Sec. 14-52. License required for selling or repairing motor vehicles. Surety bonds required for selling, repairing, leasing or renting motor vehicles. Penalty.
Sec. 14-52. License required for selling or repairing motor vehicles. Surety
bonds required for selling, repairing, leasing or renting motor vehicles. Penalty.
(a) No person, firm or corporation may engage in the business of the buying, selling,
offering for sale or brokerage of any motor vehicle or the repairing of any motor vehicle
without having been issued either a new car dealer's, a used car dealer's, a repairer's
or a limited repairer's license. The license fee for each such license, payable to the
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, shall be as follows: (1) New motor vehicle dealer,
seven hundred dollars; (2) used motor vehicle dealer, five hundred sixty dollars; and
(3) repairer or limited repairer, three hundred forty dollars. Each such license shall be
renewed biennially according to renewal schedules established by the commissioner so
as to effect staggered renewal of all such licenses. If the adoption of a staggered system
results in the expiration of any license more or less than one year from its issuance, the
commissioner may charge a prorated amount for such license fee. Not less than forty-five days prior to the date of expiration of each such license, the commissioner shall
mail to each licensee an application for renewal. Any licensee which has not filed the
application for renewal accompanied by the prescribed fee prior to the date of expiration
of its license shall cease to engage in business. An application for renewal filed with
the commissioner after the date of expiration shall be accompanied by a late fee of one
hundred dollars. The commissioner shall not renew any license under this subsection
which has expired for more than forty-five days.
(b) (1) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, each applicant for a
repairer's or a limited repairer's license shall furnish a surety bond in the amount of
five thousand dollars.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, each applicant for a new
car dealer's or a used car dealer's license shall furnish a surety bond in the amount of
twenty thousand dollars.
(3) Each applicant for a leasing or rental license issued pursuant to section 14-15,
who is engaged in the leasing or renting of motor vehicles for periods of thirty days or
more shall furnish a surety bond in the amount of ten thousand dollars.
(4) Each such bond required under subdivisions (1) to (3), inclusive, of this subsection shall be conditioned upon the applicant or licensee complying with the provisions
of any state or federal law or regulation relating to the conduct of such business and
provided as indemnity for any loss sustained by any person by reason of any acts of the
licensee constituting grounds for suspension or revocation of the license or such licensee
going out of business. Such bond shall be executed in the name of the state of Connecticut
for the benefit of any aggrieved party, but the penalty of the bond shall not be invoked
except upon order of the commissioner after a hearing held before said commissioner
in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54.
(c) The commissioner may request information from any applicant for a repairer's
license or used car dealer's license concerning the financial status and ability of such
applicant to comply with the requirements of this subpart and the regulations adopted
thereunder. The commissioner shall review such information to determine if the applicant has sufficient financial resources to conduct the business in a manner consistent
with the reasonable security and protection of its customers in regard to the duties and
responsibilities imposed by the provisions of this subpart and the regulations adopted
thereunder. The commissioner may refuse to issue a license if the applicant fails to
provide any such information requested or, if, after review by the commissioner, the
commissioner is not satisfied as to such applicant's financial status. The commissioner
may, in any case deemed appropriate, grant a license on condition that the applicant
post a surety bond, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section,
in an amount prescribed by the commissioner that is greater than the minimum amount
required by the applicable provisions of said subsection (b). Any applicant aggrieved
by any decision of the commissioner made pursuant to this subsection shall be afforded
an opportunity for hearing in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. The commissioner may adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 to carry out the provisions
of this subsection.
(d) Any person, firm or corporation engaging in the business of the buying, selling,
offering for sale or brokerage of any motor vehicle or of the repairing of any motor
vehicle without a license shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
(e) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall transmit to the Commissioners of
Revenue Services and Environmental Protection a summary of any complaint that the
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles receives alleging that a person, firm or corporation
is engaging in the business of the buying, selling, offering for sale or brokerage of any
motor vehicle or of the repairing of any motor vehicle without a license.
(1949 Rev., S. 2392; 1953, S. 1308d; 1961, P.A. 581, S. 10; 1967, P.A. 384; P.A. 75-577, S. 25, 126; P.A. 77-305; 77-376, S. 1, 3; P.A. 81-172, S. 4; P.A. 83-489, S. 8, 17; P.A. 84-254, S. 37, 62; 84-391, S. 5, 8; 84-508; 84-528, S. 1; P.A.
85-613, S. 29, 154; P.A. 86-58; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-13, S. 6, 21; P.A. 93-164, S. 2; P.A. 95-301; P.A. 96-167, S. 8; P.A.
02-70, S. 22.)
