Virginia Car Insurance Requirements: The 2025 Minimums, Uninsured Motorist Coverage and What to Ask Your Agent

Every vehicle registered in Virginia must carry liability insurance that meets the state minimums. For policies effective on or after January 1, 2025, those minimums are $50,000 for injury or death of one person, $100,000 for injury or death of two or more people, and $25,000 for property damage, under Va. Code § 46.2-472 (opens in a new tab). Virginia policies also include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage tied to those liability limits, under Va. Code § 38.2-2206 (opens in a new tab). DMV checks your coverage electronically, and if your insurance ends, you must reinsure the vehicle, deactivate the plates or surrender them, according to the Virginia DMV (opens in a new tab).

What are Virginia's minimum car insurance limits?

Virginia's current floor is often written as 50/100/25. It applies to policies effective on or after January 1, 2025, and the Virginia DMV's insurance requirements page (opens in a new tab) lists the same figures as the statute.

Liability coverage pays for injuries and damage you cause to other people, not for your own car. The two bodily injury numbers work together. If you injure three people in one crash, no single person can receive more than $50,000 from the minimum policy, and all of them together can't receive more than $100,000.

The minimum is a legal floor, not a measure of what a serious crash costs. If you're deciding whether to carry more, our article on how much car insurance you need goes through the tradeoffs, and an agency can quote higher limits side by side with the minimum.

What changed for Virginia drivers in 2024 and 2025?

Two changes landed close together, and both affect what you need on a registered car.

First, the uninsured motor vehicle fee option ended on July 1, 2024. Before that date, Virginia let an owner pay a fee to register a vehicle without insurance. Senate Bill 951 (opens in a new tab), which became Chapter 538 of the 2023 Acts of Assembly, removed that option. Since July 1, 2024, every vehicle registered in Virginia must have an insurance policy that meets the liability limits, according to the Virginia DMV's July 1, 2024 announcement (opens in a new tab). Our article on the Virginia uninsured motor vehicle fee covers that history in more detail.

Second, the minimum liability limits rose in stages under Chapter 273 of the 2021 Acts of Assembly, Special Session I (opens in a new tab), Senate Bill 1182. Policies effective from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2024 used 30/60/20. Policies effective on or after January 1, 2025 use 50/100/25, as the DMV's notice on the January 1 change (opens in a new tab) explains.

The trigger is the policy's effective date. If you're not sure which limits your current policy carries, look at the declarations page or ask your agent which limits apply to your policy's effective date.

What does uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage do in Virginia?

Uninsured motorist coverage pays damages you're legally entitled to recover from a driver who has no insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage applies when the other driver has some insurance, but less than your damages, to the extent the other vehicle's available coverage falls short, subject to the policy and the statute.

Virginia requires both on motor vehicle liability policies. Under Va. Code § 38.2-2206 (opens in a new tab), uninsured motorist coverage must be at least the liability minimums in § 46.2-472 (opens in a new tab), and its limits equal your liability limits unless a named insured rejects the additional uninsured motorist coverage through the written-notice process the statute sets out. That rejection by any one named insured binds everyone insured under the policy. Underinsured motorist coverage carries limits equal to the uninsured motorist limits.

In practice, raising your liability limits raises your UM/UIM limits with them, unless a named insured rejects the higher amount in writing. If you've ever signed a rejection form, ask your agent what UM/UIM limits are on the policy now and what the rejection changed. The Virginia SCC's consumer guide for auto insurance (opens in a new tab) explains these coverages for Virginia drivers, and our article on whether you need uninsured motorist coverage covers the coverage in general terms.

Can someone else drive your car?

Usually, yes. Virginia's owner-policy statute requires the policy to cover the named insured and any other person using the vehicle with the named insured's permission, under Va. Code § 46.2-472 (opens in a new tab). The SCC's consumer guide gives the example of a friend using your car for personal errands with your permission.

That doesn't mean every driver is treated the same way. Household members, regular operators, newly licensed drivers, business use and named-driver exclusions can all change how a policy responds and how it's priced. Insurers may factor in the driving record of any driving-age person who lives in the insured household, according to the Virginia DMV (opens in a new tab), and the DMV suggests talking with your agent about how a newly licensed driver could affect your policy.

