Section 448.100  Certificates of Safety

a)         Certificates of Safety to be affixed to a vehicle as a result of satisfactorily passing the Safety Test will be issued to the Stations by the Section.

b)         Certificates of Safety will remain the property of the Department and the State of Illinois, and will be used as directed unless advised otherwise by the Section.

c)         The following describes the Certificate of Safety to be utilized.

1)         Description-Second Division Vehicle Certificates of Safety

            The Certificates of Safety shall be in contrasting colors, with the month and year on the face thereof indicating when the vehicle is subject to reinspection.  The colors of the Certificates of Safety shall be prescribed by the Department.

2)         Physical Description

            The Certificates measure three (3) inches square with a large numeral on the front side indicating the month of reinspection.  The serial number and date of expiration of an individual certificate can be found only on the rear side of the certificate.  The certificate will be affixed to the extreme bottom of the windshield glass in the left-hand corner.

3)         For example of a Second Division Vehicle Certificate of Safety see Illustration A.

4)         Enforcement

            The Statutes do not provide for a grace period on expired Certificates of Safety.  A certificate expires at midnight on the expiration date printed on the individual certificate.

5)         Reports and Unused Certificates of Safety

            All Test Lanes shall, by the 10th of each month, return to the Vehicle Inspection Section, by Certified Mail, or authorized personnel of the Department, the following items:

A)        Completed Monthly Station Report (MSR-1-76-T)

B)        Defective, Mutilated, or Replacement Certificate of Safety Report (Form No. SVI-1280)

C)        All unused Certificates of Safety from the preceding month.  (Complete lane number must be written on the back cover of each booklet of Certificates of Safety being returned.)

d)         Each Certificate of Safety shall have a unique serial number.  The station owner shall immediately provide the Section with a signed receipt for all Certificates of Safety delivered to him.  Delivery of Certificates of Safety cannot be made to an address other than that of the Official Testing Station without the written approval of the Section.

e)         The station owner shall be responsible for the safety and security of all certificates of Safety issued to the Station and shall utilize a locked safe or other locked place for their storage within the Station.

f)          Loss or Theft of Certificates of Safety.  (The term "Loss" shall include the failure to receive Certificates via United Parcel Service or otherwise enroute to the Station.)

1)         The station owner shall immediately notify the local police in the jurisdiction in which the station is located of the loss or theft of any Certificates of Safety.

2)         The station owner shall immediately notify the Section by telephone (217/782-2920) or telegraph (See Section 448.100(u)) and give Station name, number and address, the series and serial numbers of the Certificates that were lost or stolen, and the name of the person declaring the loss.

3)         The station owner shall complete 2 copies of SVI-1241 "Report of Lost or Stolen Safety Certificates."  Mail the top copy to the Section.  Retain the second copy and file in the test station with the monthly reports.

g)         The station owner may authorize the signatures of two additional employees of the Station to request Certificates of Safety.  All requests for a reorder of Certificates must be on form SVI-1274 which is furnished by the Section, signed by an authorized person, and mailed prepaid to the Section.  Each such request must include the Station number, name, address, city, phone number, number of Certificates requested, and the name of the person requesting the additional Certificates.  Lane must keep on hand sufficient number of Certificates of Safety to issue to rejected vehicles returning for retest.  If the original test lane has no Certificates on hand, the test fee must be refunded to the vehicle owner so he can go to another test lane for a safety test.

h)         A Certificate of Safety shall be issued to any vehicle of the second division which passes the Safety Test and Test Specifications.

i)          The Certificate of Safety shall be issued by the Station and affixed by the Certified Safety Tester in numerical sequence, starting with the lowest serial number and proceeding in strict ascending sequence through the highest serial number.  Such numerical progression shall be directly related to the passage of time and date of tests performed.

