{"id":3024,"date":"2024-11-07T05:59:46","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T13:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"\/wp-site\/?p=3024"},"modified":"2025-02-25T04:19:02","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T12:19:02","slug":"car-insurance-grace-period-ca","status":"publish","type":"car-insurance","link":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/car-insurance\/california\/car-insurance-grace-period-ca\/","title":{"rendered":"California\u2019s Car Insurance Grace Period"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"\/car-insurance\/california\/\">California<\/a> has three time periods you\u2019d need to take note of when you buy a new or used car and need to insure it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How long you have to transfer your <a href=\"\/car-insurance\/\">auto insurance<\/a> policy to your new car. This is usually 7 to 30 days, and failure to add your car could leave you in an insurance lapse.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How much time you have to inform the DMV that you have insurance for your new car \u2014 usually 30 or 45 days, depending on the situation. Failure to comply can result in a suspension of vehicle registration.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A waiting period before insurance kicks in. For example, a 14-day waiting period means you will have to wait two weeks from buying the policy before you are covered.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-jerry-cta\"><div class=\"flex flex-col items-start gap-4 rounded-xl border border-zinc-200 px-12 py-8 md:flex-row md:items-center md:gap-14\"><div class=\"flex-1\"><span class=\"text-xl font-black text-gray-900\">Find affordable car insurance in minutes.<\/span><\/div><div class=\"flex-1\"><a href=\"\/signup\" class=\"bg-primary block w-full rounded-full px-14 py-2 text-center font-black text-white hover:no-underline\">COMPARE QUOTES<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-long-grace-period\">How long is a new car covered by insurance in California?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Insurers typically offer a grace period between 7 and 30 days to update your current insurance policy with your new vehicle\u2019s information. Within this <a href=\"\/car-insurance\/new-car-insurance-grace-period\/\">car insurance grace period<\/a>, you can drive your new car without updating your insurance. You should check your specific policy for the exact timing because it can vary from company to company.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What if I don\u2019t get car insurance within the grace period?&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don\u2019t update your insurance by the time the grace period ends, you\u2019ll be in a <a href=\"\/car-insurance\/insurance-lapse\/\">coverage lapse<\/a> \u2014 which can cause your insurance premiums to rise when you renew your coverage and put you at risk legally and financially speaking.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More:<\/strong> <a href=\"\/car-insurance\/california\/cheap-ca\/\">The cheapest car insurance in California<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can you drive a new car home without insurance?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>No, you can\u2019t drive a car you just bought without insurance. All dealerships require proof of insurance before you can drive home with a new car \u2014 and even if you\u2019re purchasing from a private seller, driving home without insurance is a major violation of state law.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don\u2019t have car insurance coverage when you buy a new car, there is no grace period \u2014 you must have an active auto insurance policy in order to drive away from the dealer\u2019s lot.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More:<\/strong> <a href=\"\/car-insurance\/best-car-insurance-companies\/\">The best car insurance companies<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"dmv-registration-period\">California DMV registration grace period<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Your vehicle registration is subject to suspension if \u201cinsurance information is not submitted to the DMV within 30 days of issuance of a registration card upon initial registration or transfer of ownership,\u201d according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">California DMV<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The DMV can also cancel your vehicle registration if your insurance policy is cancelled and a replacement policy is not submitted within 45 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"insurance-waiting-period\">Insurance waiting periods in California<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Another timeframe that might apply to you involves a waiting period of about two weeks between when you buy insurance and when your policy goes into effect, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2023-12-18\/car-insurance-premiums-are-skyrocketing-what-drivers-can-do-about-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Los Angeles Times reports<\/a>. California\u2019s Department of Insurance has also received complaints about waiting periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Depending on your profile and the insurer, you might be able to get insurance immediately or you\u2019d have to wait. If you have a waiting period, that means you could have no coverage during this period and can\u2019t drive your new car.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More:<\/strong> <a href=\"\/car-insurance\/new-car-insurance\/\">How to get insurance for a new car<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, before you buy a new car, make sure to check if you will be insured on the day you want to drive off the lot. California also has alternative ways you can insure yourself besides buying a motor vehicle liability insurance policy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cash deposit of $35,000 with DMV.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>DMV-issued self-insurance certificate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For the two methods above, contact the DMV Financial Responsibility Unit at (916) 657-6677 and select Option 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Surety bond for $35,000 from a company licensed to do business in California.