Quick answer: In Maryland, driving an uninsured car is a criminal misdemeanor under Md. Code, Transp. § 17-107 — not a ticket you can pay online. A first offense carries up to 1 year in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000, plus 5 points on your record, and it is a must-appear charge. Running alongside it is a separate MVA insurance-lapse penalty under § 17-106: $200 for a lapse of 1 to 30 days, then $7 a day from day 31, capped at $3,500 in a 12-month period, plus automatic registration suspension. You can face both at once, and a lawyer can often get the § 17-107 charge reduced, dismissed, or resolved with probation before judgment so nothing lands on your record.
I’m David Waranch, and as a Maryland driving an uninsured car lawyer I’ve handled thousands of traffic and criminal-traffic cases across the state. Most of my uninsured-driving clients are not scofflaws — a payment bounced, an insurer canceled a policy, or an MVA notice never arrived. Here is how the two penalty tracks work, which numbers are current, and the moves that change the outcome.
Two Penalties, Not One: § 17-107 vs. § 17-106
The single most expensive misunderstanding I see is treating an uninsured-driving problem as one thing. It is two. One is the criminal charge a police officer writes at a traffic stop; the other is a civil fee the MVA assesses the moment your coverage lapses, whether or not anyone ever pulls you over. They are handled in different places, by different agencies, and paying or clearing one does nothing to the other.
| § 17-107 criminal charge | § 17-106 MVA lapse penalty | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Criminal misdemeanor | Civil/administrative fee |
| Who imposes it | The District Court | The MVA |
| Trigger | Driving the uninsured vehicle | Any lapse in required coverage |
| Cost | Up to $1,000 fine (up to 1 year jail, first offense) | $200 for 1–30 days, then $7/day, capped at $3,500 per year |
| Points | 5 points | None |
| How it clears | Court appearance; PBJ possible | Restore coverage and pay the fee to lift the suspension |
This page is the defense-focused overview. If you want the plain-English explainer of the law itself, our informational page on driving without insurance in Maryland covers the basics, and our overview of insurance lapse and license suspension walks through the MVA reinstatement steps.
What Does § 17-107 Actually Prohibit?
The criminal charge lives in Md. Code, Transp. § 17-107, and it reaches both the driver and the owner of the vehicle:
“A person who knows or has reason to know that a motor vehicle is not covered by the required security may not drive the vehicle or, if the person is an owner, knowingly permit another person to drive it.”
The word that matters is knowledge. To convict, the State has to show you knew — or had reason to know — the car was uninsured. The statute lets prosecutors introduce the MVA’s records showing no coverage on file as prima facie evidence of that knowledge, but that is a rebuttable presumption, not an automatic conviction. If you never received the lapse notice, if the insurer canceled without proper warning, or if the “gap” was a records error, that knowledge element is exactly where a defense goes to work. If you were in fact insured the whole time, that is a very winnable case — see what to do when you’re charged with driving uninsured but had insurance.
What Are the Penalties for Driving an Uninsured Car?
Section 17-107 is a misdemeanor, and the ceiling climbs for a repeat offense. Here is what the statute authorizes on conviction:
| Offense | Maximum penalty | MVA points | Ticket type |
|---|---|---|---|
| First offense | Up to 1 year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine | 5 points | Must appear |
| Second or subsequent | Up to 2 years in jail and/or a $1,000 fine | 5 points | Must appear |
The 5 points come from Transp. § 16-402(a)(21), which assigns 5 points to any violation of § 17-107 — enough on its own to trigger MVA action. Our guide to Maryland’s point system shows how that adds up. The jail figures are ceilings a judge can impose, not what a typical first-time driver receives, but a conviction leaves a permanent misdemeanor entry that insurers can see and price against for years. Because § 17-107 is a must-appear charge, there is no box to check and no fine to prepay online — the only way through is a court date.
Paying the MVA fee does not make the court charge go away. These are two separate cases. A § 17-107 charge is a must-appear criminal matter with no fine to prepay — so the way to protect your record is to appear and ask for a reduction, dismissal, or probation before judgment under Crim. Proc. § 6-220, which keeps the conviction and the 5 points off your history. Missing the date can bring a bench warrant.