Tell your agency about everyone who lives with you and drives, and about anyone who uses the car regularly. Then ask how permissive use and any exclusions apply on your specific policy.

What does DMV require to register a vehicle?

To register a vehicle in Virginia, you complete the insurance certification on the application and meet the minimum insurance requirements, according to the DMV's registration page (opens in a new tab). Va. Code § 46.2-706 (opens in a new tab) requires the applicant to certify that the vehicle is insured or that the owner holds an applicable self-insurance certificate.

DMV electronically verifies automobile liability insurance on Virginia-registered vehicles. If DMV can't match your vehicle to a policy, it may ask you for your policy information so it can verify coverage. Keep proof of insurance in the vehicle, as the DMV (opens in a new tab) directs.

Moving to Virginia

New residents must title and register their vehicles within 30 days of moving to Virginia, after the vehicle is insured and titled, according to the DMV's New Resident Guide (opens in a new tab). The guide lists exceptions, including certain military members who aren't Virginia residents and qualifying missionaries. Arrange coverage that meets Virginia's limits before your DMV visit, and ask your insurer whether your current policy can be written for a Virginia-garaged car.

What happens if your coverage stops?

If liability coverage on a vehicle ends or is canceled during the registration period, the Virginia DMV (opens in a new tab) says you must do one of three things:

• Reinsure the vehicle.
• Temporarily deactivate the license plates.
• Permanently surrender the license plates to DMV.

DMV monitors insurance electronically. When it determines a vehicle is uninsured, the owner's driving and registration privileges are suspended. To be reinstated, the owner pays a $600 noncompliance fee, files an SR-22 certificate of insurance with DMV for three years, and pays a reinstatement fee if one applies. Eligible owners can pay the statutory fee over time through a payment plan, under Va. Code § 46.2-707.1 (opens in a new tab).

If you're selling a car, storing it or switching insurers, line up the next step before the old policy ends. If a DMV verification notice arrives and you were insured, send the policy information DMV asks for and ask your insurer to confirm what it reported.

What are the penalties for driving uninsured?

Driving an uninsured vehicle is a crime in Virginia. Under Va. Code § 46.2-707 (opens in a new tab), an owner who operates, or lets someone else operate, an uninsured vehicle that is licensed or registrable in Virginia commits a Class 3 misdemeanor. A driver who isn't the owner and knowingly operates the uninsured vehicle also commits a Class 3 misdemeanor.

The consequences go beyond the misdemeanor. An owner convicted under the section may have the driver's license, registration certificates and plates suspended, and reinstatement requires the $600 noncompliance fee and proof of future financial responsibility, usually through an SR-22 filing. A non-owner driver convicted under the section may have the driver's license suspended for 30 days.

For the separate FR-44 filing, see our article on Virginia FR-44 insurance.

What optional coverage can you add?

Liability covers other people, and UM/UIM is built into the policy. Coverage for damage to your own car, and several injury benefits, are optional in Virginia, and the SCC's consumer guide (opens in a new tab) describes the choices:

• Medical expense benefits, for specified injury-related medical costs.
• Loss-of-income benefits, for specified income lost after an injury.
• Collision coverage, for damage to your car from a collision.
• Comprehensive, or other-than-collision, coverage, for damage to your car from causes other than a collision.
• Transportation expense or rental coverage.
• Towing coverage.
• Liability limits above the minimum.
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist limits above the minimum.

Each of these works under the policy's own terms and limits. Our article on comprehensive vs collision insurance explains the difference between those two, and the article on Virginia medical expense benefits covers the medical option.

A lender or leasing company can require more than the law does. A loan or lease agreement commonly requires collision and comprehensive coverage, specified deductibles and the lender's interest shown on the policy. The exact terms come from your contract, so confirm them with the lender or lessor and your agency before you buy.

What if an insurer cancels, nonrenews or turns you down?

Virginia sets notice rules for auto cancellations and nonrenewals in Va. Code § 38.2-2212 (opens in a new tab). The notice must be in writing or delivered electronically, state the effective date and give the insurer's specific reason. The effective date must be at least 45 days after the notice is mailed or delivered, except for one reason the statute lists, where it can be shorter but must be at least 15 days. Va. Code § 38.2-2208 (opens in a new tab) sets how those notices are mailed or delivered and how the insurer proves it sent them.

