The Commissioner may cancel the registration of a motor vehicle when the owner thereof proves to his or her satisfaction that it has been totally destroyed by fire or, through accident or wear, has become wholly unfit for use and has been dismantled. After the Commissioner cancels the registration and the owner returns to the Commissioner either the registration certificate, or the number plates and the validation sticker, the Commissioner shall certify to the Commissioner of Finance and Management the fact of the cancellation, giving the name of the owner of the motor vehicle, his or her address, the amount of the registration fee paid, and the date of cancellation. The Commissioner of Finance and Management shall issue his or her warrant in favor of the owner for such percent of the registration fee paid as the unexpired term of the registration bears to the entire registration period, but in no case shall the Commissioner retain less than $5.00 of the fee paid. (Amended 1967, No. 129, § 4; 1975, No. 90, § 3; 1983, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 5(b); 2017, No. 206 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)