8 min read · Last updated October 28, 2026
- Florida and Virginia don’t use the standard SR-22 for most driving-under-the-influence (DUI) convictions. Both require a separate filing, FR-44 (short for Financial Responsibility), tied to liability limits well above each state’s everyday minimum.
- Florida’s baseline bodily injury figure is $10,000 per person. A DUI conviction under Fla. Stat. § 324.023 raises that to $100,000 per person, exactly ten times higher, plus $300,000 per crash and $50,000 in property damage, held for 3 years from license reinstatement.
- Virginia’s FR-44 isn’t a fixed number in the code. Code of Virginia § 46.2-316(C) sets it at double whatever § 46.2-472 currently requires, so when Virginia’s own minimum rose to $50,000/$100,000/$25,000 in 2025, the FR-44 figure rose with it, to $100,000/$200,000/$50,000.
- A lapse doesn’t erase the requirement. Florida’s own statute ties reinstatement to a $150-to-$500 fee schedule and proof that FR-44-level coverage is back in force before driving privileges return.
FR-44 is a specific, higher-limit insurance certification that Florida and Virginia require after certain DUI convictions, in place of the standard SR-22 most other states use. It carries liability limits that run two to ten times each state’s everyday minimum.
In this article
- What FR-44 Actually Requires, and Why It Isn’t a Bigger SR-22
- Florida vs. Virginia FR-44 Insurance Limits: The Exact Numbers
- What This Actually Costs Bryce
- Frequently asked questions
Florida and Virginia are the only two states that don’t ask a DUI offender for a standard SR-22. Both require a different filing: FR-44, the Financial Responsibility certification form each state’s motor vehicle agency requires after certain DUI-type convictions. It carries liability limits several times higher than what either state asks of an ordinary driver.
A call from his insurance agent, not a judge, was what told Bryce Holloway his old auto policy wouldn’t cover him anymore. He’d carried Florida’s bare minimum: $10,000 in personal injury protection and $10,000 in property damage liability, no bodily injury liability coverage at all, since Florida doesn’t require it for a driver with a clean record.
After his DUI conviction, the state no longer wanted an SR-22 from him. It wanted an FR-44, and proof of $100,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, a figure his old policy had never included in any amount.
What FR-44 Actually Requires, and Why It Isn’t a Bigger SR-22
An SR-22 is a certification that an existing policy meets a state’s standard minimum. FR-44 is a different document entirely. It certifies that the policy meets a statutorily higher set of limits, specific to Florida and Virginia, limits that most SR-22 explainers mention only in passing.
If you want the general SR-22 mechanics, including the $25-$50 filing fee and the SR-26 lapse-notification form, DIN’s SR-22 overview covers that ground. This article covers only what changes once a state requires FR-44 instead.
Florida’s everyday minimum is unusual by national standards: $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) and $10,000 in property damage liability (PDL). There’s no bodily injury liability requirement for a driver with a clean record, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV). State minimums vary enormously elsewhere, too; DIN’s look at New Jersey’s 2026 minimum limits shows a very different regime next door.
But Florida law does define a bodily injury baseline for situations where proof of future financial responsibility is required. The baseline figures are $10,000 per person, $20,000 per crash for two or more people, and $10,000 in property damage, set out in Fla. Stat. § 324.021(7).
Those figures are what a DUI conviction multiplies.
Fla. Stat. § 324.023 applies to anyone found guilty of, or who pleads guilty or no contest to, a DUI under s. 316.193. It requires $100,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $300,000 per crash for two or more people, and $50,000 in property damage.
That coverage must be held for a minimum of 3 years from the date driving privileges are reinstated. An owner who skips insurance entirely and posts a bond instead needs a certificate of deposit of at least $350,000.
Virginia’s version works differently, and that difference matters more than it sounds. Virginia doesn’t write a fixed dollar figure into its DUI insurance statute at all. Code of Virginia § 46.2-316(C) bars license issuance or reinstatement for 3 years after a conviction under the state’s DUI, maiming-while-intoxicated, or driving-on-a-forfeited-license statutes.
The bar lifts only if the driver carries coverage at “double the minimum limits set forth in § 46.2-472.”
The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles’ own certifications page states this plainly. “FR-44 liability insurance coverage limits are double the SR-22 insurance coverage limits set forth in the Code of Virginia § 46.2-472.”
