Every state except New Hampshire sets minimum car insurance requirements by state law, and in nearly all of them that minimum is expressed as three numbers: bodily injury coverage per person, bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage, all in thousands of dollars. The floors range from 15/30/5 in Pennsylvania to 50/100/50 in North Carolina. California, North Carolina, Utah, and Virginia all raised their minimums in 2025, and New Jersey’s minimum rises again for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, so a figure that was accurate a year or two ago may already be out of date.
How to Read the Three Numbers
A limit written as 25/50/25 means your insurer will pay up to $25,000 for one person’s injuries in a single accident, up to $50,000 total for everyone hurt in that same accident, and up to $25,000 for property damage, which covers the other driver’s vehicle plus anything else you hit, like a fence or a storefront.
Those caps apply to what the insurer pays the injured party. Legal defense costs are generally handled on top of the policy limit. Coverage usually extends to anyone driving your car with your permission, not just the named policyholder. If the damage you cause exceeds your limits, the balance is your personal debt, and a court judgment can be enforced through wage garnishment, liens, or seizure of assets.
Minimum Liability Requirements by State
The figures below reflect the most current data for 2026, including the 2025 increases in California, North Carolina, Utah, and Virginia, and the New Jersey change scheduled for January 1, 2026. All numbers are in thousands of dollars in the per-person/per-accident/property-damage format. An asterisk means the state requires additional coverage beyond basic liability, such as personal injury protection or uninsured motorist coverage.
- Alabama: 25/50/25
- Alaska: 50/100/251Alaska Division of Insurance. Auto Insurance Coverage Options
- Arizona: 25/50/15
- Arkansas: 25/50/25*
- California: 30/60/15 (increased from 15/30/5 on January 1, 2025)2California Department of Insurance. New Year Means New Changes for Insurance
- Colorado: 25/50/15
- Connecticut: 25/50/25*
- Delaware: 25/50/10*
- District of Columbia: 25/50/10*
- Florida: $10,000 PIP + $10,000 property damage liability (no bodily injury liability required for registration)3Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Insurance Requirements
- Georgia: 25/50/25
- Hawaii: 20/40/10*
- Idaho: 25/50/15
- Illinois: 25/50/20*
- Indiana: 25/50/25
- Iowa: 20/40/15
- Kansas: 25/50/25*
- Kentucky: 25/50/25*
- Louisiana: 15/30/25
- Maine: 50/100/25*
- Maryland: 30/60/15*
- Massachusetts: 25/50/30*4Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Basics of Auto Insurance
- Michigan: 50/100/10*5Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services. Auto Insurance Reform FAQ
- Minnesota: 30/60/10*
- Mississippi: 25/50/25
- Missouri: 25/50/25*
- Montana: 25/50/20
- Nebraska: 25/50/25*
- Nevada: 25/50/20
- New Hampshire: No insurance mandate, but 25/50/25 applies if you buy a policy or need to prove financial responsibility after an accident
- New Jersey: 35/70/5 for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026 (up from 25/50/5)*6New Jersey Legislature. Bill S3157
- New Mexico: 25/50/10
- New York: 25/50/10*
- North Carolina: 50/100/50 (increased from 30/60/25 in 2025)*
- North Dakota: 25/50/25*
- Ohio: 25/50/25
- Oklahoma: 25/50/25
- Oregon: 25/50/20*
- Pennsylvania: 15/30/5*7Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Auto Insurance
- Rhode Island: 25/50/25
- South Carolina: 25/50/25*
- South Dakota: 25/50/25*
- Tennessee: 25/50/15
- Texas: 30/60/25*
- Utah: 30/65/25 (increased from 25/65/15 in 2025)*8Utah Legislature. SB0199 Motor Vehicle Insurance Amendments
- Vermont: 25/50/10*
- Virginia: 50/100/25 (increased from 25/50/20 in 2025), or $500 annual uninsured motor vehicle fee*
- Washington: 25/50/10
- West Virginia: 25/50/25*
- Wisconsin: 25/50/10*
- Wyoming: 25/50/20*
States revise these numbers periodically, and not every change gets wide coverage. Before buying or renewing a policy, confirm the current figures with your state’s department of motor vehicles or insurance department.
Florida and Virginia Work Differently
Florida does not require bodily injury liability insurance for basic vehicle registration. Drivers need only $10,000 in personal injury protection and $10,000 in property damage liability. If you cause an accident that results in injury or death, however, you must then show proof of bodily injury liability of at least $10,000 per person and $20,000 per accident or face license suspension.3Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Insurance Requirements
Virginia is the only state besides New Hampshire that lets you legally operate a vehicle without an insurance policy. Drivers who choose that route pay a $500 annual uninsured motor vehicle fee. The fee does not provide any coverage. If you cause an accident while paying it instead of carrying insurance, every dollar of damage is yours to pay.
