                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PROOF OF INSURANCE REQUIRED OF APPLICANTS FOR REGISTRATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES;
VERIFICATION OF INSURANCE; SUSPENSION OF DRIVER&#8217;S LICENSE, REGISTRATION
CERTIFICATES, AND LICENSE PLATES FOR CERTAIN VIOLATIONS (§ 46.2-706)

A. Every person applying for registration of a motor vehicle shall, under the
penalties set forth in &#xA7; 46.2-707, execute and furnish to the Commissioner
his certificate that the motor vehicle is an insured motor vehicle as defined in
&#xA7; 46.2-705, or that the Commissioner has issued to its owner, in accordance
with &#xA7; 46.2-368, a certificate of self-insurance applicable to the vehicle
sought to be registered. The Commissioner, or his duly authorized agent, may
verify that the motor vehicle is properly insured by comparing owner and vehicle
identification information on file at the Department of Motor Vehicles with
liability information on the owner and vehicle transmitted to the Department by
any insurance company licensed to do business in the Commonwealth as provided in
&#xA7; 46.2-706.1. If no record of liability insurance is found, the Department
may require the motor vehicle owner to verify insurance in a method prescribed
by the Commissioner.

B. The refusal or neglect of any owner within 30 days to submit the liability
insurance information when required by the Commissioner or his duly authorized
agent, or the electronic notification by the insurance company or surety company
that the policy or bond named in the certificate of insurance is not in effect,
shall require the Commissioner to suspend any driver&#8217;s license and all
registration certificates and license plates issued to the owner of the motor
vehicle until the person (i) has paid to the Commissioner a noncompliance fee of
$600 to be disposed of as provided for in &#xA7; 46.2-710 and (ii) furnishes
proof of financial responsibility in the future in the manner prescribed in
Article 15 (&#xA7; 46.2-435 et seq.) of Chapter 3. No order of suspension
required by this section shall become effective until the Commissioner has
offered the person an opportunity for an administrative hearing to show cause
why the order should not be enforced. Notice of the opportunity for an
administrative hearing may be included in the order of suspension. Any request
for an administrative hearing made by such person must be received by the
Department within 180 days of the issuance date of the order of suspension
unless the person presents to the Department evidence of military service as
defined by the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. &#xA7; 3901 et
seq.), incarceration, commitment, hospitalization, or physical presence outside
the United States at the time the order of suspension was issued. When three
years have elapsed from the effective date of the suspension required in this
section, the Commissioner may relieve the person of the requirement of
furnishing proof of financial responsibility in the future.

C. The Commissioner shall suspend the driver&#8217;s license and all
registration certificates and license plates of any person on receiving a record
of his conviction of a violation of any provisions of &#xA7; 46.2-707, but the
Commissioner shall dispense with the suspension when the person is convicted for
a violation of &#xA7; 46.2-707 and the Department&#8217;s records show
conclusively that the motor vehicle was insured prior to the date and time of
the alleged offense.

D. The Commissioner may dispense with a suspension for a violation of this
section or &#xA7; 46.2-708 if the person determined to have committed the
violation provides to the Commissioner proof that conclusively shows that the
motor vehicle in question was insured at the time the Department initiated
insurance monitoring under this section or &#xA7; 46.2-706.1 or at the time of a
violation of &#xA7; 46.2-708.

HISTORY: 1958, c. 407, § 46.1-167.1; 1960, c. 188; 1966, c. 181; 1972, cc. 552,
609, 638; 1973, c. 25; 1974, c. 170; 1975, c. 16; 1976, c. 27; 1978, c. 563;
1981, c. 193; 1984, c. 399; 1986, c. 527; 1988, c. 470; 1989, c. 727; 1993, c.
127; 1996, cc. 474, 489; 1998, c. 404; 2012, cc. 151, 471; 2019, cc. 149, 193;
2023, c. 538; 2025, cc. 163, 177.