California Vehicle Code § 16028(a) VC requires you to carry proof of financial responsibility while driving. “Proof of financial responsibility” simply means proof of automobile insurance.
If you are caught driving without car insurance in California, you will be cited for an infraction. A first offense carries fines of $100 to $200 plus penalty assessments. Successive offenses within three years carry fines of $200 to $500 plus penalty assessments (usually totaling $1,200).1
Although this rarely happens, the court also has the discretion to impound your vehicle “for good cause shown.” The registered owner can retrieve the car upon showing evidence of financial responsibility.
In this article, our California criminal defense attorneys will address the following key issues regarding proof of car insurance:
- 1. Producing Proof of Insurance
- 2. Minimum Required Insurance
- 3. Affording Insurance
- 4. If You Stop Driving Your Car
- 5. Out-of-State Insurance
- 6. What is bodily injury liability insurance?
- 7. Defenses
- Additional Reading
1. Producing Proof of Insurance
California Vehicle Code 16028(a) requires you to produce proof of insurance if either:
- a police officer asks for it,
- you get into an accident,
- you register your car or renew your registration, or
- your car gets inspected.2
A police officer cannot stop you for the sole purpose of determining if you have proof of insurance. Rather, officers can ask for this proof once they have other justifications for stopping a vehicle (such as speeding).3
Acceptable proofs of insurance are:
- the insurance card that is given to you by the insurance carrier,
- a letter that is authorized by the California DMV if you made a cash deposit or are self-insured,
- a California Proof of Insurance Certificate (SR-22) form,
- evidence that the vehicle is owned or leased by a public entity,
- a Notification of Alternative Forms of Responsibility (REG 5085) form, or
- a Statement of Facts (REG 256) form.4
VC 16028 is the statute that makes it a California infraction not to carry proof of insurance in your vehicle.
2. Minimum Required Insurance
The minimum liability insurance requirements for private passenger vehicles in California are:
- $30,000 for injury/death to one person,
- $60,000 for injury/death to more than one person, and
- $15,000 for damage to property.5
Note that comprehensive or collision insurance and med pay do not satisfy VC 16028(a) requirements. Also, California law does not require drivers to carry uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/IM) coverage.
3. Affording Insurance
If you cannot afford automobile insurance, you may be eligible for the Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program. Information about this program is available at:
- mylowcostauto.com or
- by calling 1-866-602-8861.
Failing to carry proof of insurance does not carry DMV points.
4. If You Stop Driving Your Car
You can cancel your insurance if you stop driving for whatever reason. If you do, you have to submit an Affidavit of Non-Use (ANU) (REG 5090) form to the DMV.
You may obtain this form either:
- online at dmv.ca.gov,
- by calling the automated voice system at 1-800-777-0133, or
- by mail to one of the DMV addresses.
5. Out-of-State Insurance
You may live in California and carry insurance from another state if:
- you spend several months of the year in the other state, or
- you are attending college in the other state.
Otherwise, you risk committing auto insurance fraud, which may result in:
- your license being revoked,
- your insurance getting canceled, and
- you going to county jail.
If you cannot afford insurance, contact the Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program.
6. What is bodily injury liability insurance?
California law requires vehicle owners to maintain bodily injury liability insurance in case they injure someone in an accident. Such insurance pays the other party’s:
- medical bills,
- lost wages, and
- other damages
up to the at-fault driver’s policy limits.
Bodily injury liability insurance in California must be a minimum of so-called “30/60” insurance.6 This means that for any single accident the insurance will cover up to:
- $30,000 for the death or bodily injury of one person, or
- $60,000 total for the wrongful death or bodily liability of all people hurt or killed in the accident.
Policies with limits greater than 30/60 are sold by most California insurers.
7. Fighting the Charge
As a non-moving violation in California, a 16028(a) VC ticket is often referred to as a “fix-it” ticket or “correctable offense.” This is because the court should dismiss the case for a $25 fee if you can show you had insurance at the time you were cited.
In our experience, prosecutors may be open to reducing your fine or even dismissing your charge if you get insurance soon after the violation.
In most cases, your attorney can appear in court without you having to personally be there.
If you are cited for not carrying insurance, you may be able to get the charge dismissed or a reduced fine if you purchase insurance right away.
Additional Reading
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
- When Bodily Injury Limits are Stacked Jurisprudential Consistency Topples – Illinois University Law Journal.