No-Fault States and Personal Injury Protection
Twelve states use a no-fault insurance model that requires drivers to carry personal injury protection, commonly called PIP: Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Utah. In a no-fault state, you file a claim with your own insurer for medical bills and lost wages after an accident regardless of who caused it.
PIP minimums vary widely. Massachusetts requires $8,000.4Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Basics of Auto Insurance Michigan lets drivers choose from several tiers ranging from $50,000 up to unlimited lifetime medical coverage.5Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services. Auto Insurance Reform FAQ Most other no-fault states set PIP somewhere between $10,000 and $50,000. The coverage typically pays for hospital bills, rehabilitation, a portion of lost wages, and, in some states, funeral costs and household services the injured person can no longer perform.
PIP generally pays before your health insurance does. A few states let you flip that order; in New Jersey, for example, you can designate your health insurer as the primary payer for accident-related care, which can lower your auto premium.
The tradeoff for PIP is a restricted right to sue. No-fault states generally prevent you from suing the other driver for pain and suffering unless your injuries meet a specific threshold, defined either verbally (fractures, permanent disfigurement, significant loss of a body function) or by dollar amount of medical expenses. Kentucky and New Jersey let drivers choose between a limited right to sue, with lower premiums, and an unlimited right to sue.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
About 20 states plus the District of Columbia require uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage on top of liability. When an uninsured driver hits you, this coverage pays for your injuries through your own policy, standing in for the at-fault driver’s missing coverage. Required limits usually match the state’s liability minimums: a state that mandates 25/50 in liability typically mandates 25/50 in uninsured motorist coverage too.
In roughly 30 states that don’t require it, insurers must offer it, and you must sign a written rejection to decline.
Underinsured motorist coverage addresses a related problem: the other driver has insurance, but their limits aren’t enough. If your medical bills reach $80,000 and the at-fault driver’s policy caps at $25,000, underinsured motorist coverage picks up the difference up to your own policy limit. Some states bundle uninsured and underinsured coverage into a single requirement; others treat them separately.
Most state mandates cover only bodily injury. Damage to your car caused by an uninsured driver is usually handled through your collision coverage rather than uninsured motorist coverage. Only a handful of states, including Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, require property damage protection within the uninsured motorist requirement.
Why the Minimum Is a Floor, Not a Recommendation
Meeting your state’s minimum keeps your registration legal. It does not necessarily keep you financially safe. A single hospitalization from a moderate car accident routinely runs $50,000 to $150,000 in medical bills alone, which exceeds the per-person bodily injury limit in most states. A broken bone requiring surgery can generate $100,000 to $500,000 in total expenses once rehabilitation and lost wages are included. Pennsylvania and New Jersey still set property damage minimums at $5,000, which in many cases wouldn’t cover a bumper replacement on a modern vehicle.7Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Auto Insurance
Whatever a judgment exceeds your policy limits by becomes your personal debt, enforceable through wage garnishment, property liens, and seizure of accounts. Bankruptcy may discharge some of that debt but not always, particularly if impaired driving was involved. The premium gap between a minimum policy and a 100/300/100 policy is often $20 to $40 a month.
Penalties for Driving Below the Minimum
Every state that mandates insurance also penalizes drivers who go without. Fines can reach several thousand dollars depending on the state and whether the offense is a first or repeat violation. License suspension is nearly universal for a first offense, typically lasting between 30 days and a year. Repeat violations can result in permanent revocation.
Many states impound your vehicle on the spot if you can’t prove coverage during a traffic stop or after an accident. Towing fees, daily storage charges, and administrative release fees to get the car back are separate from any court-imposed fines.
Insurance companies are required to notify the state when a policy is canceled or lapses, even if you were never pulled over. The state then sends a notice of intent to suspend your registration, usually with a short window to produce new proof of coverage. Miss that window and you’ll pay a reinstatement fee on top of your new premium. New premiums tend to run higher after a lapse because insurers treat a gap in coverage as a risk factor.
Drivers convicted of certain serious violations, including DUI, driving without insurance, or reckless driving, are often required to file an SR-22 certificate with the state. An SR-22 isn’t a policy; it’s a form your insurer files confirming you carry at least the minimum required coverage. If the policy lapses, the insurer notifies the state and a suspension follows. Most states require an SR-22 to be maintained for at least three years, and letting coverage lapse during that period resets the clock. Florida and Virginia use an FR-44 for DUI-related offenses, which generally requires higher liability limits than the standard state minimum.