Vehicle Code 4462 VC – Requirement to Present Vehicle Registration to Police in California
There are a lot of laws to keep in mind when you get behind the wheel, and one of the smallest ones — yet most important — is Vehicle Code 4462 VC. If you’ve ever received one of these, you’ll want to know all about the most important details, including:
- What Vehicle Code 4462 VC is
- What it means to have violated it
- What you can do about the violation
- Other possible Vehicle Code violation connections
- How to avoid being cited with a Vehicle Code 4462 VC violation
What is Vehicle Code 4462 VC?
Let’s start with the formal description and work our way down from there. According to the California legislation, this violation states: “The driver of a motor vehicle shall present the registration or identification card or other evidence of registration of any or all vehicles under his or her immediate control for examination upon demand of any peace officer.”.
In simpler terms, you must provide your valid registration and/or identification for the car that you’re driving if you are asked by a peace officer. For this reason, it’s important that your information is always accessible when driving your car.
What does it mean to have violated Vehicle Code 4462 VC?
There are a few ways that you can be cited with a Vehicle Code 4462 VC violation. To make it as easy as possible, we’ll explore those through the use of a fictional California driver named Tiffany.
Tiffany gets in her car to run to the corner store, and she gets pulled over while driving for a standard check. The peace officer asks Tiffany for her license and registration and she hands over a license but doesn’t have her registration. Perhaps it’s not in its pocket, or perhaps she’s lost it. In this case, she could receive a Vehicle Code 4462 VC violation for failing to show her registration.
In another situation, Tiffany is pulled over and she hands over a registration (or ID card) that is knowingly expired or false. Perhaps she forgot to renew it, or it’s been modified somehow, making it invalid. She would be guilty of the violation because she handed over the registration while knowing that it was incorrect.
This time, let’s say that Tiffany hands over the registration for another vehicle (not the one that she’s driving). Neither the license plate nor the other ID information matches, and even though she knows that it’s the wrong registration form, she hands it over anyway.
In any and all of these situations, Tiffany has to be knowingly unable to hand over the registration (ie: refusing to hand it over), or knowingly handing over expired, modified, or incorrect information. If she doesn’t know that it’s wrong or expired, she technically wouldn’t be considered guilty of a Vehicle Code 4462 VC violation.
Similarly, Tiffany is also only guilty of the violation if she is specifically asked to provide proof of registration. If she isn’t asked to show it and doesn’t show it, she isn’t refusing to show it since she wasn’t asked! In other words: she can’t refuse to show something that isn’t asked of her.
What can I do about this violation?
Receiving a Vehicle Code 4462 VC violation is a misdemeanor. It is punishable by spending up to 6 months in county jail and being fined up to $1, 000. If you are guilty of this violation, the best thing to do is admit to it and take the punishment. In some cases, especially if it is your first offense, you may be eligible for probation instead of spending time in jail.
In some cases, however, you may be in a situation where you don’t believe that you’re guilty of the crime. Perhaps you genuinely didn’t know that the registration was expired, or you didn’t realize that it was for another vehicle. While it can be hard to prove, you would technically be innocent of the violation since a Vehicle Code 4462 VC violation implies that you are knowingly providing incorrect and false information.
Other possible Vehicle Code violation connections
There are other violations that could be connected to a Vehicle Code 4462 VC violation. These can include:
- Vehicle Code 31 VC: This violation means that Tiffany knowingly is giving false information to a peace officer.
- Vehicle 4463 VC: This violation means falsifying information deliberately and handing it over as an official registration even though it’s been altered.
In some cases, one or both of these might be used in place of the Vehicle Code 4462 VC violation, or they might be added as additional charges. It depends on the judgment of the peace officer and the situation that presented itself.
Is this ticket eligible for traffic school?
No, this ticket is not eligible for traffic school. In order for a ticket to be eligible in California for traffic school (such as MM TRAFFIC SCHOOL), the driver must be convicted of a moving violation. For example, illegally changing lanes would be considered a moving violation. A Vehicle Code 4462 VC violation does not refer specifically to the car being in motion.
If you have questions or concerns, however, we welcome you to contact us and we’d be happy to help explain more. You can also contact the court that issued your ticket, too, as they would be familiar with your case in detail.
How can I avoid a citation for a Vehicle Code 4462 VC violation?
The best way to make sure you don’t get a Vehicle Code 4462 VC violation, of course, is to always be a responsible driver. A key part of that is keeping on top of the paperwork like your registration. When you get your car and get it registered at the DMV, you’ll learn what the date is for the registration. To make sure you never are in a situation where your registration is expired, you will need to renew it in a good amount of time.
The DMV will often make this easier, as they will send out reminders when your registration is due. However, it’s a good idea to have your own reminder in your calendar, too, so that you receive your new registration in ample time.
The other thing is to make sure that you see your certificate of registration as totally permanent. Even though it’s just a piece of paper, you are not allowed to modify it. This means no notes in the margins or corrections to misspellings or misinformation. If there is an error (such as the wrong address, for example), the DMV must change it and re-issue it. Tampering or modifying the registration and knowingly handing it over would be considered a Vehicle Code 4462 VC violation, after all.
Lastly, any time you drive someone else’s car, you should always check their registration information. Make sure that it matches their details correctly and that it is up to date. If it isn’t, or it’s been tampered with, the safest bet is to not drive their car. Remember: if you get a Vehicle Code 4462 VC violation, it means that you are knowingly providing incorrect, modified, or expired registration information on request. If you don’t know it’s any of those things, this violation would be incorrect!
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