1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5, the owner of a motor vehicle shall not:

(a) Operate the motor vehicle, if it is registered or required to be registered in this State, without having insurance as required by NRS 485.185.

(b) Operate or knowingly permit the operation of the motor vehicle without having evidence of insurance of the operator or the vehicle in the vehicle.

(c) Fail or refuse to surrender, upon demand, to a peace officer or to an authorized representative of the Department the evidence of insurance. The surrender, upon demand, of an evidence of insurance issued in electronic format does not constitute consent for a peace officer or authorized representative of the Department to access other contents of any device used to display the evidence of insurance and surrendered in compliance with this section.

(d) Knowingly permit the operation of the motor vehicle in violation of subsection 3 of NRS 485.186.

2. A person shall not operate the motor vehicle of another person unless the person who will operate the motor vehicle:

(a) First ensures that the required evidence of insurance is present in the motor vehicle or available electronically; or

(b) Has his or her own evidence of insurance which covers that person as the operator of the motor vehicle.

3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, any person who violates subsection 1 or 2 is guilty of a misdemeanor. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, in addition to any other penalty, a person sentenced pursuant to this subsection shall be punished by a fine of not less than $600 nor more than $1,000 for each violation. The fine must be reduced to $100 for the first violation if the person obtains a motor vehicle liability policy by the time of sentencing, unless:

(a) The person has registered the vehicle as part of a fleet of vehicles pursuant to subsection 5 of NRS 482.215; or

(b) The person has been issued a certificate of self-insurance pursuant to NRS 485.380.

4. A court:

(a) Shall not find a person guilty or fine a person for a violation of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection 1 or for a violation of subsection 2 if the person presents evidence to the court that the insurance required by NRS 485.185 was in effect at the time demand was made for it.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (a), may impose a fine of not more than $1,000 for a violation of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection 1, and suspend the balance of the fine on the condition that the person presents proof to the court each month for 12 months that the insurance required by NRS 485.185 is currently in effect.

5. The provisions of paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection 1 do not apply if the motor vehicle in question displays a valid permit issued by the Department pursuant to subsection 1 or 2 of NRS 482.3955, or NRS 482.396 or 482.3965 authorizing the movement or operation of that vehicle within the State for a limited time.

(Added to NRS by 1987, 1089; A 1987, 1443; 1989, 1844; 1993, 157, 1443, 2485, 2492; 1995, 576, 2357, 2735; 1997, 662; 1999, 2727; 2001, 922; 2015, 3514)