                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

POSSESSION OF REGISTRATION CARDS; EXHIBITING REGISTRATION CARD AND LICENSES;
FAILURE TO CARRY LICENSE OR REGISTRATION CARD (§ 46.2-104)

The operator of any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer being operated on the
highways in the Commonwealth shall have in his possession: (i) the physical
registration card issued by the Department or the registration card issued by
the state or country in which the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is
registered and (ii) his driver&#8217;s license, learner&#8217;s permit, or
temporary driver&#8217;s permit.

The owner or operator of any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer shall stop
on the signal of any law-enforcement officer who is in uniform or shows his
badge or other sign of authority and shall, on the officer&#8217;s request,
exhibit his registration card, driver&#8217;s license, learner&#8217;s permit,
or temporary driver&#8217;s permit and write his name in the presence of the
officer, if so required, for the purpose of establishing his identity.

Every person licensed by the Department as a driver or issued a learner&#8217;s
or temporary driver&#8217;s permit who fails to carry his license or permit, and
the registration card for the vehicle which he operates, is guilty of a traffic
infraction and upon conviction punished by a fine of $10. However, if any person
summoned to appear before a court for failure to display his license, permit, or
registration card presents, before the return date of the summons, to the court
a license or permit issued to him prior to the time the summons was issued or a
registration card, as the case may be, or appears pursuant to the summons and
produces before the court a license or permit issued to him prior to the time
the summons was issued or a registration card, as the case may be, he shall,
upon payment of all applicable court costs, have complied with the provisions of
this section.

HISTORY: Code 1950, §§ 46-15, 46-80; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-7; 1964, c. 205;
1972, c. 362; 1978, cc. 500, 605; 1984, c. 780; 1988, c. 74; 1989, c. 727; 2008,
cc. 551, 691; 2009, c. 756; 2022, c. 183.