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To find a company that issues surety bonds, contact the Department of Insurance online at <a href=\"http:\/\/insurance.ca.gov\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"insurance.ca.gov\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">insurance.ca.gov<\/a> or by phone at 1-800-927-4357.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More:<\/strong> <a href=\"\/car-insurance\/california\/best-ca\/\">The best car insurance in California<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-jerry-meet-experts\" data-wp-interactive=\"jerry\/meet-experts\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;modalVisible&quot;:false}\">\n  <div class=\"font-circular text-2xl font-extrabold text-slate-900\">Expert-driven. Built for you.<\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"my-3\">\n    <div class=\"flex justify-between items-center py-3 border-b border-neutral-200 cursor-pointer font-semibold text-gray-900\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.toggleModal\">\n  <button class=\"text-left text-base\" type=\"button\">\n    Why you can count on Jerry&#8217;s articles  <\/button>\n\n  <div class=\"transition data-[visible=true]:md:rotate-180 text-xs iconify i--chevron-down text-gray-500\" data-wp-bind--data-visible=\"context.modalVisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"modal-backdrop fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-50 overflow-hidden overscroll-contain bg-black\/70 font-body transition-transform delay-100 duration-0 md:relative md:z-auto [&amp;:not([data-visible=true])]:translate-y-full [&amp;:not([data-visible=true])]:bg-black\/0 [&amp;:not([data-visible=true])]:md:hidden\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.onModalInit\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.hideModal\" data-wp-bind--data-visible=\"context.modalVisible\">\n  <div class=\"modal-view fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 flex max-h-[75%] w-full flex-col rounded-t-3xl bg-white pb-7 pl-7 pt-3.5 transition md:relative md:rounded-none md:pl-0 md:transition-none [&amp;:not([data-visible=true])]:translate-y-full [&amp;:not([data-visible=true])]:md:hidden\" data-wp-bind--data-visible=\"context.modalVisible\">\n    <div class=\"modal-header md:hidden flex justify-between items-center pb-1 mb-1 border-b border-zinc-200\">\n      <div class=\"modal-title text-base font-semibold\">Summary<\/div>\n\n      <div\n        class=\"modal-close-btn wp-block-group w-11 h-11 mr-2.5 content-center text-center\"\n        data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.hideModal\"\n      >\n        <div class=\"iconify i--close text-gray-500 cursor-pointer\"><\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"modal-body pr-7 overflow-y-auto\"><div class=\"wp-block-template-part\"><div class=\"flex flex-row items-center gap-2.5 rounded-lg bg-gray-pink px-4 py-5\">\n  <span class=\"iconify mt-0.5 shrink-0 self-start text-xs text-primary i--shield-check\"><\/span>\n\n  <div>\n    <div class=\"font-body text-xs font-bold text-primary\">Our goal is clear, trustworthy information.<\/div>\n    <div class=\"mt-1 font-body text-xs text-gray-600\">\n      Our content is created, edited and fact checked by a team of licensed insurance agents, automotive pros and\n      experienced journalists who know the industry inside and out. Facts are thoroughly researched, verified and kept\n      current, and our editorial team is separate from our business partners, so our opinions &#038; tips are unbiased. All\n      insights drawn from Jerry\u2019s proprietary, aggregated customer auto insurance quotes data provide unique, real-world\n      guidance.\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"text-base font-semibold text-gray-900\">Our experts<\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"my-8 flex flex-col gap-8 items-center justify-center\">\n          <div\n        class=\"meet-experts-item group relative flex h-auto w-full flex-none flex-col justify-between overflow-hidden rounded-3xl py-9 text-sm shadow-variant-card\"\n        data-expand=\"false\"\n        data-wp-init=\"callbacks.onItemInit\"\n      >\n        <div class=\"grid h-full w-full grid-cols-1 overflow-hidden px-8 md:grid-cols-4\">\n          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Xuyun.png\" class=\"size-16 rounded-full md:size-32 col-span-1 md:ml-4\" alt=\"meet-experts-thumbnail\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Xuyun.png 250w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Xuyun-150x150.png 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Xuyun-56x56.png 56w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Xuyun-120x120.png 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 346px) 260px, (max-width: 576px) 432px, (max-width: 720px) 540px, (min-width: 720px) 250px, 100vw\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/>\n          <div class=\"col-span-3\">\n            <div class=\"my-4 flex-1 content-center font-circular text-lg font-medium text-slate-900 md:mt-0\">\n              Xuyun Zeng            <\/div>\n\n            \n            <div class=\"text-slate-500 mt-2 leading-6\">\n              <p>Xuyun Zeng is a writer and editor with a wide-ranging content background including tech, journalism, cars and health care. After graduating with highest honors in journalism, Xuyun led a newspaper to win eight awards, helped start an award-winning film industry podcast and has written over a hundred articles about cars repair, state laws and insurance. Prior to joining Jerry, Xuyun worked as a freelance SEO consultant with a mission to create the best content that will help readers and grow organic traffic.