j)          Each Certificate of Safety issued by the Station shall be accounted for on the Vehicle Inspection Report which has been truthfully and accurately completed with all required information.  No Station Owner or Certified Safety Tester shall issue, nor shall any person accept, obtain, or attempt to obtain, a Certificate of Safety for a vehicle which has not completely and satisfactorily passed a Safety Test as set forth in these Rules.  Possession by a vehicle owner or operator of a Certificate of Safety which is not firmly affixed to a vehicle, or is affixed in other than the prescribed location shall be prima facie evidence of obtaining a Certificate of Safety without a Safety test.  Said possession shall also be prima facie evidence that the Certified Safety Tester issued the Certificate of Safety without a Safety Test.  Any Certificate of Safety which is obtained without an actual Safety Test and contrary to these Rules and Regulations shall be of no benefit nor advantage to the vehicle owner or operator.  If, as the result of an Administrative Hearing or filing of voluntary Waiver of Hearing, the Secretary of the Department makes a determination of a defendant's guilt, each Certificate of Safety involved in the action shall be confiscated immediately by personnel of the Department from any person possessing illegally obtained Certificates or from any vehicle displaying illegally obtained Certificates or from any vehicle display illegally obtained Certificates.  The Department assumes no liability for the cost of reinspection of such vehicles.

k)         Each Certificate of Safety illegally issued or illegally obtained shall be separate and distinct violation of these Rules.

l)          Any vehicle which is exempted by the Illinois Department of Transportation or by Illinois Revised Statutes, Chapter 95½, Illinois Vehicle Code, Section 13-101, et seq., as amended, may be safety tested and a Certificate of Safety issued provided the vehicle passes the Safety Test and Test Specifications.  Such Certificate shall not be displayed after its expiration date.

m)        The Certificate of Safety shall become void if removed.  Any such void Certificate shall not be re-affixed to the same vehicle or a different vehicle.  If the original Certificate is mutilated, destroyed, or voided within sixty days through normal wear or replacement of vehicle parts, the vehicle owner shall immediately return the vehicle to the original issuing Station, which will issue a replacement Certificate without additional charge.  The old Certificate, if available, must be returned to the Section on Form No. SVI-1280.  The Station shall initiate a new Vehicle Inspection Report by completing the face thereof, and coding the "Replacement C/S" field in Item No. 13.  If the vehicle is presented to a Station other than the original, or if more than sixty days has elapsed since the original test was performed, the prescribed fee shall be charged, and an inspection form shall be completed.

n)         A police report must be presented to the station owner by the driver of a vehicle who requests a replacement for a lost, destroyed or stolen Certificate of Safety.

o)         Certificates of Safety shall not be written upon, stamped, or defaced by any person.

p)         No person shall duplicate, alter, reproduce, manufacture or create by any manner or means a Certificate of Safety or facsimile thereof.  Such persons shall be prosecuted for forgery under the Illinois Revised Statutes, Chap. 38, Sec. 17.3.

q)         Each damaged or mutilated Certificate must be returned to the Section, by Certified Mail, attached to Form No. SVI-1280.  (See also, Section 448.100(c)(5)).

r)          No Station shall borrow or receive any Certificate of Safety from another Station, nor shall any Station lend or give any Certificate to another Station.  All Certificates must be received from the Vehicle Inspection Section Office or authorized personnel of the Department.

s)         Each and every unused Certificate of Safety issued to the Station shall be immediately returned by the owner to the Section by Certified Mail or authorized personnel of the Department if testing operations are discontinued.

t)          Illinois Law, in Sections 13-101 and 13-114 of the Illinois Vehicle Code (Illinois Revised Statutes, Chapter 95½), exempts certain vehicles from submitting to a safety test and displaying an Illinois Certificate of Safety.

u)         Emergency Procedures for reordering Certificates of Safety:

1)         Send telegram to:

Department of Transportation

Vehicle Inspection Section

DC TL OK

Sangamon County Illinois

2)         Note:  The reorder for Certificates of Safety will not be processed if any of the following information is not included in the telegram.

A)        Number of Certificates of Safety requested.

B)        Complete test lane number (4 digits).

C)        Complete name of Official Testing Station.

D)        City in which test land is located.

E)         Full name of person sending telegram.

F)         Complete telephone number of lane.

3)         You may pick up a Certificate reorder by presenting a completed order card, Form No. SVI-1274, at:

Vehicle Inspection Section

320 W. Washington 2nd floor

Springfield, Illinois