§ 20-309. Financial responsibility prerequisite to registration; must be maintained throughout registration period.
Article 13.
The Vehicle FinancialResponsibility Act of 1957.
§ 20‑309. Financialresponsibility prerequisite to registration; must be maintained throughoutregistration period.
(a) No motor vehicleshall be registered in this State unless the owner at the time of registrationprovides proof of financial responsibility for the operation of such motorvehicle, as provided in this Article. The owner of each motor vehicleregistered in this State shall maintain financial responsibility continuouslythroughout the period of registration.
(a1) An owner of acommercial motor vehicle, as defined in G.S. 20‑4.01(3d), shall havefinancial responsibility for the operation of the motor vehicle in an amountequal to that required for for‑hire carriers transporting nonhazardousproperty in interstate or foreign commerce in 49 C.F.R. § 387.9.
(b) Financialresponsibility shall be a liability insurance policy or a financial securitybond or a financial security deposit or by qualification as a self‑insurer,as these terms are defined and described in Article 9A, Chapter 20 of theGeneral Statutes of North Carolina, as amended.
(c) When it iscertified that financial responsibility is a liability insurance policy, theCommissioner of Motor Vehicles may require that the owner produce records toprove the fact of such insurance, and failure to produce such records shall beprima facie evidence that no financial responsibility exists with regard to thevehicle concerned. It shall be the duty of insurance companies, upon request ofthe Division, to verify the accuracy of any owner's certification.
(d) When liabilityinsurance with regard to any motor vehicle is terminated by cancellation orfailure to renew, or the owner's financial responsibility for the operation ofany motor vehicle is otherwise terminated, the owner shall forthwith surrenderthe registration certificate and plates of the vehicle to the Division of MotorVehicles unless financial responsibility is maintained in some other manner incompliance with this Article.
(e) Repealed by SessionLaws 2006‑213, s. 5, effective July 1, 2008, and applicable to lapsesoccurring on or after that date.
(f) The Commissionershall administer and enforce the provisions of this Article and may make rulesand regulations necessary for its administration and shall provide for hearingsupon request of persons aggrieved by orders or acts of the Commissioner underthe provisions of this Article.
(g) Repealed by SessionLaws 2007‑484, s. 7(a), effective July 1, 2008, and applicable to lapsesoccurring on or after that date.
(h) Recodified as G.S.20‑311(g) by Session Laws 2007‑484, s. 7(d), effective July 1,2008, and applicable to lapses occurring on or after that date. (1957, c. 1393, s. 1; 1959,c. 1277, s. 1; 1963, c. 964, s. 1; 1965, c. 272; c. 1136, ss. 1, 2; 1967, c.822, ss. 1, 2; c. 857, ss. 1, 2; 1971, c. 477, ss. 1, 2; c. 924; 1975, c. 302;c. 348, ss. 1‑3; c. 716, s. 5; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1279, s. 1; 1981, c.690, s. 25; 1983, c. 761, s. 146; 1983 (Reg. Sess., 1984), c. 1069, ss. 1, 2;1985, c. 666, s. 84; 1991, c. 402, s. 1; 1999‑330, s. 4; 1999‑452,s. 20; 2000‑140, s. 100(a); 2000‑155, s. 20; 2005‑276, s.6.37(p); 2006‑213, s. 5; 2006‑264, s. 38; 2007‑484, ss. 7(a),(d); 2009‑550, s. 4.)