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 cancelled and the date
A lapse in insurance coverage can also occur between the date you register your vehicle and the date your new insurance coverage begins. 1 See Respond to DMV insurance letters and orders [1] for instructions on how to resolve an insurance lapse.
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 [2].
Do not drive any vehicle that is not insured.
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 [3] if it is revoked.
Your insurance company must notify the DMV electronically if
In your response to the DMV letter you must either
If you have insurance coverage, also ask your insurance company (do not ask your agent or broker) to file an electronic notice of insurance coverage with the DMV.
If you do not have auto liability insurance, you must surrender your vehicle plates to the DMV [4] immediately.
Remember this simple rule: no insurance, no plates!
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.
No. The DMV will not issue a new registration if the DMV determines that the purpose of the new registration is to avoid the suspension.
The DMV will not issue a registration if the applicant for the new registration
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 a local DMV Office.
If your registration has not expired, you must surrender your plates. A driver license becomes suspended when the lapse is 91 days or more or if the time period of the lapse has not yet been determined. To determine the lapse period
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.