§ 47-7-605 — Suspension of driving privilege and registration - Proof

of security - Seizure of driver license and vehicle - Other penalties - Immunity. A. 1. Whenever any person forfeits a bond, fails to appear, or is convicted in any state or municipal court for permitting the operation in this state of a motor vehicle owned by the person without the security required by this title, for operating a motor vehicle in this state without the security required by this title, or for failure to carry a security verification form, the Department of Public Safety shall suspend the driving privilege of the person. 2. The suspension of the driving privilege shall remain in effect until payment is made of the fees provided for in Section 6- 212 of this title and proof of security is furnished to the Department of Public Safety which complies with the requirements of the Compulsory Insurance Law; provided, for purposes of this section, proof of security shall not mean a binder policy but shall mean an owner’s policy or an operator’s policy, as defined in Section 7-600 of this title; provided further, a suspension for failure to appear shall remain in effect until proof of appearance is received by the Department from the reporting court. Suspension under this section shall be effective when notice thereof is given pursuant to Section 2-116 of this title. 3. Any person whose driving privilege has been suspended pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall surrender to the Department his or her driver license. Any person failing to voluntarily relinquish his or her driver license to the Department within thirty (30) days of receipt of the notice specified in paragraph 2 of this subsection shall pay a fee of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) in addition to the fees provided for in Section 6-212 of this title. 4. If a person furnishes proof to the satisfaction of the Department that security was in effect at the time of the alleged offense, the Department shall vacate the suspension order and shall not require the filing of a certificate of insurance nor payment of either of the above fees. B. 1. When suspending the driving privilege for violation of the Compulsory Insurance Law, or for violation of a municipal ordinance requiring security or the carrying of a security verification form, the Department may rely upon court records which indicate that a person was either convicted or failed to appear upon the charge when the record is obtained from any court of competent jurisdiction which indicates one of the following: a. a conviction, or b. a notice of bond forfeiture. 2. A court record is sufficient under paragraph 1 of this subsection which includes a statement such as "No Security Form", "No Insurance" or other term indicating lack of security. 3. The Department may continue to rely on such records until proof is submitted from the issuing court clerk which indicates that the record either: a. was issued in error, or b. was not related to a violation of: (1) the Compulsory Insurance Law, (2) a security verification form as required by this article, or (3) a municipal ordinance requiring security or the carrying of a security verification form. C. If a nonresident's driving privilege is suspended pursuant to subsection A of this section, the Department shall transmit notice of the suspension to the licensing agency in the state in which the nonresident resides. D. Whenever any person’s driving privilege has been suspended pursuant to this section or Section 7-612 of this title, the Department may notify any law enforcement officer of the suspension. Any law enforcement officer who has been notified that the driving privilege of a person has been suspended, upon observing the person or motor vehicle anywhere upon a public street, highway, roadway, turnpike, or public parking lot, shall stop the person or motor vehicle, seize the driver license of the person, seize the vehicle being operated by the person and cause the vehicle to be towed and stored as provided in subsection B of Section 955 of this title, if the officer has probable cause to believe that the vehicle is not insured as required by the Compulsory Insurance Law of this state. E. No person shall have a property interest in a driver license issued pursuant to the laws of this state and it shall be the duty of every person whose driving privilege has been suspended to forthwith surrender his or her driver license upon the request of any law enforcement officer or representative of the Department. F. Any person upon a public street, highway, roadway, turnpike, or public parking lot, within this state, who willfully refuses to surrender possession of a driver license after being informed by a peace officer or representative of the Department that his or her driving privilege is currently under suspension according to the records of the Department, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable as provided in Section 17-101 of this title. G. Any driver license surrendered to or seized by a law enforcement officer pursuant to the Compulsory Insurance Law shall be submitted to a representative of the Department in a manner and with a form or method approved by the Department. H. The Department shall deposit fees collected pursuant to paragraph 3 of subsection A of this section or pursuant to subsection E of Section 7-612 of this title in a special account of the Department maintained with the office of the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall credit these fees to this special account to be distributed as hereinafter provided. I. The Department shall identify the name of the employing law enforcement agency from which a suspended driver license has been received pursuant to this section, and determine that the fee required by paragraph 3 of subsection A of this section has been paid. The Department shall reimburse the law enforcement agency so identified the sum of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) for each driver license from the special account. J. Any unencumbered monies remaining in the special account at the close of each calendar month shall be transferred by the Department to the General Revenue Fund of the State Treasury. K. The State of Oklahoma, the departments and agencies thereof, including the Department of Public Safety, all political subdivisions, and the officers and employees of each, shall not be held legally liable in any suit in law or in equity for any erroneous entry of a suspension upon the records of the Department, nor for the enforcement of the provisions of the Compulsory Insurance Law performed in good faith.

Legislative History

Added by Laws 1976, c. 176, § 5, operative Dec. 11, 1976. Amended by Laws 1980, c. 235, § 10, eff. Jan. 1, 1981; Laws 1982, c. 355, § 8, operative July 1, 1982; Laws 1986, c. 279, § 19, operative July 1, 1986; Laws 1987, c. 5, § 155, emerg. eff. March 11, 1987; Laws 1988, c. 243, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 1988; Laws 1990, c. 298, § 3; Laws 1991, c. 335, § 15, emerg. eff. June 15, 1991; Laws 1993, c. 301, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Laws 1994, c. 218, § 9, eff. April 1, 1995; Laws 1999, c. 119, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 1999; Laws 2006, c. 322, § 4, eff. July 1, 2006; Laws 2009, c. 62, § 36, eff. Nov. 1, 2009; Laws 2010, c. 440, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2010. NOTE: Laws 1990, c. 219, § 44 repealed by Laws 1991, c. 335, § 36, emerg. eff. June 15, 1991.