The notice must also tell you that you can ask the Insurance Commissioner, in writing, to review the insurer's action within 15 days of receiving the notice. It must mention that other insurance may be available through an agent, another insurer or the Virginia Automobile Insurance Plan.

Once a personal auto policy has been in effect for 60 days or more, an insurer can cancel it midterm only for specified reasons, such as nonpayment, a license suspension or revocation, or a move of residence and garaging to another state, according to the SCC's consumer guide (opens in a new tab). Compare any notice you receive with the statute and your policy.

If private insurers turn you down

The Virginia Automobile Insurance Plan is an assigned-risk mechanism for drivers who can't get coverage in the regular market. A licensed agent submits the application. The SCC describes the Plan as a last resort, and you only need to stay in it until regular-market coverage becomes available.

How do you check an agent or file a complaint?

The Virginia Bureau of Insurance runs a license search for agents, agencies, companies and navigators (opens in a new tab). Check the agency before you send personal documents.

To complain about an insurer or agent, use the SCC's insurance complaint portal (opens in a new tab). You create an account, submit the complaint with supporting documents and keep the complaint number the SCC sends by email. You can add documents and comments later through the portal. Before filing, gather your policy, declarations page, notices, letters and proof of payment.

Questions to ask your agent

• Which liability limits apply to my policy's effective date, and does the policy meet 50/100/25?
• Are uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages included, and do their limits match my liability limits?
• Has any named insured signed a rejection of higher UM/UIM limits, and what did it change?
• Which household members and regular drivers do I need to disclose?
• Does permissive use cover a friend who borrows the car?
• Are there named-driver or other exclusions on the policy?
• What deductibles apply to collision and comprehensive?
• Does my lender or lease require collision, comprehensive or a set deductible?
• Are rental, towing, medical expense or income-loss benefits included?
• Are there agency, membership, installment or other fees?
• Is the policy term six months or twelve months?
• How will the insurer report this policy to DMV?
• What should I do before canceling my current policy?
• If insurers decline me, can you submit a Virginia Automobile Insurance Plan application?

For help choosing someone to work with, see how to choose an insurance agent. Riskado's directory lists insurance agencies across the US, including Virginia, by city and by category.

Frequently asked questions

Do the 50/100/25 limits apply to a policy I bought in 2024?

The limits follow the policy's effective date. A policy effective before January 1, 2025 used 30/60/20, and a policy effective on or after that date uses 50/100/25, under Va. Code § 46.2-472 (opens in a new tab). Your declarations page shows the limits and dates on your current policy.

Can I pay a fee instead of buying insurance?

No. The uninsured motor vehicle fee option ended on July 1, 2024, according to the Virginia DMV (opens in a new tab). A Virginia-registered vehicle now needs a policy that meets the liability limits, or another arrangement the law allows, such as a self-insurance certificate.

Can I turn down uninsured motorist coverage entirely?

Virginia requires uninsured motorist coverage at no less than the liability minimums. Under Va. Code § 38.2-2206 (opens in a new tab), a named insured can reject only the additional coverage above that, through the written-notice process, and the rejection binds everyone on the policy.

Do I need to show DMV proof of insurance after I buy a policy?

DMV verifies insurance electronically, and it asks for policy information when it can't confirm coverage. Keep proof of insurance in the vehicle, according to the Virginia DMV (opens in a new tab).

What if no insurer will cover me?

A licensed agent can submit an application to the Virginia Automobile Insurance Plan, according to the SCC's consumer guide (opens in a new tab). You can stay in the Plan until coverage in the regular market becomes available.

A quick compliance checklist

Confirm your policy's effective date and that it carries 50/100/25 liability with matching UM/UIM. List every household driver and regular operator, and keep proof of insurance in the car. If you're moving to Virginia, insure, title and register within 30 days. If coverage ends, reinsure the car, deactivate the plates or surrender them before the gap opens, and answer any DMV verification notice with your policy information right away.