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Cal. VEH § 38041

This is the official text of Cal. VEH § 38041, part of California’s Vehicle Code — governs traffic laws, driver's licenses, and vehicle registration.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Official statutory text

Application for the original identification of a motorcycle shall be made by the owner to the department upon the appropriate form furnished by it, and shall contain:

(a) The true, full name, business or residence and mailing address, and the driver’s license or identification card number, if any, of the owner and the legal owner, if any.

(b) The name of the county in which the owner resides.

(c) A description of the motorcycle including the following data insofar as it may exist:

(1) The make and type of body.

(2) The motor and frame numbers recorded exactly as stamped on the engine and frame, respectively, by the manufacturer, and any other identifying number of the motorcycle as may be required by the department.

(3) The date first sold by a manufacturer or dealer to a consumer.

(d) Such information as may reasonably be required by the department to enable it to determine whether the vehicle is lawfully entitled to identification.

(e) The department shall maintain a cross-index file of motor and frame numbers identified with it.

The application shall be accompanied by a tracing, tape lift, or photograph of the motor or frame numbers, or where the facsimile of the motor or frame numbers cannot be obtained, a verification of the numbers shall be required.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.