---
kind: "section"
citation: "49 U.S.C. § 33111"
title: "49"
title_heading: "Transportation"
number: "33111"
heading: "Verifications involving motor vehicle major parts"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/49/33111"
units:
  - "Subtitle VI — Motor Vehicle and Driver Programs"
  - "Part C — Information, Standards, and Requirements"
  - "Chapter 331 — Theft Prevention"
---

# §33111. Verifications involving motor vehicle major parts

- (a) **General Requirements.—** A person engaged in the business of salvaging, dismantling, recycling, or repairing [passenger motor vehicles](/usc/49/32101.md?p=10) may not knowingly sell in [commerce](/usc/49/31301.md?p=2) or [transfer](/usc/49/32702.md?p=8) or install a [major part](/usc/49/33101.md?p=6) marked with an identification number without—
  - (1) first establishing, through a procedure the Attorney General by regulation prescribes in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation under [section 33109 of this title](/usc/49/33109.md), that the [major part](/usc/49/33101.md?p=6) has not been reported as stolen; and
  - (2) providing the purchaser or transferee with a verification—
    - (A) identifying the vehicle identification number (or derivative of that number) of that [major part](/usc/49/33101.md?p=6); and
    - (B) verifying that the [major part](/usc/49/33101.md?p=6) has not been reported as stolen.
- (b) **Nonapplication.—**
  - (1) [Subsection (a)](#a) of this section does not apply to a person that—
    - (A) is the [manufacturer](/usc/49/30102.md?p=a-6) of the [major part](/usc/49/33101.md?p=6);
    - (B) has purchased the [major part](/usc/49/33101.md?p=6) directly from the [manufacturer](/usc/49/30102.md?p=a-6); or
    - (C) has received a verification from an [insurance carrier](/usc/49/30501.md?p=3) under [section 33110 of this title](/usc/49/33110.md) that the [motor vehicle](/usc/49/30102.md?p=a-7) from which the [major part](/usc/49/33101.md?p=6) is derived has not been reported as stolen, or that the carrier has not established whether that vehicle has been stolen.
  - (2) A person described under paragraph (1)(C) of this subsection that subsequently [transfers](/usc/49/32702.md?p=8) or sells in [commerce](/usc/49/31301.md?p=2) the [motor vehicle](/usc/49/30102.md?p=a-7) or a [major part](/usc/49/33101.md?p=6) of the vehicle shall provide the verification received from the carrier to the person to whom the vehicle or part is transferred or sold.
- (c) **Regulations.—** The Attorney General shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section. The regulations shall include regulations prescribed in consultation with the Secretary that are necessary to ensure that a verification a person provides under [subsection (a)(2)](#a-2) of this section is uniform, effective, and resistant to fraudulent use.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1086.)

## Notes

| Historical and Revision Notes |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Revised<br>Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| 33111(a) | 15:2026b(a). | Oct. 20, 1972, Pub. L. 92–513, 86 Stat. 947, § 608; added Oct. 25, 1992, Pub. L. 102–519, § 306(c), 106 Stat. 3397. |
| 33111(b) | 15:2026b(c) (1st, 2d sentences). |  |
| 33111(c) | 15:2026b(b), (c) (last sentence). |  |

In subsection (a), before clause (1), the word “distribute” is omitted as being included in “sell”. In clause (1), the word “establishing” is substituted for “determining” for clarity and consistency in the revised title.

Subsection (b)(2) is substituted for 15:2026b(c) (2d sentence) for clarity.

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date

Pub. L. 103–272, § 4(v), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1373, provided that: “Section 33111 of title 49, United States Code, as enacted by section 1 of this Act, is effective on the date on which the National Stolen Passenger Motor Vehicle Information System is established under section 33109 of title 49.”