West Virginia Insurance & Collisions practice test

Practice required coverage and what to do after a crash: 24 questions based on the West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook, 11 of them on West Virginia's own rules.

Key West Virginia facts: Insurance & Collisions

  • Minimum liability coverage is $25,000 for injury or death of one person, $50,000 for two or more people in one crash, and $25,000 for property damage. W. Va. Code §17D-4-2(b); handbook Compulsory Insurance, PDF p. 26
  • Owners must keep the required security in effect for the whole registration period and must immediately surrender the registration plate to the DMV if the insurance is dropped; knowingly driving without it is prohibited. W. Va. Code §17D-2A-3(a)-(b), (d); handbook PDF p. 27
  • Proof of insurance must be carried in the vehicle and shown at inspection; an image on a phone or other wireless device counts as proof. Not carrying it is fined $200 to $5,000, but a driver who shows the insurance was in effect within seven days of the citation is not guilty. W. Va. Code §17D-2A-4(b)-(c); handbook PDF p. 27
  • Filing false insurance information brings an additional 90-day license suspension, revocation of the registration and possible prosecution with a fine of up to $1,000 and up to one year in jail. Chapter II, Compulsory Insurance, PDF p. 27
  • The driver in a crash causing injury, death or apparent property damage of $1,000 or more must immediately, by the quickest means, notify the local police if in a municipality, otherwise the county sheriff or nearest State Police office. W. Va. Code §17C-4-6

Sample Insurance & Collisions questions

After a crash with an attended vehicle, which vehicle detail must you give the other driver?

  • The date of your last oil change
  • Your odometer reading
  • The last four digits of the VIN
  • The vehicle's purchase price
Show the answer

The last four digits of the VIN

Give your name, a valid phone number, the vehicle's year, make, model and last four VIN digits, and your insurance details.

Source: West Virginia Code §17C-4-3, W. Va. Code §17C-4-3(a)

A crash happens outside any city or town. Whom do you notify?

  • The county sheriff or nearest State Police
  • The DMV headquarters in Charleston
  • The police of the nearest city or town
  • Only your own insurance company
Show the answer

The county sheriff or nearest State Police

Notify the local police if the crash is in a municipality; otherwise notify the county sheriff or the nearest West Virginia State Police office.

Source: West Virginia Code §17C-4-6, W. Va. Code §17C-4-6

You hit a parked car and can't find the owner. What must you do?

  • Drive on and call the police later
  • Wait one hour, then leave the scene
  • Take a photo of the damage and leave
  • Leave a note with your details in plain view
Show the answer

Leave a note with your details in plain view

Leave a note in a conspicuous place with the driver's and owner's names and addresses and a statement of what happened.

Source: West Virginia Code §17C-4-4, W. Va. Code §17C-4-4; handbook PDF p. 84

What can happen if you file false insurance information with the DMV?

  • A written warning and nothing more
  • An extra 90-day license suspension
  • A one-point penalty on your record
  • A refund of your registration fee
Show the answer

An extra 90-day license suspension

False or fraudulent insurance information brings an additional 90-day suspension, registration revocation and possible prosecution.

Source: West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook, Chapter II, Compulsory Insurance, PDF p. 27

A crash causes no injuries but about $1,500 in apparent damage. Must you notify police?

  • Only if the other driver insists
  • Yes, right away by the quickest means
  • Yes, by mail within 30 days
  • No, only injury crashes count
Show the answer

Yes, right away by the quickest means

Crashes with injury, death or apparent property damage of $1,000 or more must be reported immediately to the local police, sheriff or State Police.

Source: West Virginia Code §17C-4-6, W. Va. Code §17C-4-6

You cancel the insurance on a registered car. What must you do with its plate?

  • Surrender it to the DMV right away
  • Keep it until your next renewal
  • Leave it on the car until sold
  • Mail it to your insurance company
Show the answer

Surrender it to the DMV right away

Coverage must be kept for the whole registration period, and the plate must be surrendered immediately if the security is dropped.

Source: West Virginia Code §17D-2A-3, W. Va. Code §17D-2A-3(a)-(b), (d); handbook PDF p. 27

Your vehicle had no West Virginia liability insurance on the day of a crash. What happens?

  • Registration and license are suspended
  • You only get a warning letter
  • Nothing happens if no one was hurt
  • Your plate is renewed a month late
Show the answer

Registration and license are suspended

Lacking the required liability coverage on the crash date leads to suspension of both the vehicle registration and the driving privilege.

Source: West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook, Chapter II, Crashes, PDF p. 26

A driver is convicted of intentionally leaving a crash in which someone was hurt. What happens to the license?

  • Nothing, if the fine is paid
  • It gets two points
  • It is revoked for one year
  • It is suspended for 10 days
Show the answer

It is revoked for one year

The commissioner revokes the license for one year from conviction or release, and the offense itself can bring up to $1,000 and a year in jail.

