11300.  It shall be unlawful for any person to act as a vehicle
verifier without first having procured a vehicle verifier's permit
issued by the department, or when such permit has been canceled,
suspended, revoked or invalidated.


11301.  Every vehicle verifier shall make application to the
department upon the appropriate form, accompanied by a good and
sufficient bond, approved as to form by the Attorney General, in the
amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000) with corporate surety
thereon, duly licensed to do business within the State of California.

   (a) The department shall prescribe and provide forms to be used
for application for permits to be issued under the terms and
provisions of this chapter and require of applicants information
including, but not limited to, residence address, fingerprints, and
personal history statements touching on and concerning the applicant'
s character, honesty, integrity, and reputation as it may consider
necessary.
   (b) Upon receipt of an application in proper form accompanied by
the appropriate fee, the department shall within 120 days, make a
thorough investigation of the information contained in the
application.


11301.5.  If a deposit is given instead of the bond required by
Section 11301:
   (a) The Director of Motor Vehicles may order the refund of the
deposit three years from the date a vehicle verifier has ceased to be
licensed, if the director is satisfied that there are no outstanding
claims against the deposit.  A judge of a superior court may order
the return of the deposit prior to the expiration of three years from
the date a vehicle verifier has ceased to be licensed if there is
evidence satisfactory to the court that there are no outstanding
claims against the deposit.
   (b) If the director, department, or state is a defendant in any
action instituted to recover all or any part of the deposit, or any
action is instituted by the director, department, or state to
determine those entitled to any part of the deposit, the director,
department, or state shall be paid reasonable attorney fees and costs
from the deposit.  Costs shall include those administrative costs
incurred in processing claims against the deposit.



11302.  (a) The department may issue, or for reasonable cause shown,
refuse to issue, a vehicle verifier's permit to any applicant, or
may, after notice and hearing, suspend or revoke the permit when
satisfied that the applicant or permittee:
   (1) Has violated any of the provisions of this division or has
committed any acts which are grounds for the refusal to issue, or the
suspension or revocation of a permit or license issued under this
division.
   (2) Was previously the holder of an occupational license issued by
another state, authorizing the same or similar activities of a
license issued under this division; and that license was revoked or
suspended for cause and was never reissued, or was suspended for
cause, and the terms of suspension have not been fulfilled.
   (3) Has purchased, sold, or otherwise acquired or disposed of, a
vehicle which was stolen or embezzled or has performed or submitted
to the department, or its authorized representative, documents
purporting verification of a vehicle which was stolen or embezzled.
   (4) Has, in the course of performing a vehicle verification, acted
with negligence or incompetence in the reporting of erroneous
information to the department, or its authorized representative, and
has thereby caused the department to issue inaccurate certificates of
ownership or registration, or any other documents or indices which
it would not otherwise have issued.
   (b) Every hearing as provided for in this chapter shall be
pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section
11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.




11302.2.  (a) Every person licensed under this chapter shall report
to the department every change of residence address within 10 days of
the change.
   (b) Any person currently or previously licensed under this chapter
who no longer resides at the address last filed with the department
may be served with process issued pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing
with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code by registered mail at that residence, unless the
person has notified the department in writing of another address
where service may be made.



11302.5.  (a) After the filing of an accusation under this chapter,
the director may enter into a stipulated compromise settlement
agreement with the consent of the licensee on terms and conditions
mutually agreeable to the director, the respondent licensee, and the
accuser without further hearing or appeal.  The agreement may
include, but is not limited to, a period of probation or monetary
penalties, or both.  The monetary penalty shall not exceed five
hundred dollars ($500) for each violation, and it shall be based on
the nature of the violation and the effect of the violation on the
purposes of this chapter.
   (b) A compromise settlement agreement may be entered before,
during, or after the hearing, but is valid only if executed and filed
pursuant to subdivision (d) before the proposed decision of the
hearing officer, if any, is adopted or the case is decided.
   (c) The department shall adopt, by regulation, a schedule of
maximum and minimum amounts of monetary penalties, the payment of
which may be included as a term or condition of a compromise
settlement agreement entered under subdivision (a).  Any monetary
penalty included in a compromise settlement agreement shall be within
the range of monetary penalties in that schedule.
   (d) Any compromise settlement agreement entered under this section
shall be signed by the director, the respondent licensee, and the
accuser, or by their authorized representatives.  The director shall
file, or cause to be filed, the agreement with the Office of
Administrative Hearings, together with the department's notice of
withdrawal of the accusation or statement of issues upon which the
action was initiated.
   (e) If the respondent licensee fails to perform all of the terms
and conditions of the compromise settlement agreement, the agreement
is void and the department may take any action authorized by law
notwithstanding the agreement, including, but not limited to,
refiling the accusation or imposing license sanctions.




