What is prohibited
49 U.S.C. 32703 is titled “Preventing tampering”, and it reads:
(1) advertise for sale, sell, use, install, or have installed, a device that makes an odometer of a motor vehicle register a mileage different from the mileage the vehicle was driven, as registered by the odometer within the designed tolerance of the manufacturer of the odometer;
(2) disconnect, reset, alter, or have disconnected, reset, or altered, an odometer of a motor vehicle intending to change the mileage registered by the odometer;
(3) with intent to defraud, operate a motor vehicle on a street, road, or highway if the person knows that the odometer of the vehicle is disconnected or not operating; or
(4) conspire to violate this section or section 32704 or 32705 of this title.”
Note limb (3). Driving a truck whose odometer is known to be broken is inside the section, with intent to defraud as the element that has to be met. A broken odometer is not itself a violation — the intent is.
49 U.S.C. 32703.
The penalties
| Civil penalty | “a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each violation”, counted separately per vehicle or device, with a maximum of $1,000,000 for a related series of violations. |
| Criminal penalty | “A person that knowingly and willfully violates this chapter… shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 3 years, or both.” |
| And it reaches individuals | Criminal liability extends to directors, officers and individual agents who knowingly and willfully authorise, order or perform the act. |
49 U.S.C. 32709.
The buyer’s own action
This is the limb that actually gets used, and it is why odometer claims are worth taking seriously even on a truck that never needed a disclosure.
| Damages | A person who violates the chapter “with intent to defraud, is liable for 3 times the actual damages or $10,000, whichever is greater”. |
| Where | A United States district court, or another court of competent jurisdiction. |
| When | “The action must be brought not later than 2 years after the claim accrues.” |
| Costs | The court “shall award costs and a reasonable attorney’s fee” to a successful claimant. |
“With intent to defraud” is the gate. An honest “not actual mileage” statement is the opposite of a violation — it is the certification the regulation provides for. The three certifications →
49 U.S.C. 32710.
The practical version
If the odometer has been replaced, has stopped, or has rolled past its mechanical limit, the answer is to say so and to certify it that way rather than to estimate a number. That is what the form is for, and it is the difference between a disclosed fact and an allegation of fraud.
Current as of 14 September 2026. This page describes rules, not your situation, and it is information rather than legal advice. Rules change; the linked official source is always the current one.