§ 203. Counterfeiting, fraud, and misuse; penalty

(a) A person shall not:

(1) counterfeit or cause to be counterfeited or have in his or her possession any counterfeit number plate, validating sticker, marker, inspection sticker, registration certificate, in-transit registration permit, learner’s permit, nondriver identification card, insurance identification card, or operator‘s license or alter or have in his or her possession any altered number plate or marker;

(2) display or cause or permit to be displayed, or have in his or her possession, any fictitious or fraudulently altered operator’s license, learner’s permit, nondriver identification card, inspection sticker, registration certificate, or in-transit registration permit, or display for any fraudulent purpose an expired or counterfeit insurance identification card or similar document;

(3) lend his or her operator’s license to any other person or knowingly permit the use thereof by another;

(4) display or represent as his or her own any operator’s license, permit, or nondriver identification card not issued to him or her;

(5) permit any unlawful use of an operator’s license, permit, or nondriver identification card issued to him or her by the Commissioner;

(6) obtain or attempt to obtain a registration plate, validation sticker, registration certificate, in-transit registration permit, operator’s license, learner’s permit, nondriver identification card, or duplicate copy of any of such documents by the use of fraudulently obtained, fictitious, or altered identity documents or by the use of identity documents not his or her own;

(7) obtain or attempt to obtain a registration plate, validation sticker, registration certificate, in-transit registration permit, certificate of title, operator’s license, learner’s permit, nondriver identification card, duplicate copy of any of these documents, or obtain or attempt to obtain any other permit, license, or special privilege from the Department of Motor Vehicles through the submission of an application containing false or fictitious information;

(8) lend his or her identity documents to aid an applicant in his or her attempt to fraudulently obtain or actually obtain a registration plate, validation sticker, registration certificate, in-transit registration permit, operator’s license, learner’s permit, nondriver identification card, or duplicate copy of such documents; or

(9) display on his or her vehicle an inspection sticker not issued to him or her for the vehicle.

(b)(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, a violation of subsection (a) of this section shall be a traffic violation for which there shall be a penalty of not more than $1,000.00. If a person is found to have committed the violation, the person’s privilege to operate motor vehicles shall be suspended for 60 days.

(2) If a person may be charged with a violation of subdivision (a)(2) of this section or with a violation of 7 V.S.A. § 656, the person shall be charged with a violation of 7 V.S.A. § 656 and not with a violation of this section. (Amended 1967, No. 129, § 1; 1971, No. 228 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 1991, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2007, No. 19, § 4; 2011, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2019, No. 60, § 14; 2019, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2019, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. Oct. 7, 2020; 2021, No. 20, § 230.)