The MVA Insurance-Lapse Penalty (§ 17-106)
The second track is the fee the MVA assesses whenever required coverage lapses, under Transp. § 17-106. It applies even if a police officer never stopped you — the lapse itself is the trigger. Under the current statute the MVA may charge:
- $200 per vehicle for a lapse of 1 to 30 days;
- $7 for each additional day beginning on the 31st day; and
- a cap of $3,500 per violation in any 12-month period.
Older MVA letters and websites still quote $150 and a $2,500 cap — those figures are out of date; the current numbers are $200 and $3,500. On top of the fee, § 17-106 suspends your vehicle’s registration automatically once a lapse is reported, requires you to surrender your tags and registration within 48 hours of notice, and can lead to a suspension of your driver’s license if you don’t return the plates. To lift the suspension you must submit certified proof of new coverage and pay the penalty. The MVA won’t reinstate, renew, or issue registration for any vehicle you own until the fee is paid — and you can’t dodge it by transferring the car to a family member. This entire track runs through the MVA, not the court, which is why so many drivers who “took care of the ticket” are stunned to find the registration side still open.
What Coverage Does Maryland Require?
Under Transp. § 17-103, the minimum liability coverage is 30/60/15: up to $30,000 for bodily injury to one person, up to $60,000 total when two or more people are hurt, and up to $15,000 for property damage. Maryland policies must also include personal injury protection (PIP) and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage unless those are properly waived or rejected in writing. Any drop below this minimum — including a policy an insurer cancels for nonpayment — is what exposes you to both the § 17-107 charge and the § 17-106 lapse fee. There is no “SR-22” requirement in Maryland; the state polices lapses through the MVA fee-and-suspension system described above, not through the SR-22 certificates some other states use.
How a Vehicle Ends Up Uninsured
A charge under § 17-107 does not mean you set out to break the law. In case after case the lapse traces back to something ordinary:
- A missed or late payment, or a card on auto-pay that expired;
- A policy the insurer canceled or failed to renew without clear notice;
- A gap while switching companies;
- An administrative error — a wrong VIN, a mismatched registration, or expired proof of insurance;
- An MVA lapse notice that went to an old address and never reached you.
Each of these can produce a charge even though you believed the car was covered — and each is a factual thread that matters, both to the knowledge element of the criminal case and to whether the MVA penalty can be reduced. If a crash was involved on top of the lapse, our page on insurance and hit-and-run covers how those pieces interact.
How a Maryland Uninsured-Driving Lawyer Can Help
The goal in these cases is to keep a conviction and the 5 points off your record while you clear the MVA side and get back on the road. Here is how I approach a § 17-107 case:
- Pull your full MVA record to find the real cause — a lapse, a billing error, or a notice you never received;
- Help you reinstate valid coverage and clear the § 17-106 registration suspension before your court date;
- Test whether the State can actually prove you knew, or had reason to know, the car was uninsured;
- Negotiate for a reduction, a dismissal, or probation before judgment under Crim. Proc. § 6-220 — and, where the court allows it, appear for you.
Walking into court already insured and already compliant changes how a prosecutor and judge see the case, which is why that work starts the day you hire us. If you’re facing charges outside the Baltimore area, our Prince George’s County driving without insurance lawyer page covers that court, and because a conviction follows you to your premiums, our overview of how insurers treat traffic convictions explains what’s at stake for your rates.
Yes. Under Transp. § 17-107 it is a criminal misdemeanor, not a payable ticket. A first offense carries up to 1 year in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000, plus 5 points, and it is a must-appear charge. A second or subsequent offense raises the jail ceiling to 2 years. A lawyer can often get it reduced, dismissed, or resolved with probation before judgment.
Under Transp. § 17-106 the MVA charges $200 for a lapse of 1 to 30 days, then $7 for each additional day beginning on the 31st day, capped at $3,500 per violation in a 12-month period. It also suspends your registration and requires you to surrender your tags. This fee is separate from the § 17-107 court charge, and older $150 and $2,500 figures are out of date.
Often, yes. Restoring valid coverage before court lets your lawyer push for a reduction, dismissal, or probation before judgment under Crim. Proc. § 6-220. A PBJ means no conviction is entered, so the 5 points and the misdemeanor stay off your record. Getting insured again also lets you clear the MVA registration suspension under § 17-106.
Law Offices of David R. Waranch — 301-563-9575 · toll-free 1-877-566-2408. Hablamos Español.
Last updated: August 2026. Statutory references: Md. Code, Transp. § 17-103, § 17-106, § 17-107, § 16-402; Crim. Proc. § 6-220. This page is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.