FR-44 Insurance in Virginia
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FR-44 insurance in Virginia is a certificate of financial responsibility required after a DUI, DWI, or other serious driving conviction, not a separate type of insurance policy. It proves you carry double Virginia’s standard minimum liability coverage: 100/200/50 instead of the state’s everyday 50/100/25 requirement. Virginia typically requires FR-44 coverage for 3 years. According to Insurify’s 2026 Virginia rate data, drivers with a first-offense FR-44 pay $140 to $165 per month for liability-only coverage, compared to $95 to $120 per month for a clean-record driver.
If you’ve been convicted of a DUI or DWI in Virginia, here’s exactly what an FR-44 requires, what it costs, how long you need to carry it, and how to find affordable coverage that qualifies. (If your violation wasn’t DUI-related, you may need an SR-22 instead, see our guide to the difference between SR-22 and FR-44.)
Key Takeaways
1. FR-44 insurance is required in Virginia after a DUI, DWI, or other serious driving conviction. Unlike an SR-22, it applies to more severe offenses.
2. An FR-44 requires drivers to carry double Virginia's minimum liability limits: 100/200/50 instead of the standard 50/100/25.
3. The filing requirement typically lasts three years. Drivers must pay an insurer filing fee (usually $15–$25), and if their license was suspended, a $145 Virginia DMV reinstatement fee may also apply.
4. You don't need to own a vehicle to meet the requirement. A non-owner FR-44 insurance policy satisfies Virginia's filing requirements.
5. Since July 1, 2024, all Virginia drivers are required to carry auto insurance. Previously, drivers could pay an uninsured motor vehicle fee instead of maintaining coverage.
6. Although Virginia has one of the nation's lowest uninsured driver rates, maintaining continuous FR-44 coverage is essential to avoid restarting the filing period and to stay financially protected.
FR-44 insurance comes into play for high-risk drivers that have committed serious driving infractions, like driving under the influence or maiming someone while driving. It’s designed to help protect other drivers by ensuring you carry more than the minimum amount of car insurance. If your license is suspended, you may need FR-44 insurance to get back on the road. Your car insurance provider will contact the DMV directly, confirming that you have purchased the higher liability limits of insurance, which ensures you can cover potential damages if you cause an accident.
If you’ve been ordered to get FR-44 insurance, don’t panic: the steps to get back on the road are fairly straightforward. Your first step is to find insurance providers that offer FR-44 insurance, because not all do. You will want to contact multiple providers to get quotes, because FR-44 insurance is pricier than standard auto insurance, so it will be important to compare quotes and find the best possible rate.
Here’s the breakdown on how much is fr44 insurance in Virginia:
| Standard Virginia Minimum | FR-44 Required Minimum | |
|---|---|---|
| Bodily injury liability | $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident | $100,000 per person / $200,000 per accident |
| Property damage liability | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| Commonly written as | 50/100/25 | 100/200/50 |
Source: insurify.com
Note: Rates are based on averages and may not reflect your specific profile.
It’s important to note, the above coverage was recently increased in 2025; before that, the minimum coverage for both standard and FR-44 insurance was lower.
As you can see, the amount of coverage needed for FR-44 insurance is significantly higher, but it’s by design: because you’re a higher risk driver, the state wants to ensure that you can cover damages, should you cause an accident.
The good news is, this isn’t permanent. Getting rid of FR-44 insurance is entirely possible by maintaining a clean driving record over time. You’ve got this!
Cost depends on whether this is your first DUI/DWI-related filing or a repeat offense. Here are estimated ranges by driver profile:
| Driver Profile | Est. Monthly Liability-Only | Est. Monthly Full Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Clean record (no FR-44 required) | $95 – $120/mo | $170 – $210/mo |
| FR-44 — first DUI/DWI conviction | $140 – $165/mo | $230 – $270/mo |
| FR-44 — repeat offense / prior violations | $180 – $220/mo | $280 – $330/mo |
Source: insurify.com
Note: Rates are based on averages and may not reflect your specific profile.