Source: West Virginia Code §17C-4-1, W. Va. Code §17C-4-1(a)-(b), (f); §17C-4-2

Take this topic's test

More West Virginia practice

About these questions

We wrote these practice questions from the facts in the West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook (Driver's Licensing Handbook, cover dated 'Revised 07/2026' (Drivers_Licensing_Handbook.pdf on webapps.transportation.wv.gov, 90 PDF pages, PDF created 2026-08-04; the file linked from the DMV's Driver's Licensing Handbooks page, dmv.wv.gov/driver-services/drivers/drivers-licensing-handbooks; the older 'Procedures on Driver's Licenses' page still links a 07/2022 web version, which was not used), read 2026-11-10. Page numbers cited are PDF pages; the printed page number is the PDF page minus 10 (PDF p. 34 = printed p. 24). Many pages use embedded fonts whose text extracts as shifted glyph codes; the text in sources/WV/handbook.txt was decoded by shifting those codes back, and some closing parentheses are lost, but the wording is otherwise intact. Every legal rule used in questions was checked against the West Virginia Code on code.wvlegislature.gov (read 2026-11-10; section texts saved in sources/WV/code_*.txt), and questions follow the statute. Out-of-date or inconsistent handbook statements and how they were handled: (1) distracted driving (PDF pp. 27-28) describes a hands-free rule with fines of $100, $200 and $300 plus three points; §17C-14-15 as amended in 2023 bans holding or supporting a device and sets fines of up to $100, up to $200 and, for a third conviction within 24 months, up to $350 with three points and a possible 90-day suspension; questions use the statute; (2) the DUI penalty chart (PDF p. 32) is out of date: §17C-5-2 (amended through the 2026 session; the only 2026 amendment, HB 4712, 'Baylea's Law', Acts 2026 ch. 103, took effect June 12, 2026 per the Legislature's bill status page and changes only the felony for deliberate-disregard DUI causing death in subsection (b)(1), which no question tests) sets revocation of six months for a first DUI under 0.15 (chart: 15 days), one year at 0.15 or more (chart: 45 days), one year with a passenger under 16 (chart: 60 days), 10 years for a second offense (chart: 1 year), a felony of two to five years for a third (chart: 1 to 3 years), and for drivers under 21 at 0.02 to under 0.08 a 60-day suspension for a first offense and one year or until 21 for a second (chart: 30 days; 60 days or until 18); questions use the statute and do not test the injury and death tiers; (3) under-21 alcohol: PDF pp. 31 and 32 describe zero tolerance for any measurable alcohol, but the definitions (PDF p. 9) and §17C-5-2(j) set the under-21 offense at 0.02 percent; the no-measurable-alcohol rule is used only for Level 1 and Level 2 GDL holders (§17B-2-3a); (4) refusal (PDF p. 32: revocation for one year and up to life; PDF p. 10: at least one year): §17C-5-7a(e) revokes, after a court finding, for one year or 45 days plus a year of test and lock for a first refusal, 10 years after one earlier refusal revocation and life after more; §17C-5-4(e) warns of at least 45 days and up to life; refusing only a blood test cannot cause revocation (§17C-5-4(d)); questions use the statute; (5) crash reporting: PDF p. 26 says report within five days, but §17C-4-6 requires immediate notice by the quickest means for injury, death or apparent damage of $1,000 or more; questions use the statute; (6) the no-passing list (PDF p. 59) bans passing within 100 feet of a bridge, viaduct, tunnel or underpass; §17C-7-6(a)(3) applies only when the view is obstructed, so no question states the flat bridge rule; (7) following distance: the three-to-four second rule (PDF pp. 57, 61) conflicts with the truck safety chart's two-second rule in dry conditions (PDF p. 63), so following_seconds is left open; (8) the 70 mph interstate maximum (PDF p. 52) is not in §17C-6-1, which only says interstate limits may not be below 55 mph; the 70 mph question cites the handbook; (9) the move-over law (§17C-14-9a: lane change or 15/25 mph for any stationary vehicle with emergency, amber or hazard lights, flares or a warning sign) is missing from the handbook; questions cite the statute; (10) the fee chart (PDF p. 25) lists a $5.00 Level 1 permit fee while PDF p. 20 and §17B-2-3a(c)(1)(D) give $7.50; not tested. Rules matched between handbook and statute: GDL levels (§17B-2-3a), school zone 15 mph and 125 feet (§17C-6-1), parking distances (§17C-13-3), school bus stop and first-offense fine (§17C-12-7), seat belts (§17C-15-49), child seats (§17C-15-46), dimming at 500 and 200 feet (§17C-15-21), insurance minimums (§17D-4-2), biennial inspection (§17C-16-4). edition) and from official sources on road signs. Every answer links to its source, so you can check it and read more.

DMV Decoded is an independent guide, not a government agency. This practice test is not connected to the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, and your actual test will have different questions. Study the handbook, and check the agency's website for current rules.