Cobb County Tax Commissioners Office

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All offices will be closed March 29, 2024, in observance of Good Friday.

Insurance Requirements

Insurance Requirements

Proof of Insurance
When you purchase a plate or renew a decal, we need to check if your insurance is valid. You can do this by providing us with electronic proof or printed proof of insurance.

Click here to verify the status of a vehicle's insurance using a vehicle identification number (VIN).

Electronic Proof of Insurance
By law, all insurance companies send your insurance policy electronically to the Georgia Electronic Insurance Compliance System (GEICS). Any time you change or cancel your policy, your insurance company updates your policy automatically. For most companies, this takes about 24 to 48 hours.

Printed Proof of Insurance
However, insurance companies are sometimes slow or have technical difficulties sending your insurance policy to GEICS in a timely manner. If this is the case, you may use printed proof of insurance if your insurance has not been updated. 

     We will only accept:

  • A binder page valid in the last 30 days
  • A declaration page valid in the last 30 days

If you have a fleet or self-insured policy, you need your fleet card or your self-insurance document. Bring your card with you any time you register or renew a vehicle.


Cancelling Insurance
Before you cancel your insurance on a vehicle, cancel your registration first to avoid penalties.  

We highly recommend you cancel your registration if your vehicle was:

  • Sold or traded-in
  • Registered in another state
  • Repossessed, stolen, wrecked, salvaged by an insurance company or junked
  • Stored or rendered inoperable

When you cancel your registration, you notify us, law enforcement and the Department of Revenue that your vehicle is not, and will not, be on the road. Cancelling your registration does not destroy your registration. It only renders it inactive.

You can reactivate your registration at any time, provided you have restored insurance and paid any outstanding taxes due.


Insurance Lapses
When your insurance policy expires or is removed from GEICS, you have 10 days to send a new insurance policy or an update to the system. Depending on how your insurance policy was removed from the system, this lapse may affect only one vehicle or every vehicle on that policy.

After 10 days, your vehicle's insurance is registered as lapsed. Lapsed vehicles automatically receive a $25 fee on the record. The Department of Revenue generates a letter, which is sent to you notifying you of the lapse. You have 30 days to pay the $25 fee.

After 30 days, your vehicle registration is suspended. Suspended vehicles receive a $60 fee in addition to the original $25 fee. Repeated suspensions on records can result in an increase in fees for each suspension.

Lapsed insurance or a suspended registration on a vehicle is a serious problem that needs to be remedied immediately.  

If you are pulled over with a lapse in your insurance, any or all of the following may happen:

  1. You receive a ticket
  2. The plate and registration for your vehicle is confiscated by law enforcement
  3. Your vehicle is impounded

Pay insurance fines and penalties 
Once you pay the lapse fees that are due and restore your insurance policy electronically, the suspension and lapse are lifted.

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