Annapolis Driving Without Registration Lawyer

Under Maryland law, all drivers must register their car with the MVA to ensure that taxes are paid on the vehicles and that the vehicles meet safety and emissions standards.
There are a number of reasons why someone’s vehicle may not be registered. Such as, simply failing to register a vehicle within the designated time frame, or mistakenly letting the registration lapse. For that reason, an Annapolis driving without registration lawyer will be able to evaluate your case and ensure the best possible outcome.

Penalties of Driving Without Registration

If someone is convicted of driving without registration it is a criminal misdemeanor charge. The maximum penalty for driving without registration is a hefty $500 fine and other potential restrictions on the individual’s driver’s license.
Points are not associated with this type of citation and, as such, will not affect someone’s driving record in that regard. However, it is unusual to see a citation for driving an unregistered car without a citation for driving without insurance. This is because, generally, people whose vehicles are unregistered often do not have insurance.

Driving Without a License Charge

Driving without insurance is a more serious charge in Maryland than driving an unregistered vehicle. It depends on the charges a person is facing and it may be beneficial to contact an Annapolis driving without registration lawyer to help review the charges against them.
Additionally, when a law enforcement officer pulls a person over, they request the person’s license and registration because they want to make sure the driver is properly licensed to operate the vehicle as well as the vehicle itself is properly licensed.
Annapolis law enforcement officers are trained to ask such questions. In the event that an individual does not have their registration, it may prompt the officer to question whether the driver has other documents such as their proof of the insurance. Depending on whether or not the driver has any of these documents, the officer may then issue the driver a citation for driving without a license, driving an unregistered vehicle, and/or driving without insurance, as is applicable.

Defenses to the Charge

There are several defenses to a citation for driving without registration. One may be that the vehicle was properly registered and it was just a mistake that caused the individual’s registration to not appear during the officer’s search on his/her computer at the traffic stop.
Another defense is that the individual was not actually operating the vehicle at the time he or she was cited. Furthermore, if the MVA suspends the vehicle’s registration, it could be a defense that the driver never received a notice of it. As such, the individual and their Annapolis lawyer can show that they had no knowledge of the suspension of their registration.