Motor vehicles; require proof of liability insurance before license tag or decal may be issued or renewed.

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To: Insurance
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Hill

SENATE BILL NO. 2857

AN ACT TO CREATE A NEW CODE SECTION TO BE CODIFIED AS SECTION 1
63-15-8, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE PROOF OF MOTOR 2
VEHICLE LIABILITY INSURANCE OR OTHER FORM OF FINANCIAL 3
RESPONSIBILITY BEFORE RECEIVING A MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE TAG; TO 4
AMEND SECTION 27-19-43, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; AND 5
FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 7
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 8
63-15-8, Mississippi Code of 1972: 9
63-15-8. Every owner of a motor vehicle in this state shall 10
furnish proof of motor vehicle liability insurance or other form 11
of financial responsibility as required by this chapter before 12
such owner may receive a license tag for a motor vehicle or renew 13
a license tag. 14
SECTION 2. Section 27-19-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 15
amended as follows: 16
27-19-43. (1) License tags, substitute tags and decals for 17
individual fleets and for private carriers of passengers, school 18
buses (excluding school buses owned by a school district in the 19
state), church buses, taxicabs, ambulances, hearses, motorcycles 20
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and private carriers of property, and private commercial carriers 21
of property of a gross weight of ten thousand (10,000) pounds and 22
less, shall be sold and issued by the tax collectors of the 23
several counties. 24
(2) Applications for license tags for motor vehicles in a 25
corporate fleet registered under Section 27-19-66, trailers in a 26
fleet registered under Section 27-19-66.1, motor vehicles in a 27
rental fleet registered under Section 27-19-66.2, and applications 28
for all other license tags, substitute tags and decals shall be 29
filed with the department or the local tax collector of the 30
respective counties and forwarded to the department for issuance 31
to the applicant. All tags and decals for vehicles owned by the 32
state or any agency or instrumentality thereof, and vehicles owned 33
by a fire protection district, school district or a county or 34
municipality, and all vehicles owned by a road, drainage or levee 35
district shall be issued by the department. 36
(3) In addition to the privilege taxes levied herein, there 37
shall be collected the following registration or tag fee: 38
(a) For the issuance of both a license tag and two (2) 39
decals, a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00). 40
(b) For the issuance of up to two (2) decals only, a 41
fee of Three Dollars and Seventy-five Cents ($3.75). 42
(c) Additionally, the tax collector or the department, 43
as the case may be, shall assess and collect a fee of Four Dollars 44
($4.00) upon each set of license tags and two (2) decals issued, 45
S. B. No. 2857 *SS26/R189.1* ~ OFFICIAL ~
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ST: Motor vehicles; require proof of liability
insurance before license tag or decal may be
issued or renewed.
or upon each set of two (2) decals issued, and that sum shall be 46
deposited in the Mississippi Trauma Care Systems Fund established 47
in Section 41-59-75, to be used for the purposes set out in that 48
section. 49
No tag or decal shall be issued either by a tax collector or 50
by the department without the collection of such registration fee 51
except substitute tags and decals and license tags for vehicles 52
owned by the State of Mississippi. 53
Beginning July 1, 1987, and until the date specified in 54
Section 65-39-35, there shall be levied a registration fee of Five 55
Dollars ($5.00) in addition to the regular registration fee 56
imposed in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection. Such 57
additional registration fee shall be levied in the same manner as 58
the regular registration fee. 59
No tag or decal shall be issued or renewed under this chapter 60
unless the owner or operator of the motor vehicle first presents 61
proof of coverage by a motor vehicle liability policy or other 62
form of financial responsibility, as required in Section 63-15-8. 63
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 64
and after July 1, 2026. 65