Vehicle Insurance

• General Information
• Insurance Requirements
• How Nevada LIVE Works
• Registration Reinstatement
• Canceling Your Insurance or Registration
• Contact Us

Processing Center Payment Authorization (NVL-007)

Vehicle Registration Insurance Suspension Guide (NVL-010)

• Registration Home Page
• Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 485
• Nevada Administrative Code Chapter 485
• Fleet Registration/Self-Insurance
• Nevada LIVE for Agents and Companies

Verification requests are time sensitive documents. Please complete our online Insurance Verification Response or fill out and mail the card immediately.

Call for more information.

You must surrender your license plates before you cancel or drop the liability insurance on any vehicle for any reason. 

If you are new to Nevada, you must notify your insurance company that you have moved here. Many large, national companies do business in multiple states; however, your policy must be written for Nevada. Out of state insurance will not be accepted.

Insurance companies are licensed and regulated by the Nevada Division of Insurance. See the DOI Consumer Guide to Auto Insurance Rates.

You may verify whether an insurance company is properly licensed in Nevada online at Nevada Insurance Alert or by calling 1-888-467-4195. The Division of Insurance also offers Sircon Compliance Express that lists agencies and agents.

The State of Nevada requires that all registered motor vehicles be covered by liability insurance. An Evidence of Insurance card must be presented at the time of new registration, in-person renewal or when obtaining different license plates. You must also keep this in your vehicle at all times.

The Department of Motor Vehicles has established the Nevada LIVE (Liability Insurance Validation Electronically) program to identify uninsured motorists. Through the use of computer programs in partnership with Nevada insurance companies, we have been very successful in identifying registration records where insurance has been terminated and no new policy issued.

Motorists who have dropped their insurance are asked first to verify their coverage. If there is no response or the coverage cannot be validated, the DMV notifies the owner through a certified letter and then suspends the registration. Use our Registration Status Inquiry to see whether your registration is currently suspended. Please change your address if you have moved.

Uninsured motorists are required to provide current Nevada Evidence of Insurance and pay a $250 reinstatement fee to reinstate a suspended registration. The fee can be reduced to $50 if the motorist has sufficient proof that the vehicle was not operated during the lapse in coverage due to extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the owner.

Nevada law enforcement officers are required to remove the license plates from any vehicle on which the registration has been suspended. They may also impound the vehicle.

Vehicle registration suspensions are administrative actions taken by the Department of Motor Vehicles. They are not criminal charges and will not result in arrest warrants or prosecution.

Nevada LIVE validates insurance coverage with most insurance companies via the web. The company will respond immediately with whether the insurance coverage is active.

Other companies are required to report coverage changes (new policies and terminations) as they occur. These companies send this information to DMV electronically. Individual agents cannot send this information; it must come from the insurance company’s corporate office.

Reported information includes Vehicle Identification Number, the name(s) of the insured, The policy's effective dates, expiration/termination dates and the insured's Nevada driver license or business FEIN number.

It is important the name(s) on your insurance and vehicle registration match. If you change the name on your insurance, you must also change the name on your vehicle registration and title. At least one person's or business name on the registration and the insurance must be the same.

An operator policy may be used in lieu of owner’s policy of liability. Each registered owner of the vehicle must maintain an operator policy in order to meet Nevada’s requirement for liability insurance.

Potentially Uninsured Vehicles
Once a vehicle has been identified as a possible uninsured vehicle, the verification process begins.

If policy information is not available for 30 days or it indicates a lapse in coverage, a postcard will be sent to the registered owner. It asks the owner verify the insurance company's name, policy number, name(s) and Vehicle Identification Number or whether the vehicle has been sold or registered out of state.

Surrender your license plates if your new state allows you to keep them. You must surrender your plates if you drop the liability insurance to store a vehicle. Please change your address if you move.

You have 15 days to respond through our online Insurance Verification Response or by mail. Once we receive your information, the request is forwarded to the insurance company identified on the form. The process ends if the insurance company validates the vehicle was continually covered. The DMV will notify the owner the incident has been resolved.

If the registered owner or the insurance company does not respond, or if the insurance company denies coverage, the vehicle registration is suspended. The owner will receive a certified letter regarding the suspension and must either reinstate the registration or surrender the license plates. If the owner believes the registration was suspended in error, he or she has the right to appeal the action through the Office of Administrative Hearings.

You may check the status of your registration using our online Registration Status Inquiry and your license plate and the last 4 digits of the VIN. Please note only the current status (active, expired, suspended or surrendered) is displayed. Pending suspensions are not shown.

To reinstate a suspended vehicle registration, the owner must provide current evidence of insurance and pay the required reinstatement fee of $250.00. You may reinstate online, at kiosks, in person at a DMV office or by mail or fax using the Processing Center Payment Authorization (NVL-007).

If the owner of the vehicle declares it dormant due to mechanical or seasonal circumstances during the period in question, the owner must sign a Dormant Vehicle Affidavit (NVL-003) and present documentation to verify the status. The reinstatement requirements will then include presenting current proof of insurance and a payment of $50.00.

If the owner of the vehicle experienced extenuating circumstances beyond their control, the owner may complete an affidavit and present original receipts and/or documentation to verify circumstance and time frames. You must visit a DMV office or a County Assessor that offers vehicle registration services. Examples of extenuating circumstances are hospitalization, illness and a death in the family.

Note: If the registration would have been expired on the date of reinstatement, the owner will also have to obtain an emissions inspection, if required, and pay the normal registration renewal fees. You must obtain a one-day movement permit after paying the reinstatement fee to drive the vehicle for an emissions inspection. Show the old registration slip or other proof of ownership at any DMV office.

You may use our online Insurance Verification Reinstatement or self-service kiosks in selected offices if your registration is suspended for an insurance lapse and if you meet the following qualifica tions:

• You have obtained Nevada liability insurance on the vehicle.
• Your insurance company has validated the new coverage.
• You have the certified suspension notification letter from DMV that contains an access code.
• Your vehicle registration is actually suspended or you have been sent a postcard verifying your insurance information.

You will also be given the option to renew your registration if it would be otherwise expired or due for renewal within approximately 35 days.

If you drop the liability insurance on any vehicle for any reason, you must first cancel the registration by surrendering the license plates.

If you cancel your insurance, it is extremely important for you to do the following:

• If you cancel your insurance because your vehicle is not in use, you must first cancel your Nevada registration.
• If you sell your vehicle, you must remove the license plates, then cancel your Nevada registration. The license plates do not stay on the vehicle.
• You will receive credit toward registration of another vehicle for the unused portion of the canceled registration. You may qualify for a refund under certain limited circumstances.
• If you have personalized plates and wish to keep them, you may do so by bringing the rear plate to the DMV and scraping off the decal in person.

See Plate Surrender/Registration Fee Refunds for more details.

Department of Motor Vehicles
Nevada LIVE
555 Wright Way
Carson City, Nevada 89711-0800

(775) 684-4850 Reno/Sparks/Carson City
(702) 486-8696 Las Vegas Area
(800) 344-0483 Rural/Toll Free
(775) 684-4904 TDD (Hearing Impaired only)