An insurance lapse means that there is no liability insurance coverage for a vehicle registered in New York State for a period of time. If there is a lapse of insurance for a vehicle registered to you, the DMV can suspend your registration and driver license.

Any amount of time that your vehicle is registered but not insured can cause a lapse in your insurance coverage. An insurance lapse can occur between the date your insurance is canceled and the date

• your new insurance begins
• you surrender your vehicle plates
• your registration expires
• 'other proof' of insurance (for example, a vehicle registered in another state, or a vehicle repossessed or impounded) is valid
• your insurance company reinstates your insurance coverage

A lapse in insurance coverage can also occur between the date you register your vehicle and the date your new insurance coverage begins.

If the registration suspension period is more than 90 days, you must surrender your vehicle registration and plates. The DMV will also suspend your driver license. Your driver license will be suspended for the same number of days as your registration suspension. To reinstate your driver license, you must pay the DMV a $50 license suspension termination fee.

Do Not Drive Your Vehicle Without Insurance Coverage

If you do not have valid auto liability insurance coverage for your vehicle, you must immediately surrender your registration and vehicle plates. Motorcycle plates do not have to be surrendered to DMV when auto liability insurance lapses. However, it is illegal to operate a motorcycle when it does not have proper auto liability insurance.

Remember this simple rule: no insurance, no plates!

• keep the address for your vehicle registration and driver license current with the DMV
• have liability coverage from a company licensed by the NYS Department of Financial Services and authorized by the NYS DMV (out-of-state coverage is never acceptable on any vehicle registered in New York)
• have your insurance company report any changes to the DMV immediately (for more information, see Changes to my insurance policy)
• keep insurance coverage on your vehicle for as long as it is registered in New York
• respond to DMV Insurance Letters and Orders immediately
• surrender your vehicle registration and license plates to DMV before your New York State coverage ends for any reason

If you operate a vehicle without insurance coverage you could be arrested or ticketed, your vehicle could be impounded by a law enforcement officer, and the DMV will revoke your registration and your driver license . Your license and registration will be suspended, and you will need to pay fines and penalties.

If your vehicle does not have insurance and you or someone else driving your uninsured vehicle are involved in a traffic crash, the DMV will revoke your driver license and vehicle registration for at least one year.

The traffic court fine could be as much as $1,500 for driving without insurance or allowing another person to drive your uninsured vehicle. You will also need to pay the DMV a $750 civil penalty to restore your driver license if it is revoked. 

No one else can register your vehicle for you while the registration is suspended. The DMV will not issue a registration if the applicant for the new registration

• has the same last name as the registrant whose registration is suspended, or
• resides at the same address as the registrant whose registration is suspended

The DMV will not issue a registration to any person unless that person makes a sworn statement on form FS-2. The statement certifies that the purpose of the application in not to avoid the results from the current suspension. The local DMV Office determines if the application will be accepted or rejected.

Form FS-2 is available only at your local DMV Office.

If you sell a vehicle and receive a letter from the DMV about an insurance lapse, bring the letter you received and proof that you sold the vehicle to a local DMV office. Proof that you sold the vehicle can be 

• a bill of sale 
  • Only the person whose name appears on the title has the authority to sell a vehicle. If there are two individuals listed on the title, either person can sell the vehicle. If the vehicle is titled to a business, the vehicle can be sold by a member of the business.  
• a statement on letterhead from the organization that received the vehicle as a donation
• trade in documentation

The bill of sale or the documentation must include

• the date of the sale
• the name and address of the seller 
• the name and address of the buyer
• a description of the vehicle that includes the year, the make, and the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

If you don't want to come to an office, you can mail the proofs and the bottom part of the letter you received from the DMV to the Financial Security Bureau.

If you mail a notarized statement, it must be the original statement. Other proofs can be originals or legible copies. To prevent a problem when you sell a vehicle, remove the vehicle plates and the windshield registration sticker. Surrender the vehicle plates to the DMV or immediately transfer them to another vehicle.

Report your stolen vehicle to the police immediately. The items listed below will need to be obtained from the police. 

• A completed 'Statement of Lost, Stolen or Confiscated Items' (MV-78B)
• A copy of the police stolen vehicle report - the report must show the date of theft and include the vehicle year, make, and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

Bring the letter about the lapse of insurance, along with the 'Statement of Lost, Stolen or Confiscated Items' (MV-78B) or the stolen vehicle report to a DMV office. You can also mail the documents (copies are acceptable) to the Financial Security Bureau. 

See location, instructions and reservation information for your DMV

If your vehicle was impounded and you received a letter or order from the DMV about a lapse of auto liability insurance on the vehicle, mail the letter from the DMV and proof that the vehicle was impounded to the DMV (our address is below). The proof of impoundment is a receipt from the agency that impounded the vehicle. The proof of impoundment must include all of the following

• the date the vehicle was impounded and the number of days of impoundment
• the name and address of the registrant
• a statement that the vehicle was not returned to you
• a description of the vehicle that includes the year, make, and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

If the agency that impounded the vehicle sold it, mail both

• the proof of impoundment
• a copy of the bill of sale

The bill of sale must include the date of the sale and a description of the vehicle that includes the year, the make, and the vehicle identification number.

If the vehicle was returned to you, mail the following to the Financial Security Bureau: 

• Impoundment receipt (a legible copy is acceptable)
• Documentation from impounding facility showing the date the vehicle was returned
• New York State Insurance ID Card with an effective date on or after the cancellation date

Mail these to the DMV Financial Security Bureau: 

• The bottom part of the letter from the DMV about the lapse of insurance
• A copy of the Notice of Repossession that includes
  • the date of repossession
  • the name and address of the registrant
  • the vehicle year, make, and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

If you do not have a Notice of Repossession, mail a letter written on the lending institution (lienholder) letterhead and signed by an official of the loan company. The letter must

• verify that the vehicle was repossessed and provide the date of repossession. If the vehicle was returned to you, the letter from the lienholder must indicate the date the vehicle was repossessed and the date the vehicle was returned to you. You must also have current proof of auto liability insurance or you must surrender your registration and plates.
• include the name and address of the registrant
• include the vehicle year, make, and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

A driver license becomes suspended when the insurance lapse is 91 days or more or if the time period of the lapse has not yet been determined. To determine the lapse period

• the plates must be surrendered, or
• the plates must be reported lost/stolen/confiscated, or
• the registration must expire, or
• the plates must be transferred to another vehicle by DMV, or
• DMV must receive proof of new or reinstated insurance, or
• DMV must receive other acceptable proof

Once the lapse is determined, the registration, and if the lapse period is 91 days or more, your driver license will also be suspended for the same number of days. The suspensions may not be effective on the same date. Therefore, you may serve the suspension on the driver license first or you may serve the suspension on the registration first. The suspension on the driver license will not end until you have paid the suspension termination fee and have served the suspension