§ 239. Ownership and operation of vehicles; liability. 1. Definitions.
Whenever used in this article, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:

a. "Owner" means any person, corporation, partnership, firm, agency,
association, lessor, or organization who at the time of the issuance of
a notice of violation in any city in which a vehicle is operated:

(1) is the beneficial or equitable owner of such vehicle; or

(2) has title to such vehicle; or

(3) is the registrant or co-registrant of such vehicle which is
registered with the department of motor vehicles of this state or any
other state, territory, district, province, nation or other
jurisdiction; or

(4) uses such vehicle in its vehicle renting and/or leasing business;
or

(5) is an owner of such vehicle as defined by section one hundred
twenty-eight of this chapter or subdivision (a) of section twenty-one
hundred one of this chapter.

b. "Lessor" means any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency,
association or organization engaged in the business of renting or
leasing vehicles to any lessee or bailee under a rental agreement, lease
or otherwise, wherein the said lessee or bailee has the exclusive use of
said vehicle for any period of time.

c. "Lessee" means any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency,
association or organization that rents, bails, leases or contracts for
the use of one or more vehicles and has the exclusive use thereof for
any period of time.

d. "Vehicle" means a vehicle as defined in section one hundred
fifty-nine of this chapter.

e. "Operator" means any person, corporation, firm, partnership,
agency, association, organization or lessee that uses or operates a
vehicle with or without the permission of the owner, and an owner who
operates his own vehicle.

f. "Notice of violation" means a notice of violation as defined in
subdivision nine of section two hundred thirty-seven of this article,
but shall not be deemed to include a notice of liability issued pursuant
to authorization set forth in articles ten, twenty-four, twenty-nine and
thirty of this chapter, section two thousand nine hundred eighty-five of
the public authorities law and sections sixteen-a, sixteen-b and
sixteen-c of chapter seven hundred seventy-four of the laws of nineteen
hundred fifty to impose monetary liability on the owner of a vehicle for
failure of an operator thereof: to comply with traffic-control
indications in violation of subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred
eleven of this chapter through the installation and operation of
traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring systems, in accordance
with article twenty-four of this chapter; or to comply with certain
posted maximum speed limits in violation of subdivision (b), (c), (d),
(f) or (g) of section eleven hundred eighty of this chapter through the
installation and operation of photo speed violation monitoring systems,
in accordance with article thirty of this chapter; or to comply with bus
lane restrictions as defined by article twenty-four of this chapter
through the installation and operation of bus lane photo devices, in
accordance with article twenty-four of this chapter; or to comply with
toll collection regulations of certain public authorities through the
installation and operation of photo-monitoring systems, in accordance
with the provisions of section two thousand nine hundred eighty-five of
the public authorities law and sections sixteen-a, sixteen-b and
sixteen-c of chapter seven hundred seventy-four of the laws of nineteen
hundred fifty; or to stop for a school bus displaying a red visual
signal in violation of section eleven hundred seventy-four of this
chapter through the installation and operation of school bus photo
violation monitoring systems, in accordance with article twenty-nine of
this chapter; or to comply with certain posted maximum speed limits in
violation of subdivision (b), (d), (f) or (g) of section eleven hundred
eighty of this chapter within a highway construction or maintenance work
area through the installation and operation of photo speed violation
monitoring systems, in accordance with article thirty of this chapter;
or to comply with gross vehicle weight and/or axle weight restrictions
in violation of section three hundred eighty-five of this chapter and
the rules of the department of transportation of the city of New York
through the installation and operation of weigh in motion violation
monitoring systems, in accordance with article ten of this chapter; or
to comply with bus operation-related traffic regulations as defined by
article twenty-four of this chapter in violation of the rules of the
department of transportation of the city of New York through the
installation and operation of bus operation-related photo devices, in
accordance with article twenty-four of this chapter.

g. "Fiscal year" means a period of one year commencing on the first
day of July and terminating on the thirtieth day of June.

h. "Primary filing" means the initial filing of registration plate
numbers by a lessor prior to the commencement of each fiscal year.

