Section 10. Definitions

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

"Commonwealth" means the Commonwealth of Virginia.

"Daily rental vehicle" means a motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle or a manufactured home as defined in § 46.2-100 of the Code of Virginia, used for the transportation of persons or property whether on its own structure or by drawing another vehicle or vehicles, and rented for a period of less than 12 months.

"Department" means the Department of Motor Vehicles.

"Gross proceeds" means the total amount of the charges made or voluntary contributions received for the rental of a motor vehicle in this state. Gross proceeds includes charges for any services that are part of the rental contract, for collision coverage or waiver of property damage, public liability, or other forms of potential liability for the customer. However, gross proceeds does not include:

1. Cash discounts allowed and actually taken on a rental contract;

2. Finance charges, carrying charges, service charges, or interest from credit given on a rental contract;

3. Charges for motor fuels and fuels other than motor fuel which are subject to taxes imposed by Chapter 22 (§ 58.1-2200 et seq.) of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia;

4. Charges for optional accidental death insurance; and

5. Taxes or fees levied or imposed pursuant to Chapter 24 (§ 58.1-2400 et seq.) of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia.

"Manufactured home" means a structure, subject to federal regulation, transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode is eight body feet or more in width or 40 body feet or more in length, or, when erected on site, is 320 or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein.

"Mobile office" means an industrialized building unit not subject to federal regulation, which may be constructed on a chassis for the purpose of towing to the point of use and designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation, for commercial use and not for residential use; or two or more such units separately towable, but designed to be joined together at the point of use to form a single commercial structure, and which may be designed for removal to and installation or erection on other sites.

"Motor vehicle" means every vehicle, except a mobile office, which is self-propelled or designed for self-propulsion and every vehicle drawn by or designed to be drawn by a motor vehicle, including manufactured homes, and every device in, upon, and by which any person or property is, or can be, transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices moved only by human or animal power, devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks and vehicles, other than manufactured homes, used in this Commonwealth but not required to be licensed by the Commonwealth.

"Out-of-state rentor" means a rentor whose principal place of business is outside the Commonwealth but who has one or more places of business within the Commonwealth from which deliveries of rental motor vehicles are made to persons in Virginia.

"Person" means every natural person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation.

"Rental in this state (or Commonwealth)" means any rental of a motor vehicle that is delivered to a person in Virginia (including all land or interest in land within the Commonwealth which may be owned by or conveyed to the United States of America or the Commonwealth). The term applies regardless of where the rental agreement is written, where the rental terminates, or where the vehicle is surrendered. Conversely, if delivery is not made in Virginia, there is no "rental in this state" even if the contract is made, the rental terminates, or the vehicle is surrendered in Virginia.

"Renting" or "rental" means the renting, for consideration, without the transfer of ownership, of a motor vehicle for a period of less than 12 months, whether or not the motor vehicle is required to be licensed by the Commonwealth. A motor vehicle which is rented for a period of 12 months or longer is not a rental vehicle, but is considered a leased vehicle; therefore, it is not subject to the provisions of this chapter.

"Rentor" means any person engaged in the business of renting motor vehicles in this state for consideration, whether or not such motor vehicles are required to be licensed in the Commonwealth.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR485-60-8701 § 1, eff. January 1, 1987; amended, Volume 13, Issue 22, eff. July 1, 1997; Volume 20, Issue 21, eff. July 1, 2004.

Statutory Authority

§ 58.1-2421 of the Code of Virginia.