The Statement of Facts is a legal form used to provide sworn testimony to the DMV without going into a physical office. It allows you to explain the "who, what, when, where, and why" of a vehicle transaction.
The California DMV is a bureaucracy. It runs on paper. If you made a mistake (a false fact), the system cannot read your mind. To unwind the error, you must feed the system a correction—the ca dmv unwind statement of facts
When the California DMV needs to untangle a mistake, the tool they reach for is the The Statement of Facts is a legal form
Mail the REG 256 to the DMV’s Vehicle Registration Operations address found on the form, or hand-deliver it to a field office. Unfortunately, "unwinding" usually triggers back fees or correction penalties, so expect to write a check. It runs on paper
The Solution: You file a new REG 256 to "unwind" your promise. You check "Planned Non-Operation (PNO)" or "Sale of Vehicle." You state: "I am unwinding my previous commitment to smog this vehicle. The vehicle is not operational and is currently stored in my garage. I request Non-Operational status effective immediately."
Go to the DMV website and search for REG 256 . Do not use an old version—DMV updates these regularly.