Florida vs. Virginia FR-44 Insurance Limits: The Exact Numbers
The table below compares each state’s everyday minimum to its FR-44 requirement. Because Virginia’s FR-44 is defined as a multiple of a moving target, its dollar figure changed on January 1, 2025, when § 46.2-472 raised the state’s own base minimum. No new conviction happened, and no new bill named the new FR-44 number.
| State | Standard minimum liability | FR-44 required minimum | Multiple | Hold period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | $10,000 PIP + $10,000 PDL (no bodily injury liability (BIL) required for a clean record; $10,000/$20,000 BIL is the statutory baseline when BIL is required) | $100,000/$300,000 bodily injury + $50,000 property damage | 10x bodily injury per person, 5x property damage | 3 years from license reinstatement |
| Virginia | $50,000/$100,000 bodily injury + $25,000 property damage (policies effective Jan. 1, 2025 and later) | $100,000/$200,000 bodily injury + $50,000 property damage | Exactly 2x across all three limits | 3 years |
What This Actually Costs Bryce
Before his conviction, Bryce’s PIP-and-PDL-only policy ran him roughly $96 a month, about $1,152 a year, with no bodily injury coverage in the mix at all. Once his insurer filed the FR-44 for $100,000/$300,000 bodily injury and $50,000 property damage, his new quote came back at roughly $268 a month, about $3,216 a year. That’s a difference of $2,064 a year, driven almost entirely by a coverage category his old policy never carried.
These are representative figures for his situation; an actual quote depends on the insurer, the conviction details, and the driver’s broader record.
On top of the premium, Florida’s financial-responsibility statute sets its own separate cost if the filing ever lapses. Fla. Stat. § 324.0221 suspends registration and driving privileges once an insurer reports a cancellation. Reinstatement requires a fee: $150 for a first reinstatement, $250 for a second, and $500 for each one after that inside the same 3-year window.
It also requires new proof that the § 324.023-level coverage is back in force.
Neither Florida’s nor Virginia’s statute describes a lapse as zeroing out the years already served. What both states do say is that the license bar reactivates the moment current proof isn’t on file.
A lapse that triggers a suspension pushes the date Bryce is actually reinstated later. That, in turn, pushes the 3-year window’s own end date later too.
Add up the three premium years alone: $2,064 a year in added premium times three comes to $6,192 over the full hold period, before counting whatever a lapse would add on top.
A Virginia driver in the same situation starts from a higher baseline policy, since Virginia already requires bodily injury coverage of every driver. But the jump is gentler: going from $50,000/$100,000/$25,000 to $100,000/$200,000/$50,000 is a flat doubling of limits the driver likely already carried some version of. Florida’s jump is steeper, from no bodily injury requirement at all to a six-figure one.
The mechanic that matters in both states is the same. The hold period is measured from the date driving privileges are reinstated, not from the date the FR-44 policy itself was purchased. A conviction that delays reinstatement also delays when the 3-year clock even starts running.
Frequently asked questions
Is FR-44 more expensive than SR-22? FR-44 itself isn’t a separate charge. It’s a certification, like an SR-22. What costs more is the coverage behind it: Florida requires $100,000/$300,000 bodily injury and $50,000 property damage for an FR-44, versus a $10,000/$20,000/$10,000 baseline, and Virginia requires exactly double its own current minimum. Higher limits mean a higher premium, which is where the real cost increase comes from.
Do Florida and Virginia require FR-44 for every DUI? Florida requires it for anyone found guilty of, or who pleads guilty or no contest to, DUI under s. 316.193. Virginia requires it for DUI, maiming while intoxicated, and driving on a license forfeited for a DUI-related conviction, plus comparable out-of-state or federal violations, under Code of Virginia § 46.2-316(C).
How long do I need to carry FR-44? Both states set the hold period at 3 years. Florida’s clock runs from the date driving privileges are reinstated, per Fla. Stat. § 324.023, provided there’s no new DUI or felony traffic conviction in that window. Virginia’s 3-year bar under § 46.2-316 works similarly, tied to when the driver becomes entitled to reinstatement.
What happens if my FR-44 policy lapses? In Florida, the insurer must report the cancellation, and the state suspends registration and driving privileges under Fla. Stat. § 324.0221 until you pay a reinstatement fee, $150 for a first reinstatement, $250 for a second, $500 after that, and prove the FR-44-level coverage is active again. Virginia’s insurer must report a lapse within 15 days, and the license bar under § 46.2-316 stays in effect until new proof is filed.
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