{"data":{"id":"us-dc/d.c.-code-31-2403","jurisdiction":"us-dc","citation":"D.C. Code § 31-2403","heading":"Required insurance.","body":"(a)\nEach owner of a motor vehicle which is required to be registered or for which a reciprocity sticker is required in the District shall maintain insurance required by § 31-2406. This insurance shall be in effect continuously during the motor vehicle’s period of registration or reciprocity.\n\n(b)\n(1)\nA person who is not a resident of the District who owns a motor vehicle shall not operate the motor vehicle, or permit the motor vehicle to be operated in the District, unless insurance required by § 31-2406 is provided and maintained during the time that the motor vehicle is present in the District.\n(2)\nThe Director shall require adequate proof of insurance as required by this section for nonresident owners or operators prior to the return of motor vehicles immobilized by the Department to the nonresident owners or operators.\n\n(c)\n(1)\nAny policy of motor vehicle insurance which is represented or sold as providing, pursuant to this chapter or pursuant to the coverage required by Chapter 13 of Title 50, security covering a motor vehicle or required insurance shall be deemed to provide insurance for payment of the benefits required by this chapter.\n(2)\nThe insurance required by this section may be provided under a valid policy of insurance issued by an insurer authorized to transact business in the District or by any other method approved by the Commissioner.\n\n(d)\n(1)\n(A)\nEvery person applying to register a motor vehicle in the District or applying for a reciprocity sticker for a motor vehicle in the District shall certify to the Director, on a form supplied by the Director, that the insurance required by this chapter is in effect with respect to that motor vehicle.\n(B)\nThe Director may request an insurer to verify any information provided pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph. The insurer shall accurately respond to the Director’s request within 10 business days.\n(C)\nThe Director may request that the person who has certified to the Director pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph submit proof, within 15 business days, that the required insurance is in effect.\n(2)\n(A)\n(i)-(iii)Repealed.\n(iv)\nIf a person’s registration certificate has been suspended as provided for in this subsection, the registration certificate shall not be transferred and the motor vehicle with respect to which the registration certificate was issued shall not be registered in any other name until the Director is satisfied that the transfer of the registration certificate is in good faith and not for the purpose or with the effect of defeating the purposes of this chapter.\n(v)\nNothing in this section shall affect the rights of any conditional vendor, chattel mortgagee or lessor of the motor vehicle.\n(vi)\nThe Director shall suspend or revoke the registration certificate of any motor vehicle transferred in violation of the provisions of this section.\n(vii)\nDecisions of the Director shall be subject to review by the Mayor. Orders and decisions of the board of review shall be appealable pursuant to § 2-510. For the purposes of this sub-subparagraph, the phrase “review by the Mayor” shall mean a review by any board of review established by the Mayor pursuant to this chapter to review the order or act of any agent of the Mayor.\n(B)\nA motor vehicle with respect to which the registration certificate or reciprocity sticker is suspended under this paragraph may be immobilized by the Department or the Metropolitan Police Department until the insurance required by this section is in effect.\n(C)\nThe registration certificate or reciprocity sticker and the tags of any motor vehicle, the registration or reciprocity of which is suspended under this paragraph, shall be recovered whenever possible.\n(3)\n(A)\nThe Director shall require all insurers authorized to sell motor vehicle insurance in the District to furnish to the Department notice of motor vehicle insurance cancellations within 30 days after the effective date of cancellation. Upon receipt of a notice of cancellation concerning a motor vehicle insurance policy on a vehicle registered in the District, the Director shall notify the person in whose name the vehicle is registered that the Director will revoke or cancel the registration of the vehicle pursuant to law.\n(B)\nThe insurers shall provide information and cooperate in prosecutions under § 31-2413.\n(C)\nThe insurers shall cooperate with, assist, and advise the Director with respect to the detection of persons who have applied for or obtained registration certificate or reciprocity stickers for motor vehicles in the District without first obtaining the insurance, or who cancel or otherwise terminate insurance subsequent to the issuance of a registration certificate or reciprocity stickers.\n(4)\n(A)\nRepealed.\n(B)\nPayments from the Administration Fund shall be made for the benefit of the Commissioner and for the benefit of the Department but no payments shall be made for costs incurred by either the Department or the Commissioner prior to September 18, 1982, or which would probably have been incurred if this chapter had not been enacted.\n(5)\n(A)\nOn the first day of each month, an insurer authorized to sell motor vehicle insurance in the District shall furnish to the Director the following records pertaining to each vehicle insured by it in the District:\n(i)\nThe owner’s full name and address;\n(ii)\nThe insurance policy number or binder number;\n(iii)\nThe commencement date of the motor vehicle insurance policy;\n(iv)\nThe expiration or termination date of the motor vehicle insurance policy;\n(v)\nThe operator’s license number, if known;\n(vi)\nThe corresponding vehicle identification number, if known; and\n(vii)\nOther relevant information the Director may require.\n(B)\nThe records required by this paragraph shall be submitted or transmitted in electronic files and in compliance with procedures established by the Department.\n(C)\nIn lieu of requiring insurers to satisfy the requirements of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the Director may allow insurers to verify insurance through an online insurance verification system.","path":["Title 31. Insurance and Securities.","Chapter 24. Compulsory/No-Fault Motor Vehicle Insurance."],"source_url":"https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/31-2403","current_through":"2026-08-20 (D.C. Law 26-175)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-29T05:44:07Z","sha256":"8b781ff2e35c99939161aedec158d6c8f21df0f6aad018ea49b155b6c21979a1","source_id":"us-dc","stale":false,"prev":"us-dc/d.c.-code-31-2402","next":"us-dc/d.c.-code-31-2403.01"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}