NC Traffic Law Blog

By statute you can only use two Prayer for Judgement Continued every five years, but insurance companies will only recognize one PJC every three years. So for instance, a person could be charged with two different citations in the same instance and if they had not used a PJC for a five year period, they could actually use two PJCs by law to resolve those two citations that were received on the same day. But the insurance company would only recognize one of those PJCs that was used because insurance companies in NC have a particular limitation that only allows them to recognize one PJC every three years. So while the law would allow two PJCs to be used in a five year period, insurance companies only recognize one PJC every three years.

Additionally, a PJC is a household resolution. This means that if you have a number of persons on your insurance policy - say a wife or a husband and two or three children - the use of the PJC by any one member of that family would prevent any other family member from using a PJC for a three year period under that insurance policy. For example, if your daughter used a PJC to resolve a speeding charge of 18 mph over the limit two years ago, the family would have to wait another year (a full three years from that last PJC that was used) before a PJC can be used again on that family policy. Insurance company limitations are separate and apart from limitations that are imposed by statute. Insurance company limitations govern a lot of times when a PJC can be used.

So there are specific limitations to the use of the Prayer for Judgement Continued in terms of the nature of the charge that you’ve received, and in terms of whether or not you can use one because you’ve maxed out the use of them in a five year period. Lastly, also because of the way that North Carolina insurance companies will look at the PJC and only allow one every three years on a family insurance policy.