11305.  It shall be unlawful and cause of disciplinary action for
the holder of a vehicle verifier's permit:
   (a) To submit to the department, or its authorized representative,
any document which purports to evidence the verification of any
vehicle, without having actually physically inspected such vehicle to
determine the existence of proper vehicle identification.
   (b) To fail to report to the department, in a manner prescribed by
the department, the absence, alteration, or obvious attempt to alter
or obliterate any identifying number or number plate, or remove or
attempt to remove such plate on any vehicle for which verification is
performed.
   (c) To fail to physically compare identifying numbers on a vehicle
inspected to the information contained in any document of title,
registration, or any other form describing such vehicle.
   (d) To cause any person to suffer any loss or damage by reason of
any fraud or deceit practiced upon such person in the course of the
conducting of business under the vehicle verifier's permit.
   (e) To violate one or more terms and provisions of Section 20, or
of Division 3 (commencing with Section 4000), or of this division of
this code, or any rules or regulations adopted pursuant thereto, or
of Part 5 (commencing with Section 10701) of Division 2 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code.


11306.  (a) If the department issues or renews a vehicle verifier's
permit requiring conditions of probation, or if the department
refuses to issue a vehicle verifier's permit, the applicant shall be
entitled to demand, in writing, a hearing as provided in this
chapter, before the director, or his representative, within 60 days
after notice of refusal or issuance of the probationary permit.
   (b) Except where the provisions of this code require the refusal
to issue a permit, the department may issue a probationary permit
subject to conditions to be observed by the permittee in the exercise
of the privilege granted.  The conditions to be attached to the
exercise of the privilege shall be such as may, in the judgment of
the department, be in the public interest and suitable to the
qualifications of the applicant as disclosed by the application and
investigation by the department of the information contained therein.

   (c) The department may, pending a hearing, temporarily suspend the
permit issued to a vehicle verifier for a period not to exceed 30
days if the director finds that such action is required in the public
interest.  In any such case, a hearing shall be held and a decision
thereon issued within 30 days after notice of the temporary
suspension.
   (d) A person whose application for a permit has been denied may
reapply for such permit after a period of not less than one year has
elapsed from the date of filing of such denial.



11307.  (a) A vehicle verifier shall maintain a record of each
verification made.  The record shall contain all of the following:
   (1) The name and address of the person requesting the verification
and the fee charged for such verification.
   (2) The year model, vehicle identification number, license plate
number of the vehicle verified and the state in which the vehicle was
last registered.
   (b) All records maintained by a vehicle verifier shall be open to
inspection by any peace officer.



11308.  The department may adopt rules and regulations concerning
the issuance, use, and renewal of a vehicle verifier's permit, and
for determining the competence of an applicant therefor.



11309.  (a) The following fees for a vehicle verifier's permit shall
be paid to the department:
   (1) For the application and original permit, except as provided by
Section 42231, a nonrefundable fee of fifty dollars ($50).
   (2) For an application for renewal, fifteen dollars ($15).
   (b) All permits shall be renewed on a biennial basis.  All
original permits shall be issued for a period of not less than two
years, except in the case of a probationary license which, in the
discretion of the department, may be issued for a shorter term.



11310.  Any person who holds a vehicle verifier's permit issued
before the operative date of this chapter shall comply with the
provisions of this chapter within three months after its operative
date.


11312.  The suspension, expiration, or cancellation of a vehicle
verifier's permit provided for in this chapter shall not prevent the
filing of an accusation for the revocation or suspension of the
suspended, expired, or canceled permit as provided in Section 11302
or 11305 or any rules or regulations adopted pursuant to Section
11308, and the department's decision that the permit should be
suspended or revoked.  That determination may be considered in
granting or refusing to grant any subsequent license or permit
authorized by this division to that vehicle verifier or to a business
representative of that prior vehicle verifier's permit.