A person operating or in charge of a motor vehicle may not, when requested by an officer in uniform, refuse to give their name and address or the name and address of the vehicle's owner, or give a false name or address.
- On the officer's demand, the operator may not refuse to produce the registration certificate, the operator's license and the automobile insurance identification card for the vehicle.
- The operator may not refuse to let the officer take the license, registration and insurance card in hand to examine them, or refuse to sign their name in the officer's presence.
- After an accident the car is concerned in, the same duties are owed to any other person who asks.
- A violation of any of it is an infraction.
Each operator carries the operator's license while driving, and failing to is an infraction. The registration certificate and the insurance identification card are carried in the vehicle at all times it is operated on a public highway, and not carrying them is an infraction with a $50 fine.
A leased vehicle may carry a legible photostatic copy of the registration, or the rental or lease contract with the vehicle identification number, in place of the original, where the original is available at the lessor's place of business.
The Fourth Amendment sets limits on every stop, and the Supreme Court of the United States has drawn several of them. It has held that a stop is reasonable where the officer has probable cause to believe a traffic violation occurred, whatever the officer's actual motive; that an officer making a lawful stop may order the driver, and the passengers, out of the vehicle; that a passenger is seized by the stop and may challenge it; and that a stop may last no longer than its purpose requires, so it may not be extended for a dog sniff without separate reasonable suspicion. It has also held that consent to a search has to be voluntary, judged on all the circumstances, and that the prosecution does not have to prove the person knew they could refuse. Those holdings are a floor: a state's own constitution and statutes can give more protection than they do, never less.
Sources for this section (9)
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-217 — Operator to give name and address and show or surrender license, registration and insurance identification card when requested
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-213 — Operation without carrying operator's license
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-13 — Registration certificate and insurance identification card to be carried in vehicle
- Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (1996) — A traffic stop is reasonable when there is probable cause of a traffic violation
- Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106 (1977) — An officer may order the driver out of a lawfully stopped car
- Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408 (1997) — An officer may order passengers out of a lawfully stopped car
- Brendlin v. California, 551 U.S. 249 (2007) — A passenger is seized by a traffic stop and may challenge it
- Rodriguez v. United States, 575 U.S. 348 (2015) — A stop may not be extended beyond its purpose to run a dog sniff
- Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218 (1973) — Consent to a search must be voluntary
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Connecticut attorney.