- Determining the Scope of Bodily Injury or Property Damage under the Comprehensive General Liability Policy – Idaho Law Review.
- Costly State Falsification or Verification? Theory and Evidence from Bodily Injury Liability Claims – Automobile Insurance: Road Safety, New Drivers, Risks, Insurance Fraud and Regulation.
- Litigation Patterns in Automobile Bodily Injury Claims 1977–1997: Effects of Time and Tort Reforms – Journal of Risk and Insurance.
- Periodic Payments of Bodily Injury Awards – American Bar Association Journal.
Legal References:
- California Vehicle Code 16029 VC. SB 1107. See also Robinson v. City of San Diego (S.D. Cal. 2013) 954 F. Supp. 2d 1010.
- California Vehicle Code 16028 VC.
(a) Upon the demand of a peace officer pursuant to subdivision (b) or upon the demand of a peace officer or traffic collision investigator pursuant to subdivision (c), every person who drives a motor vehicle upon a highway shall provide evidence of financial responsibility for the vehicle that is in effect at the time the demand is made. The evidence of financial responsibility may be provided using a mobile electronic device. However, a peace officer shall not stop a vehicle for the sole purpose of determining whether the vehicle is being driven in violation of this subdivision.
(b) If a notice to appear is issued for any alleged violation of this code, except a violation specified in Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 22500) of Division 11 or any local ordinance adopted pursuant to that chapter, the cited driver shall furnish written evidence of financial responsibility or may provide electronic verification of evidence of financial responsibility using a mobile electronic device upon request of the peace officer issuing the citation. The peace officer shall request and verify the driver’s evidence of financial responsibility, as specified in Section 16020. If the driver fails to provide evidence of financial responsibility at the time the notice to appear is issued, the peace officer may issue the driver a notice to appear for violation of subdivision (a). The notice to appear for violation of subdivision (a) shall be written on the same citation form as the original violation.
(c) If a peace officer, or a regularly employed and salaried employee of a city or county who has been trained as a traffic collision investigator, is summoned to the scene of an accident described in Section 16000, the driver of a motor vehicle that is in any manner involved in the accident shall furnish written evidence of financial responsibility or may provide electronic verification of evidence of financial responsibility using a mobile electronic device upon the request of the peace officer or traffic collision investigator. If the driver fails to provide evidence of financial responsibility when requested, the peace officer may issue the driver a notice to appear for violation of subdivision (a). A traffic collision investigator may cause a notice to appear to be issued for a violation of subdivision (a), upon review of that citation by a peace officer.
(d) (1) If, at the time a notice to appear for a violation of subdivision (a) is issued, the person is driving a motor vehicle owned or leased by the driver’s employer, and the vehicle is being driven with the permission of the employer, this section shall apply to the employer rather than the driver. In that case, a notice to appear shall be issued to the employer rather than the driver, and the driver may sign the notice on behalf of the employer.
(2) The driver shall notify the employer of the receipt of the notice issued pursuant to paragraph (1) not later than five days after receipt.
(e) A person issued a notice to appear for a violation of subdivision (a) may personally appear before the clerk of the court, as designated in the notice to appear, and provide written evidence of financial responsibility in a form consistent with Section 16020, showing that the driver was in compliance with that section at the time the notice to appear for violating subdivision (a) was issued. In lieu of the personal appearance, the person may submit by mail to the court written evidence of having had financial responsibility at the time the notice to appear was issued. Upon receipt by the clerk of that written evidence of financial responsibility in a form consistent with Section 16020, further proceedings on the notice to appear for the violation of subdivision (a) shall be dismissed.
(f) For the purposes of this section, “mobile electronic device” means a portable computing and communication device that has a display screen with touch input or a miniature keyboard.
(g) For the purposes of this section, when a person provides evidence of financial responsibility using a mobile electronic device to a peace officer, the peace officer shall only view the evidence of financial responsibility and is prohibited from viewing any other content on the mobile electronic device.
(h) If a person presents a mobile electronic device pursuant to this section, that person assumes all liability for any damage to the mobile electronic device.
- See same. See also People v. Verdugo (2007), 150 Cal.App.4th Supp. 1.
- California DMV Website – Financial Responsibility (Insurance) Requirements for Vehicle Registration (FFVR 18).
- California Insurance Code 11580.1b. See also California DMV Website – Financial Responsibility (Insurance).
- Same.