(a) A person shall not operate a motor vehicle nor draw a trailer or semi-trailer unless all required registration certificates are carried in some easily accessible place in the motor vehicle.

(b) In case of the loss, mutilation, or destruction of a certificate, the owner of the vehicle described in it shall forthwith notify the Commissioner and remit a fee of $16.00, upon receipt of which the Commissioner shall furnish the owner with a duplicate certificate.

(c) A corrected registration certificate shall be furnished by the Commissioner upon request and receipt of a fee of $16.00.

(d) An operator cited for violating subsection (a) of this section with respect to a pleasure car, motorcycle, or truck that could be registered for less than 26,001 pounds shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $5.00, which penalty shall be exempt from surcharges under 13 V.S.A. § 7282(a), if he or she is cited within the 14 days following the expiration of the motor vehicle's registration. (Amended 1969, No. 276 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1987, No. 241 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1989, No. 51, § 13; 2001, No. 102 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. May 15, 2002; 2005, No. 175 (Adj. Sess.), § 28; 2009, No. 50, § 39; 2011, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 12; 2015, No. 159 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; 2017, No. 132 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; 2019, No. 60, § 31.)