2. Liability. a. The operator of a vehicle shall be liable for the
fines or penalties imposed pursuant to this article. Except as otherwise
provided in paragraphs b and e of this subdivision, the owner of the
vehicle, even if not the operator thereof, shall be jointly and
severally liable with the operator thereof, if such vehicle was used or
operated with the permission of the owner, express or implied, but in
such case the owner may recover any fine or penalties paid by him from
the operator.

b. The lessor of a motor vehicle shall not be liable for fines or
penalties imposed pursuant to this article if:

(1) prior to the infraction, the lessor has filed with the bureau the
registration plate number, plate type, and place of registration of the
vehicle to which the notice of violation was issued and paid the
required filing fee provided in paragraph f of this subdivision and,

(2) within thirty-seven days after receiving notice from the bureau of
the date and time of a violation, together with the other information
contained in the original notice of violation, the lessor submits to the
bureau the correct name and address of the lessee of the vehicle
identified in the notice of violation at the time of such violation,
together with such other additional information contained in the rental,
lease or other contract document, as may be reasonably required by the
bureau pursuant to regulations that may be promulgated for such purpose.

c. If the lessor has complied with subparagraph one of paragraph b of
this subdivision such lessor shall not be liable for any penalties in
excess of the scheduled fine unless such lessor fails to appear within
thirty-seven days of actual receipt of a notice of violation pursuant to
paragraph e of this subdivision.

d. If the lessor who has complied with subparagraph one of paragraph b
of this subdivision has paid any fine or penalty for which he is liable
and the bureau subsequently collects from the operator or lessee the
amount of the scheduled fine and penalty owed by such person, or any
portion thereof, the lessor shall be entitled to reimbursement from the
bureau of the amount of the fine and penalty paid by the lessor, less
the bureau's costs of collection.

e. The lessor shall not be liable for any fines or penalties in
connection with a notice of violation for a vehicle whose registration
plate number is filed and the fee therefor paid prior to the time of the
issuance of notice of violation, unless the lessor shall receive notice
from the bureau of the date and time of such violation, together with
the other information contained in the original notice of violation,
within ninety days after service of the notice of violation, in
accordance with subdivision two of section two hundred thirty-eight of
this article.

f. The annual fee for filing a registration plate number with the
bureau by lessors under this section shall be twelve dollars per fiscal
year. Lessors shall also provide the bureau with such other additional
information in such format as the bureau by regulation may reasonably
require. The registration plate number shall not be considered filed
with the bureau unless the annual filing fee provided for in this
subdivision shall have been paid. Lessors shall not be entitled to a
refund, reduction, credit or other consideration in connection with such
annual filing fee in the event that such registration plate number is
withdrawn from service, destroyed or surrendered during the fiscal year
for which such registration plate number shall have been filed. In the
event that a lessor files with the bureau registration plate numbers
during the fiscal year, the annual filing fee for same shall be prorated
on a monthly basis, in accordance with a schedule that the bureau shall
promulgate by regulation for such purpose. The primary filing by each
lessor for each fiscal year shall be made at least thirty days prior to
the commencement of the fiscal year.

g. Where the United States postal authorities return to the bureau a
delinquency notice forwarded by the bureau to a name and address of a
lessee furnished by a lessor in accordance with provisions of this
section, such return notice shall be presumptive evidence of the
furnishing of an incorrect name and address by the lessor. The lessor
may, however, conclusively rebut such presumption if within sixty days
after receiving notification from the bureau of such returned mail
notice, the lessor shall provide to the bureau a copy of the rental
agreement or lease agreement for such lessee containing the name and
address previously furnished to the bureau. In the event that a lessor
shall fail to rebut the presumption established by this subdivision, the
lessor shall be liable for the fines imposed pursuant to this article
and in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the
bureau.

h. The bureau shall by rules and regulations prescribe the manner and
method of giving notice of outstanding violations to the lessees, except
that notices of impending default judgment shall be forwarded by first
class mail, in accordance with subdivision two of section two hundred
forty-one of this article. All notices to lessors under this section
shall be by first class mail to the address on file with the bureau or
by such other means as shall be provided for in the rules and
regulations of the bureau.

i. A lessor shall cooperate with the bureau in the enforcement of
judgments rendered against lessees or providing the bureau, or its
designated agents, with such other additional information as shall be
contained in such lessor's rental or lease agreements with their lessees
as shall be available to them.

3. Stolen vehicles. If any owner of a motor vehicle receives a notice
of violation for a period during which the illegally parked vehicle was
reported to any police department as having been stolen, it shall be a
valid defense to any charge of a parking violation that the motor
vehicle had been reported to the police as stolen prior to the time the
violation occurred and had not been recovered by such time. For the
purposes of asserting the defense provided by this subdivision, it shall
be sufficient that a certified copy of the police report of the stolen
vehicle be mailed to the bureau.

* 4. Applicability. The provisions of paragraph b of subdivision two
and subdivision three of this section shall not be applicable to
determinations of owner liability for the failure of an operator to
comply with subdivision (b), (c), (d), (f) or (g) of section eleven
hundred eighty of this chapter.

* NB Repealed July 1, 2025