Guides
Driving without insurance: what states say
Penalties are set state by state. First check that your limits meet the minimum, then read your state below.
Do these limits meet the state minimum?
Against 30/60/25
Meets
Read on the state's official page on 2026-11-02.
Penalties for driving uninsured are set state by state, and we show only what we read: 26 of 51 jurisdictions so far, listed in the table on this page with the source of each. The range is wide. Delaware's motor vehicle agency says a conviction brings a fine of at least $1,500 for a first offense and $3,000 for each later one within three years, along with a six-month license suspension. Arizona sets a minimum civil penalty of $500 on a first violation and $1,000 on a third within 36 months. Alabama handles it through the registration, at $200 to reinstate after a first violation and $400 after that. Vermont's civil penalty stops at $500. Check the numbers in the tool above before reading further, since a policy under your state's three limits does not meet them. Everything else stays marked not verified until we read it.
Official pages read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Penalties we read, state by state
| State | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Registration suspended; $200 reinstatement fee on a first violation, $400 after that, plus proof of current insurance. | official text |
| Alaska | License suspended for at least 90 days when proof is not provided, and at least one year after an earlier suspension within 10 years (AS 28.22.041). | official text |
| Arizona | Civil penalty of at least $500 and three months of suspended or restricted driving on a first violation; $750 and six months on a second within 36 months; $1,000 and one year on a third (A.R.S. 28-4135). | official text |
| California | Registration suspended when the DMV receives no proof of insurance; the vehicle may not be driven or parked on public roads until proof is submitted. | official text |
| Delaware | On conviction, a fine of at least $1,500 for a first offense and $3,000 for each later offense within 3 years, and a 6-month license suspension. A lapse found by audit costs $100 per vehicle for 1 to 30 days, then $5 a day. | official text |
| District of Columbia | Civil fine of $500 or a license suspension of up to 30 days for a first driving offense. A lapse costs $150 per vehicle for 1 to 30 days, then $7 a day up to $2,500 (D.C. Code 31-2413). | official text |
| Georgia | A $25 fine for any lapse while the vehicle is registered, up to $160 more if that fine is not paid within 30 days, and suspension or revocation of the registration. | official text |
| Hawaii | You can be ticketed and fined for driving without the required insurance card; the amount is not on the page we read. | official text |
| Iowa | Coverage must be in effect and the card carried; a scheduled fine applies, set in another section whose amount we did not read (Iowa Code 321.20B). | official text |
| Kansas | Class B misdemeanor: fine of $300 to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both. A repeat within three years is a class A misdemeanor, with a fine of $800 to $2,500 (K.S.A. 40-3104). | official text |
| Louisiana | The registration is revoked, the vehicle impounded and the plate cancelled until proof of security is shown; reinstatement costs $100 for a lapse of 1 to 30 days, $250 for 31 to 90 days and $500 beyond 90 days (R.S. 32:863). | official text |
| Maryland | Registration suspended on a lapse. Penalty of $200 per vehicle for 1 to 30 days, then $7 a day, capped at $3,500 per violation in 12 months (Transportation 17-106). | official text |
| Minnesota | Misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor on a third conviction within ten years; license and owner registration revoked for up to 12 months (169.797). | official text |
| Mississippi | Initial penalty of $1,000 and suspension of driving privileges for one year or until proof of insurance is shown. | official text |
| Missouri | Class D misdemeanor on a first violation; later violations bring up to 15 days in jail and a fine starting at $200. A court may suspend the driving privilege (RSMo 303.025). | official text |
| Montana | Fine of $250 to $500 on a first conviction, $350 on a second, and $500, up to 10 days in jail, or both on a third; registration and plates surrendered from the second (MCA 61-6-304). | official text |
| Nevada | Registration suspended after even a one-day lapse, with fees and fines from $250 to $1,750 according to length of lapse and number of offenses. | official text |
| New York | The DMV can suspend the vehicle registration and the driver license if coverage is not maintained. | official text |
| Pennsylvania | Registration suspension; an optional civil penalty of $500 can replace serving it, plus a restoration fee. | official text |
| South Carolina | Registration and plates suspended until proof and a $200 reinstatement fee; a person who wilfully fails to return them faces a misdemeanor with a first fine of $100 to $200 or 30 days (S.C. Code Title 56, Chapter 10). | official text |
| South Dakota | Failing to maintain financial responsibility is a Class 2 misdemeanor (SDCL 32-35-113). | official text |
| Vermont | Civil penalty of up to $500, counted as a traffic violation; up to $100 under the proof requirement in the same section (23 V.S.A. 800). | official text |
| Virginia | Suspension of the license, registrations and plates until a $600 noncompliance fee is paid and proof of financial responsibility is furnished (Code 46.2-706). | official text |
| Washington | Failure to provide proof is a traffic infraction, with the penalty set by the supreme court under RCW 46.63.110 (RCW 46.30.020). The amount is not in the section we read. | official text |
| West Virginia | First offense: 30-day license suspension and registration revocation, avoidable by showing proof and paying a $200 penalty on time. Second within five years: 90 days (W. Va. Code 17D-2A-7). | official text |
| Wyoming | Misdemeanor: up to six months in jail, a fine of $500 to $1,500, or both (W.S. 31-4-103). | official text |
Not verified, because no penalty was read on an official page: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin.
Why a low limit is worth checking
North Carolina raised its minimums to 50/100/50 from 30/60/25 for new or renewed policies from 1 July 2025, according to its insurance department, and Virginia's statute now reads 50/100/25. A policy bought years ago can sit under a figure that has since moved. The tool above compares your three numbers with the state's three numbers and says which line is short.
Filing after a violation
Some states add a filing to the penalty. Nevada requires an SR-22 for 3 years after a lapse of 91 days or more on a first offense. Arizona requires proof of financial responsibility to be filed after a third violation, and Minnesota requires an insurer's certificate before reinstatement. The guide on those filings lists what we read.
What we did not read
Where the table gives a fine with no jail term, that is all the page we read said, not proof that no other consequence exists. We make no claim about what a court would do in your case. This is general information, not legal advice: for a citation, the court or the agency named on it is the place to ask.