It's critical to avoid a lapse in your car insurance in New York. Canceling your policy before you've properly transferred or surrendered your vehicle's license plates can lead to severe penalties from the NYS DMV, even if you're not driving the car.

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Selling Your Car? Don't Cancel Your Insurance Until You Read This.

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New York State has a zero-tolerance policy for lapses in auto insurance coverage. The penalties are calculated on a per-day basis and can escalate quickly.

• Hefty Fines: The civil penalty for an insurance lapse is based on the number of days you are uninsured. It can range from $8 to $12 per day, which can add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
• Suspension of Your Driver's License and Registration: If your insurance lapse matches the lapse in your vehicle registration, the DMV will suspend both your driver's license and your vehicle's registration. You'll have to pay the daily fines and a separate $50 fee to lift the suspension.
• Personal Liability in an Accident: If you're involved in an accident without insurance, you are 100% personally responsible for all damages and injuries. This could lead to financial ruin.
• Increased Future Premiums: After a lapse, insurance carriers will view you as a high-risk driver, leading to significantly higher insurance premiums in the future.

The Critical Link: Insurance and NY License Plates

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In New York, your car insurance is directly tied to your vehicle's registration and license plates. As long as a vehicle is registered in your name with NY plates on it, it must be insured. It doesn't matter if the car is parked, stored, or inoperable—if it has plates, it needs insurance.

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When you sell a car in New York, you must follow these steps to avoid an insurance lapse:

1. Remove Your Plates: Before the buyer drives away, you must remove your license plates from the vehicle. Plates stay with the seller in New York, not the car.
2. Turn In Your Plates: You must surrender your license plates to a DMV office as soon as possible. When you do this, you'll receive an FS-6T receipt. This receipt is your official proof that you are no longer responsible for insuring that vehicle.
3. Cancel Your Insurance: Only after you have turned in your plates and have the FS-6T receipt should you contact your insurance company to cancel the policy. Canceling before surrendering the plates will trigger an automatic notification to the DMV, resulting in an insurance lapse and the associated penalties.

Common Questions

• ‍Can I surrender my plates temporarily? Yes. See special procedures to surrender plates for a season (temporary surrender of plates).
• ‍Do I need to surrender motorcycle plates? It’s not necessary to surrender motorcycle plates, but your motorcycle must be insured if you ride it.‍
• Do I need to surrender trailer plates? Even though some trailers are not required to have liability insurance, you must surrender the plate if the trailer does not have a valid registration. ‍
• Do I need to surrender the registration if the plates are lost, destroyed, or stolen?Yes. You need to report plates that are lost, stolen, or destroyed and surrender the registration.  In these cases, the DMV can issue you a new registration and plates.
• ‍Will I receive a refund when I surrender my plates? It depends. See registration refunds for surrendered plates for more information.

Complicated Enough? Let the Experts Handle It for You

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Navigating the DMV's rules for plate transfers, surrenders, and new registrations can be confusing and time-consuming. A simple mistake can lead to costly fines and a suspended license.

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Don't risk it. Let the experts at NY Tag & Title handle all your DMV needs quickly and correctly. From surrendering old plates to registering a new vehicle, they ensure the process is done right the first time, helping you avoid any potential insurance lapse penalties.

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Contact nytagandtitle.com today to see how we can simplify your DMV transactions!

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Related Document

PD-7: Plate Surrender Application (PDF) Use to surrender New York State license plates by mail.

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