History: 1961 act increased license fees; 1967 act included brokerage of motor vehicles in activities requiring license;
P.A. 75-577 added provision that failure to secure license is an infraction; P.A. 77-305 deleted provision re infraction;
P.A. 77-376 increased fee for new motor vehicle dealer from $25 to $50, for used motor vehicle dealer from $20 to $40
and for repairer from $12 to $24; P.A. 81-172 included a provision for a limited repairer's license; P.A. 83-489 doubled
license fees; P.A. 84-254 increased the license fees scheduling increases to take effect as of July first of 1985, 1989, 1991
and 1993, and made editorial change for grammatical correctness in sentence following Subdiv. (3), substituting "shall"
for "to"; P.A. 84-391 provided for the staggered renewal of dealers' and repairers' licenses, deleting provision whereby
licenses ran from day of issuance to last day of February next following; P.A. 84-508 specified that license fee is payable
to motor vehicles commissioner and added Subsec. (b) requiring an applicant for a dealer's or repairer's license to furnish
a surety bond; P.A. 84-528 added Subsec. (c) providing that any person, firm or corporation repairing motor vehicles
without a license shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor; P.A. 85-613 made technical change in Subsec. (a)(3); P.A. 86-58 amended Subsec. (b)(3) to provide that surety bond penalty may be invoked upon order of motor vehicle commissioner
after administrative hearing and eliminated reference to court adjudication; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-13 increased new motor
vehicle dealer license fee from $225 to $560 and $700 after July 1, 1993, increased the used motor vehicle license fee from
$225 to $450 and $500 after July 1, 1993, increased the repairer or limited repairer license fee from $235 to $270 and $340
after July 1, 1993, changed renewal requirement of each license from annual to biennial and deleted obsolete fee increases;
P.A. 93-164 amended Subsec. (b) by increasing the repairer's and limited repairer's license surety bond from $2,500 to
$5,000, increasing the new car dealer's and used car dealer's license surety bond from $5,000 to $20,000 and inserting
new Subdiv. (3) requiring an applicant for a leasing or rental license pursuant to Sec. 14-15 to furnish a $10,000 surety
bond, renumbering and revising former Subdiv. (3) accordingly; P.A. 95-301 amended Subsec. (c) to change penalty for
unlicensed motor vehicle repair business, from class C misdemeanor to class B misdemeanor, and added Subsec. (d) re
transmission of summaries of complaints re such unlicensed businesses; P.A. 96-167 amended Subsec. (a) to add provisions
re mailing of application for renewal, failure to file such application with fee, imposition of $100 late fee for application
filed after date of license expiration and to provide that commissioner shall not renew license which has expired for more
than 45 days; P.A. 02-70 amended Subsec. (a) to delete provisions re fees applicable prior to July 1, 1993, and re payment
of fees to commissioner, amended Subsec. (b) to add an exception re Subsec. (c) in Subdivs. (1) and (2) and to make a
technical change for purposes of gender neutrality in Subdiv. (4), inserted new Subsec. (c) to allow commissioner to request
financial information from any applicant for a repairer's license or used car dealer's license, to review the information to
determine if the applicant has sufficient financial resources to conduct business, to allow commissioner to refuse to issue
a license if the applicant fails to provide information or if the commissioner is unsatisfied as to the applicant's financial
status, to allow commissioner to grant a license on condition that applicant post a surety bond, to provide opportunity for
a hearing and to allow commissioner to adopt regulations, redesignated existing Subsecs. (c) and (d) as Subsecs. (d) and
(e), amended Subsec. (d) to make the buying, selling, offering for sale or brokerage of any motor vehicle without a
license a class B misdemeanor and amended Subsec. (e) to require commissioner to transmit to the Revenue Services and
Environmental Protection Commissioners a summary of any complaint alleging the buying, selling, offering for sale or
brokerage of any motor vehicle without a license and to make a technical change for purposes of gender neutrality.
See Sec. 14-67l re motor vehicle junk yard licenses.
See Sec. 14-331 re revocation or suspension of gasoline dealer's or distributor's license.
See chapter 881b re infractions of the law.
Cited. 134 C. 151. Cited. 143 C. 634. Cited. 154 C. 540. Surety bond furnished in accordance with section does not
provide indemnity for that portion of a civil judgment incorporating award of attorney's fees or award of punitive damages.
267 C. 524.
Punitive damages are not provided for by this section. 70 CA 790. Plaintiff was not entitled to recover punitive damages
and attorney's fees in the calculation of "loss". Id.
Failure to obtain license will preclude repairer from enforcing a contract for repair. 36 CS 321.
Subsec. (a):
Cited. 218 C. 265.
Subsec. (c):
Cited. 9 CA 686.