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Vehicle Code 4463 VC - Forgery or Falsification of Car Registration Stickers

Often, you learn about getting citations for driving violations, but receiving a citation for a Vehicle Code 4463 VC is equally as serious, even if you don’t hear about it as often. Have you received one of these, or want to know about it? Below you’ll learn the basic essentials, including:

What is Vehicle Code 4463 VC?

Let’s start out with the official California legislative definition of it. A Vehicle Code 4463 VC violation reads: “altering, forging, counterfeiting or falsifying vehicle registration materials; […] Displaying or possessing blank, canceled, revoked, forged or counterfeit vehicle registration materials with fraudulent intent; and […] Passing or attempting to pass as true and genuine any false, altered or counterfeit vehicle registration materials.”

This is a “parent” violation that has several clauses within it. For the purposes of this information, however, it’s basically telling you that you can’t forge or falsify or modify your car registration stickers, which are issued by the DMV. Any change, regardless of how minor, to your stickers, is considered a violation in this case.

What does it mean to have violated Vehicle Code 4463 VC?

If you’re looking for more detail to avoid this messy violation, we don’t blame you. Let’s put a Vehicle Code 4463 VC violation into an example, using Drake, our fictional California driver, as our helping hand to put it into a few possible options.

Let’s start with the most likely scenario. Drake is strapped for cash, so he skips renewing his restriction at the DMV. In order to make sure that he doesn’t get pulled over for having the expired stickers, however, he steals the new stickers off of his neighbor’s car and puts them on his own. When he gets pulled over for, as an example, changing lanes in an illegal place, the peace officer notices that the sticker ID numbers don’t match the car make and model and issues a Vehicle Code 4463 VC violation.

In a similar situation, Drake is angry with the DMV because the registration costs too much money and he refuses to pay the fee to renew it. In order to make sure his car’s registration stickers are still okay, he buys forged papers and stickers off of the black market and uses them. When he gets pulled over for a burnt-out taillight, the peace officer realizes that it’s a forgery and issues a Vehicle Code 4463 VC violation.

In our last situation, Drake notices an error on his renewed registration stickers and/or paperwork. Rather than go through the inconvenience of going back to the DMV and getting the stickers re-issued, or a new set issued if the mistake is permanent, he simply modifies it himself with a pen and/or some paint and/or marker. Even if he doesn’t think that he’s doing anything wrong (and is genuinely trying to save DMV workers the hassle), he is still forging and modifying registration paperwork and stickers, which are considered legal documents. When he gets pulled over for another violation or a routine stop for a sticker check, the peace officer notices the amendments and Drake would be guilty of a Vehicle Code 4463 VC violation.

If Drake didn’t modify his registration stickers, but someone else did, this person would be considered the one who is guilty of a Vehicle Code 4463 VC violation. In this case, a Vehicle Code 4463 VC violation wouldn’t be valid for Drake himself because he genuinely had no knowledge that his registration stickers were modified.

What can I do about this violation?

This violation can be either considered a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the peace officer who issues the ticket, as well as the court that handles the case. The punishment will vary depending on what the final decision is.

If it’s a misdemeanor, the punishment is a fine of up to $1, 000 and up to 1 year in county jail. If it’s considered to be a felony, the punishment is a fine of up to $10, 000 and anywhere from 16 months to 3 years in jail.

In both of these situations, as with any citation that you get for a violation, it’s best to admit guilt in court and accept your punishment as it is. Fighting it unnecessarily can mean stricter fines. If you are innocent, however, such as in the above example with Drake where someone else modified his stickers without his knowledge, you can fight it in a court of law.

Other possible Vehicle Code violation connections

Sometimes, there are other vehicle code violations that directly link, or are very similar to, a Vehicle Code 4463 VC violation. Some of the main ones include:

  • Vehicle Code 20 VC: This would refer to giving false DMV information orally or physically, to a peace officer.
  • Vehicle Code 31 VC: This is very similar, and would refer to giving information to a peace officer information that you know is incorrect.
  • Vehicle Code 4462 VC: This violation refers to refusing to show registration paperwork when directly asked by police officers.
  • Vehicle Code 4463b VC: In this case, the violation refers to using, altering, or falsifying disabled permits or placards.
  • Vehicle Code 4463c VC: Also similar to the one above, this is someone who knowingly displays a placard or permit that is invalid or bought from the black market.

Depending on the situation and peace officer, any or several of these violations could be added to the Vehicle Code 4463 VC violation. Or, they could be used in place of a Vehicle Code 4463 VC violation, again, depending on what the situation is and what the peace officer and court determines your intention to be.

Is this ticket eligible for traffic school?

Unlike some tickets, this ticket is not eligible for traffic school. In order for you to attend an accredited traffic school, such as MM TRAFFIC SCHOOL, to mask a violation on your driving record, you must receive a moving violation. For example, running through a red light. Since this is more of a paperwork issue and a fraud issue rather than anything to do with the driving technique itself, it wouldn’t be eligible for masking.

If you would like any further clarification on the topic, however, please feel free to contact us and we’d be happy to give you more information. Or, consider contacting the court that is responsible for issuing your ticket, as they are likely more equipped with your personal case and can give you more information.

How can I avoid a citation for a Vehicle Code 4463 VC violation?

The best way to make sure you never have to deal with the punishment of a Vehicle Code 4463 VC violation is to, well, not get it! Here are some tips to help you stay free from this violation.

Firstly, always make sure that you pay your registration renewal fee before your current registration expires. While the fee can be frustrating, it is a requirement for the DMV for all California drivers, and the ticket fines and punishment with jail time is certainly incentive enough to make this worth your money! Along that same line of thought, always resist the temptation to steal someone else’s stickers and/or buy anything from a black market. The punishment when you are caught is always going to be worse than the original fee and paperwork renewal tasks themselves!

Secondly, you’ll want to also make sure that your stickers and/or paperwork aren’t modified. Keep the paperwork in a safe spot in your vehicle (most people use the glove box) where no one will doodle or otherwise modify the sheet of paper or stickers. Likewise, if you notice an error either on the sticker or the paperwork (or both), bring it to the DMV and explain your concerns. They’ll either replace it or will modify it in such a way that it would be considered legally binding. Again, since this is a DMV document and legally binding, it’s best to let them determine the steps to take rather than you’re doing it yourself.

If someone knowingly or accidentally damaged your stickers or paperwork so that it is illegible, or otherwise tampered-with, call or visit your local DMV to see what is best. They’ll most likely reissue your stickers and paperwork. The whole point with all of this is to take responsibility and initiative of anything that a peace officer would issue a violation for, especially when it comes to something as important as paperwork! One last important reminder: receiving a Vehicle Code 4463 VC violation means knowingly and deliberately modifying or falsifying information on your registration stickers or on your registration paperwork. If you don’t know it’s inaccurate, or you don’t falsify it deliberately, you’d be innocent of a  Vehicle Code 4463 VC violation.

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