North Carolina § 20-176 Penalty for misdemeanor or infraction

North Carolina Statutes

§ 20-176 — Penalty for misdemeanor or infraction

North Carolina § 20-176

Ch. 20Motor Vehicles

Art. 3Motor Vehicle Act of 1937

This text of North Carolina § 20-176 (Penalty for misdemeanor or infraction) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-176 (2026).

Text

(a)Violation of a provision of Part 9, 10, 10A, or 11 of this Article is an infraction unless the violation is specifically declared by law to be a misdemeanor or felony. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a1) of this section, violation of the remaining Parts of this Article is a misdemeanor unless the violation is specifically declared by law to be an infraction or a felony. (a1) A person who does any of the following is responsible for an infraction:

(1)Fails to carry the registration card in the vehicle, in violation of G.S. 20-57(c).

(2)Repealed by Session Laws 2016-90, s. 12(b), effective December 1, 2016, and applicable to registration cards issued on or after that date.

(3)Fails to notify the Division of an address change for a vehicle registration card within 60 days a

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(a) Violation of a provision of Part 9, 10, 10A, or 11 of this Article is an infraction unless the violation is specifically declared by law to be a misdemeanor or felony. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a1) of this section, violation of the remaining Parts of this Article is a misdemeanor unless the violation is specifically declared by law to be an infraction or a felony.
(a1) A person who does any of the following is responsible for an infraction:
(1) Fails to carry the registration card in the vehicle, in violation of G.S. 20-57(c).
(2) Repealed by Session Laws 2016-90, s. 12(b), effective December 1, 2016, and applicable to registration cards issued on or after that date.
(3) Fails to notify the Division of an address change for a vehicle registration card within 60 days after the change occurs, in violation of G.S. 20-67.
(4) Operates a motor vehicle in violation of G.S. 20-146.2.
(b) Unless a specific penalty is otherwise provided by law, a person found responsible for an infraction contained in this Article may be ordered to pay a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00).
(c) Unless a specific penalty is otherwise provided by law, a person convicted of a misdemeanor contained in this Article is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. A punishment is specific for purposes of this subsection if it contains a quantitative limit on the term of imprisonment or the amount of fine a judge can impose.
(c1) Repealed by Session Laws 2014-100, s. 16C.1(c), effective October 1, 2014.
(c2) Repealed by Session Laws 2013-385, s. 5, effective December 1, 2013.
(d) For purposes of determining whether a violation of an offense contained in this Chapter constitutes negligence per se, crimes and infractions shall be treated identically. (1937, c. 407, s. 137; 1951, c. 1013, s. 7; 1957, c. 1255; 1967, c. 674, s. 3; 1969, c. 378, s. 3; 1973, c. 1330, s. 34; 1975, c. 644; 1985, c. 764, s. 20; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 852, ss. 7, 17; c. 1014, s. 202; 1993, c. 539, s. 379; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 2013-360, s. 18B.14(h); 2013-385, s. 5; 2014-100, s. 16C.1(c); 2016-90, s. 12(b); 2021-185, s. 13(b).)