Minnesota Administrative Rules
Agency 171 - Public Safety Department
Chapter 7406 - MOTOR VEHICLE DEPUTY REGISTRARS
Part 7406.0500 - GENERAL OPERATING RULES FOR DEPUTY REGISTRARS
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 39, March 25, 2024
Subpart 1. Management of office.
In managing the office, a deputy registrar:
Subp. 2. Hours.
Deputy registrar offices must be open for business at least 40 hours during each week. However, legal holidays listed in Minnesota Statutes, section 645.44, subdivision 5, and holidays authorized under Minnesota Statutes, section 373.052, subdivision 1, for county offices are included in the 40-hour calculation.
Each deputy registrar shall provide the commissioner with an accurate written schedule of the hours the office is open for business. A written request for a change in office hours must be made to the commissioner at least ten days before the change in hours. The commissioner must approve changes in business hours before the hours become effective.
Subp. 2a. Closure of office; variance procedure.
An office must be open for at least 40 hours each week unless the commissioner grants a variance to allow an office to be closed for a specified period of time. To request a variance for closure of an office for two days or more, the deputy registrar shall submit a written request on a form prescribed by the commissioner. Under the variance procedure, the commissioner shall consider the following factors before allowing an office to close:
The commissioner shall review the information submitted with the variance request and grant or deny the variance within two business days after receipt of the request.
If a variance is granted for closure of an office, the deputy registrar must provide notice to the public at the deputy registrar office of the dates and times of the office closure. If the office is to be closed for four days or less, the deputy registrar must post notice in a conspicuous place inside and outside the office for up to two consecutive weeks before closure. If the office is to be closed for five or more days, the notice must be posted at the office and also published in a qualified newspaper or on a radio station in the county or city in which the office is located. The notice must be published at least two weeks before the closing for two consecutive weeks, or a shorter time as approved by the commissioner.
The notice of closure must contain the dates and times that the office will be closed and the location and address of the nearest office where alternative service can be obtained.
Subp. 2b. Emergency and short-term closure of office.
For requests of an office closure that is for one day or that is due to an emergency situation, the deputy registrar must notify the commissioner by telephone or other means at the earliest opportunity to request a variance from the 40-hour work week. The commissioner must follow the criteria in subpart 2a when deciding to grant or deny the variance. If a variance is granted for closure of an office, the deputy registrar must provide notice to the public, as soon as practicable, at the deputy registrar office of the dates and times of the office closure. If the closure of an office is for more than one day, the deputy registrar must follow the variance procedures set forth in subpart 2a.
Subp. 3. [Repealed, 29 SR 97]
Subp. 4. [Repealed, 20 SR 2784]
Subp. 5. Filing fees.
Filing fees are governed by the following requirements:
Subp. 6. Cash register.
A separate cash register or cash receptacle must be maintained for deputy registrar funds. No other funds from other businesses may be kept with deputy registrar funds, except:
Subp. 7. Imprest cash.
A deputy registrar shall maintain a verifiable and identical amount of start-up funds in the cash register or cash receptacle on a daily basis. The deputy registrar shall inform the commissioner, in writing, of the amount of money that will be used during the day for start-up funds. The amount of the start-up funds must not be changed without prior written notification to the commissioner.
Subp. 7a. Credit card acceptance; general requirements.
A deputy registrar shall display this signage in a prominent location within the public viewing area of the office.
Subp. 7b. Credit card acceptance; variance procedure.
A deputy registrar may apply to the commissioner for a variance from the provision in subpart 7a requiring acceptance of credit cards and debit cards. A variance to subpart 7a does not include a variance to the technology requirements in part 7406.0400, subpart 3a. Application for a variance may be made by submitting a written request to the commissioner according to this subpart. The commissioner shall consider the following factors when reviewing the request for a variance:
Subp. 7c. Credit card acceptance; commissioner's review.
The commissioner shall review the deputy registrar's request for a variance under subpart 7b and grant or deny it within 30 calendar days of its receipt, or within 30 calendar days from the date of the commissioner's request for additional information, whichever is later. The commissioner shall give the deputy registrar written justification for a decision to deny the variance. Failure of the deputy registrar to submit the additional information requested under subpart 7b within 15 calendar days of the request is cause for the commissioner to deny a request for a variance. This procedure is not a contested case hearing as defined in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 14.
Subp. 8. Inventory to remain in office.
Unsold inventory that is assigned to a deputy registrar by the commissioner must remain in the office, except in the following authorized circumstances:
Subp. 9. Mail order transaction.
A deputy registrar may mail out inventory to customers upon meeting the conditions in items A to E.
If a deputy registrar does not make a written request to provide mail service to customers, the mail orders received by a deputy registrar, including the filing fee, must be forwarded to the commissioner for processing and mailing.
Subp. 10. Registration stickers unaccounted for.
Registration stickers assigned to an office, except for the month sticker, must be accounted for by issuance and money collected, by affidavit of missing initial inventory, or by submitting the defective registration sticker to the commissioner.
If a registration sticker is unaccounted for, the deputy registrar is responsible for payment of the registration tax loss or replacement cost for each registration sticker unaccounted for. The amount of registration tax that a deputy registrar must pay is either the full, average, or minimum registration tax as determined under items A and B.
The commissioner shall notify a deputy registrar of the amount of the full, average, or minimum average tax at the end of each fiscal year. If the full registration tax is required to be paid by the deputy registrar, a late deposit charge calculated under part 7406.0450 must also be paid by the deputy registrar.
Subp. 11. Other inventory or state-issued property unaccounted for.
Inventory, other than registration stickers under subpart 10, and other state-issued property provided to an office, must be accounted for by issuance and fees collected, by affidavit of missing initial inventory, or by submitting the defective inventory or state property to the commissioner.
If inventory or other state-issued property is unaccounted for, other than stickers, the deputy registrar is responsible for the replacement cost of the inventory or state property.
Statutory Authority: MS s 14.06; 168.33; 171.061; 299A.01