1981).
“In all respects, the transactions involving the vehicle were conducted in violation of G.S. 20-52.1. Under the statute, record title to the new vehicle cannot “pass or vest” until the MSO is properly assigned.”
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-52.1(e) — 1 case
In Re Meade, 174 B.R. 49 (Bankr. M.D.N.C. 1994).
“G.S. 20-52.1 is a continuation of G.S. § 20-52 and specifies the procedure to be followed in registering new vehicles.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.