If you are confused about why you are being penalized by the state of Maryland then the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) should have explained that they do not accept your Michigan auto insurance as proof of insurance. In MD the Maryland Insurance Certification (FR-19) is the only acceptable form of auto insurance verification. When your car was registered in Maryland you thus need to keep insurance from a licensed and authorized MD car insurance carrier.

You also were going against the laws of Michigan by residing there and not changing over your car title and registration to MI requirements. New Michigan residents must immediately title and register their vehicles at a Secretary of State (SOS) branch office and turn in the title from their previous home state. Titles are required for all motor vehicles and all trailers 2,500 lbs. and over. "Resident" means every person who resides in this state and establishes that he or she is legally present in the United States.

Owners of passenger vehicles, vans, and light trucks must purchase Michigan no-fault insurance before registering their vehicle. Out-of-state insurance policies cannot be used to meet Michigan insurance requirements for registering a vehicle.

You will need to find out from the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration exactly what your penalties are for your lapse in MD auto insurance and what you will need to do to take care of the situation however we can tell you what the usual penalties are for what is considered driving without insurance (or having a lapse in insurance) in Maryland.

The penalties that one may receive if they are found driving uninsured in Maryland include:

• Lose of license plates and vehicle registration privileges.
• Pay uninsured motorist penalty fee for each lapse of insurance - $150 for the first 30 days, $7 for each day thereafter.
• Pay a restoration fee of up to $25 for a vehicle's registration.
• Be prohibited from registering any future vehicles until all insurance violations are cleared.
• Have license plates confiscated by a tag recovery agent, once the registration suspension is in effect

Beyond these penalties, there are fines and penalties that may be imposed by a court of law. You can see if there is any way to lessen the penalties because you had insurance on the vehicle from out of state and were living out of state, however it is likely that ignorance of MD insurance laws while your vehicle is registered there will ease your penalties much if any.