§ 101-38.701 - Transfer of title for Government-owned motor vehicles.

(a) When disposing of a Government-owned vehicle, all executive agencies shall comply with the provisions listed below for transfer of ownership:

(1) All Government-owned motor vehicles to be titled by State motor vehicle activities shall be transferred by executing Standard Form (SF) 97, The United States Government Certificate to Obtain Title to a Vehicle. The use of this form in foreign countries is optional.

(2) SF 97 will be used only when motor vehicles owned by the Government are sold to parties who intend to title the vehicle for operation on highways. Vehicles that are either not designed to operate on highways or are deemed as not legal for operation on highways will be conveyed using an appropriate bill of sale or award document, such as Optional Form 16, Sales Slip-Sale of Government Personal Property, or SF 114, Sale of Government Property-Bid and Award. Vehicles commonly included in this category include construction equipment, farm machinery, and certain military design vehicles.

(3) All SF 97 certificates and copies shall be stocked as an accountable form and serially numbered with pre-printed numbers assigned by the printing activity. Each agency shall have an accountable officer who will be responsible for the requisition, storage, and issuance of SF 97. Certificates showing erasures or strikeovers may be considered invalid by State motor vehicle agencies and may not be honored. Proper precautions shall be exercised by agencies to prevent blank copies of SF 97 from being obtained by unauthorized persons.

(4) Standard Form 97 is a 4-part set printed on continuous feed paper. The original certificate is produced on secure paper to readily identify any attempt to alter the form. Upon completion, the original SF 97 shall be furnished to the purchaser or donee. One copy of SF 97 shall be furnished to the owning agency. Another copy of the SF 97 shall be furnished to the contracting officer of the agency effecting the sale or transfer of the motor vehicle. The disposition of the fourth copy shall be assigned by the owning agency.

(b) These requirements are not subject to the provisions of Public Law 96-511, Paperwork Reduction Act, and Federal Information Resources Management Regulation (FIRMR) 41 CFR 201-9.202-2, Interagency Reports Management Program. (Also see 41 CFR 101-45.303-3.)