§286-47 Certificate of registration; certificate of ownership; containers. (a) Upon the registration of a vehicle, the director of finance shall issue a certificate of registration to the owner and a certificate of ownership to the legal owner, or to a dealer who shall be a person licensed to sell new motor vehicles under chapter 437 which certificates shall meet the following requirements:
(1) Both the certificate of registration and the certificate of ownership shall contain upon the face thereof, the date issued, the registration number assigned to the owner and to the vehicle, the name and address of the owner and legal owner in typewriting, also such description of the registered vehicle as may be determined by the director of finance. If any of the information subsequently proves to be a typographical error, the dealer, as defined in section 437-1.1, shall notify the director of finance of the error by a written certificate stating the reasons for and nature of the error and the correction which should be made in the certificate of registration and the certificate of ownership. Upon receipt of the dealer's certificate by the director of finance, the certificate of registration and the certificate of ownership shall be corrected accordingly so long as the correction does not constitute a change of the vehicle originally registered. A fee shall be paid to the director of finance for each instance of correction of the registration records. The fee charged for each instance of correction of the registration records shall be established by the county's legislative body;
(2) In addition to the requirements provided for in paragraph (1) above, the face of the certificate of ownership shall contain endorsement lines for the transfer of title or interest of the registered owner and legal owner, and the odometer reading of the vehicle on the date of transfer. The reverse side of the certificate of ownership shall contain the application for registration by the transferee.
(b) Every owner shall keep the certificate of registration within the vehicle for which it is registered and shall present the same at the request of a police officer, or in the event the vehicle is a motorcycle, shall carry such certificate in a convenient receptacle attached to the vehicle and which shall be presented at the request of a police officer; provided that this subsection shall not apply to:
(1) State or county vehicles readily identified by the license plates and markings on sides of such vehicles;
(2) Commercial vehicles defined as rental motor vehicles, or cars shipped by licensed car dealerships or repossession companies. These businesses may keep a duplicate copy of the certificate of registration within the vehicle for which it is registered, in which case the certificate of registration shall be available for inspection at their principal place of business within the State; and
(3) Chassis used for transporting shipping containers. The owner of a chassis used for transporting shipping containers shall not be required to keep the original or a copy of the certificate of registration, motor vehicle identification card, certificate of insurance, and certificate of inspection on the chassis. These businesses may keep the original certificate of registration, motor vehicle identification card, certificate of insurance, and certificate of inspection available for inspection at their principal place of business within the State.
This subsection shall not apply when the certificate is removed from the vehicle for the purpose of application for renewal, transfer of registration, or to record a change in the registration. [L 1929, c 197, §§6, 13; RL 1935, §2669; RL 1945, §7340; am L 1949, c 166, §1; am L 1953, c 131, §1(a), (b); RL 1955, §160-7; HRS §286-47; am L 1970, c 73, §1(a); am L 1972, c 159, §1; am L 1980, c 141, §1; am L 1981, c 44, §1 and c 82, §18; am L 1998, c 95, §1; am L 2019, c 31, §1]