<\/p>            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"absolute hidden group-data-[expand=true]:flex bottom-0 w-full h-24 bg-gradient-to-t from-white from-30% to-transparent to-100% items-end justify-center\">\n          <div\n            class=\"flex cursor-pointer flex-row items-center gap-2 my-4 font-circular text-primary\"\n            data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.onItemExpandClick\"\n          >\n            <span class=\"text-sm\">See more<\/span>\n            <span class=\"iconify i--chevron-down text-xs\"><\/span>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n          <div\n        class=\"meet-experts-item group relative flex h-auto w-full flex-none flex-col justify-between overflow-hidden rounded-3xl py-9 text-sm shadow-variant-card\"\n        data-expand=\"false\"\n        data-wp-init=\"callbacks.onItemInit\"\n      >\n        <div class=\"grid h-full w-full grid-cols-1 overflow-hidden px-8 md:grid-cols-4\">\n          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Kevin-Berry.png\" class=\"size-16 rounded-full md:size-32 col-span-1 md:ml-4\" alt=\"meet-experts-thumbnail\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Kevin-Berry.png 250w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Kevin-Berry-150x150.png 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Kevin-Berry-56x56.png 56w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Kevin-Berry-120x120.png 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 346px) 260px, (max-width: 576px) 432px, (max-width: 720px) 540px, (min-width: 720px) 250px, 100vw\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/>\n          <div class=\"col-span-3\">\n            <div class=\"my-4 flex-1 content-center font-circular text-lg font-medium text-slate-900 md:mt-0\">\n              Kevin Berry            <\/div>\n\n            \n            <div class=\"text-slate-500 mt-2 leading-6\">\n              <p>Kevin Berry is the Senior Director of Content at Jerry and has been working in the digital content space since 2011 across the car insurance\/repair, personal finance, travel and sports industries. Prior to Jerry, Kevin was a content team lead at NerdWallet overseeing the Multimedia Production and Travel Rewards teams. Previously, he worked for NBC Sports, Comcast Cable and Nike. He has a Master`s Degree from Arkansas State and a Bachelor`s from Oregon State University.<\/p>            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"absolute hidden group-data-[expand=true]:flex bottom-0 w-full h-24 bg-gradient-to-t from-white from-30% to-transparent to-100% items-end justify-center\">\n          <div\n            class=\"flex cursor-pointer flex-row items-center gap-2 my-4 font-circular text-primary\"\n            data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.onItemExpandClick\"\n          >\n            <span class=\"text-sm\">See more<\/span>\n            <span class=\"iconify i--chevron-down text-xs\"><\/span>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n          <div\n        class=\"meet-experts-item group relative flex h-auto w-full flex-none flex-col justify-between overflow-hidden rounded-3xl py-9 text-sm shadow-variant-card\"\n        data-expand=\"false\"\n        data-wp-init=\"callbacks.onItemInit\"\n      >\n        <div class=\"grid h-full w-full grid-cols-1 overflow-hidden px-8 md:grid-cols-4\">\n          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lacie-Glover.png\" class=\"size-16 rounded-full md:size-32 col-span-1 md:ml-4\" alt=\"meet-experts-thumbnail\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lacie-Glover.png 250w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lacie-Glover-150x150.png 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lacie-Glover-56x56.png 56w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lacie-Glover-120x120.png 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 346px) 260px, (max-width: 576px) 432px, (max-width: 720px) 540px, (min-width: 720px) 250px, 100vw\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/>\n          <div class=\"col-span-3\">\n            <div class=\"my-4 flex-1 content-center font-circular text-lg font-medium text-slate-900 md:mt-0\">\n              Lacie Glover            <\/div>\n\n            \n            <div class=\"text-slate-500 mt-2 leading-6\">\n              <p>Lacie Glover is a Lead Writer and Editor with sixteen years\u2019 experience in the insurance category. Prior to Jerry, she spent more than a decade on NerdWallet\u2019s content team writing, editing and then overseeing the auto insurance category, as well as dabbling in other insurance and automotive topics. Prior to her career in the online personal finance content space, Lacie spent time in the hard sciences, in clinical research and chemistry labs. She has a bachelor\u2019s degree from Colorado State University.<\/p>            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"absolute hidden group-data-[expand=true]:flex bottom-0 w-full h-24 bg-gradient-to-t from-white from-30% to-transparent to-100% items-end justify-center\">\n          <div\n            class=\"flex cursor-pointer flex-row items-center gap-2 my-4 font-circular text-primary\"\n            data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.onItemExpandClick\"\n          >\n            <span class=\"text-sm\">See more<\/span>\n            <span class=\"iconify i--chevron-down text-xs\"><\/span>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>California has an insurance transfer grace period, a DMV notification grace period and a waiting period for insurance to kick in. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":53635,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"single-advice","meta":{"jerry_authors":"[{\"id\":\"39\",\"type\":\"main-author\"},{\"id\":\"187\",\"type\":\"editor\"},{\"id\":\"374\",\"type\":\"reviewer\"}]","jerry_author_ids":[39],"jerry_idx_page_label":"","jerry_meta_desc":"California has an insurance transfer grace period, a DMV notification grace period and a waiting period for insurance to kick in. ","jerry_related_posts":"[36327,17830,28104,35886,15956]","jerry_summary":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[413],"tags":[89,31,346],"class_list":["post-3024","car-insurance","type-car-insurance","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-california","tag-california","tag-car-insurance","tag-state-laws"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/car-insurance\/3024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/car-insurance"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/car-insurance"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3024"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/car-insurance\/3024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53688,"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/car-insurance\/3024\/revisions\/53688"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}