A bill filed in the Nevada Senate, on behalf of the Department of Motor Vehicles, would increase penalties for repair shops operating without a license or registration in the state. 

The bill, SB80, would mean up to six months in jail and/or an increased fine threshold of up to $2,500 for the first offense. A second offense would be a $5,000 fine and/or up to six months in jail, and the third would be a $10,000 fine and/or up to six months in jail. 

Nevada DMV’s Compliance Enforcement Division Chief J.D. Decker told the Senate Growth and Infrastructure Committee in February that the current statute doesn’t specify a penalty for the offense, and often, offenders are only fined $100 for each offense. 

Decker said unlicensed shops can make more money from illegal activities that can’t be deterred through existing misdemeanor fines. 

“We’ve seen cases as egregious as unlicensed shops advertising with signs and advertising in newspapers, collecting people’s cars, signing repair bills with the legal owners of the vehicle, and then capturing them [vehicles] and holding them in a locked lot and parting them out for profit,” Decker said. 

The DMV will investigate and find 20-30 vehicles on the lots of repeat offenders, he said. 

“We are limited to a penalty of $100 per violation, and the unlicensed shop or bad actor is making thousands of dollars,” Decker said. 

Paul Chosy, a Nevada resident, told KVVU-TV FOX 5 in Las Vegas that he took his 2002 Chevy Blazer to a recommended mechanic in the state, only to find out two months later that his vehicle was stolen from the shop’s lot. 

After months of excuses, the mechanic eventually called Chosy and said the vehicle was stolen and the shop’s insurance wouldn’t cover the theft. 

Chosy then filed a police report, the news report says. 

Decker told the news station that often the shops have a generic license for business in the city or county but don’t have the required DMV license. 

“We’ve seen vehicles disappear. We’ve seen them be parted out or literally sold to third parties when the business owner is having monetary problems,” Decker told the news station. “All of those things can happen because the person who doesn’t have a license is not subject to anybody’s jurisdiction.”

The Nevada DMV has a public list of licensed vehicle repair facilities that consumers can use to verify if a shop they are using is properly licensed in the state.

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