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Cal. VEH § 9554.5

This is the official text of Cal. VEH § 9554.5, 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

(a) On and after January 1, 2003, a penalty shall be added on any application for original registration made later than midnight of the date of expiration or on or after the date penalties become due. Penalties shall be computed as provided in Section 9559 and shall be collected with the fee.

(b) The penalty assessment for the delinquent payment of the registration fee specified in Section 9250 shall be as follows:

(1) Thirty dollars ($30) for a delinquency period of one year or less.

(2) Fifty dollars ($50) for a delinquency period of more than one year, to and including two years.

(3) One hundred dollars ($100) for a delinquency period of more than two years.

(c) The penalty assessment for the delinquent payment of the weight fee specified in Section 9400 or 9400.1 and the vehicle license fee as specified in Section 10751 of the Revenue and Taxation Code shall be as follows:

(1) Forty percent of the vehicle license fee, or the combined amount of the vehicle license fee and the weight fee if the vehicle is subject to both fees, for a delinquency period of one year or less.

(2) Eighty percent of the vehicle license fee, or the combined amount of the vehicle license fee and the weight fee if the vehicle is subject to both fees, for a delinquency period of more than one year, to and including two years.

(3) One hundred sixty percent of the vehicle license fee, or the combined amount of the vehicle license fee and the weight fee if the vehicle is subject to both fees, for a delinquency period of more than two years.

(d) A single penalty assessment for the delinquent payment of the fees specified in Sections 9250.8 and 9250.13 shall be as follows:

(1) Thirty dollars ($30) for a delinquency period of one year or less.

(2) Fifty dollars ($50) for a delinquency period of more than one year, to and including two years.

(3) One hundred dollars ($100) for a delinquency period of more than two years.

(4) This subdivision shall apply to applications for an original registration where the date the fee is due is on or after December 1, 2008.

(e) This section shall become operative January 1, 2009.

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.