An FR-44 requirement typically comes with two separate costs beyond your premium. Here’s the breakdown:
| Fee Type | Est. Cost | When It Applies |
|---|---|---|
| FR-44 filing fee | $15 – $25 | Charged by your insurer to file the certificate with the Virginia DMV |
| License reinstatement fee | $145 | Charged by the Virginia DMV to reinstate a suspended license |
Source: insurify.com
Note: Rates are based on averages and may not reflect your specific profile.
Not every insurer offers FR-44 filings, and rates vary between those that do. Here are some of the more competitively priced options for Virginia FR-44 policies:
| Company | Est. Monthly Range | Files FR-44? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Farm | $90 – $110/mo | ✅ Yes | Most competitively priced overall; local agent support |
| Auto-Owners | $85 – $105/mo | ✅ Yes | Strong rates across Virginia generally |
| USAA | $90 – $115/mo | ✅ Yes | Military members and families (membership required) |
| GEICO | $105 – $135/mo | ✅ Yes | Easy online policy management |
| Progressive | $110 – $140/mo | ✅ Yes | Drivers with violations; strong online quoting tools |
Source: insurify.com
Note: Rates are based on averages and may not reflect your specific profile.
No. Even if you don’t have a car, you’re still required to have FR-44 coverage in place to legally get behind the wheel again. A non-owner FR-44 policy satisfies this requirement, typically providing liability-only coverage. Beyond meeting the legal requirement, maintaining a non-owner policy has another benefit: it keeps your insurance history continuous, which helps you avoid the rate increases that come with a coverage lapse.
FR-44 is often confused with SR-22, and while both serve a similar purpose, proving financial responsibility to the state, they apply in different situations. FR-44 is only used in Virginia and Florida, typically for more serious offenses like a DUI or DWI. SR-22 is used more broadly across most states and is generally reserved for less serious violations, like reckless driving or driving without insurance.
The most important difference is how much coverage you need. With SR-22, you only need Virginia’s standard minimum liability coverage. With FR-44, you need double that amount. For a full breakdown of when each applies, see our guide on the difference between SR-22 and FR-44.
Virginia only began requiring all drivers to carry auto insurance as of July 1, 2024. Before that, Virginia was one of the few states where drivers could legally skip insurance by paying an Uninsured Motor Vehicle fee instead. That option no longer exists, every driver in Virginia must now carry the state’s minimum coverage, and for high-risk drivers, that means satisfying requirements like FR-44 rather than opting out.
Partly as a result of this change, Virginia’s uninsured driver rate, historically around 10 to 12 percent, already among the lowest in the country, is expected to decline further. That’s good context for FR-44 drivers specifically: continuous coverage isn’t just a legal requirement anymore, it’s the only path back to driving legally in Virginia.
Tempted to get rid of your car after an FR-44 ruling? Unfortunately, this won’t work: even if you don’t have a car, you’re still required to have FR-44 insurance in place to get behind the wheel. You’ll instead look for non-owner insurance with an FR-44 form, which usually only provides liability coverage. Having non-owner coverage does have an added benefit, besides making sure you’re covered if you do drive: you’ll maintain continuous insurance coverage, which will eventually pay off by avoiding price hikes caused by a lapse in coverage.
The fact of the matter is that if you’re required to have FR-44 insurance, you will need to maintain it until the legal requirement period is over. This is usually at least three years. There isn’t much you can do until then except drive as carefully as you can, to avoid any new infractions. Once the requirement period is over, you can let your insurance provider know and they can remove it from your file. This typically leads to a reduction in insurance costs, but it doesn’t hurt to shop around for new quotes to be safe.
We know it can be frustrating to have FR-44 insurance, but it doesn’t have to be for forever. Although you’ll need to have FR-44 for at least three years, you can eventually drop it if you maintain a clean driving record. Those three years will fly by if you drive safely and maintain your insurance, and while you’re at it, keep up a good credit score and you’ll see a significant reduction in car insurance costs once you are no longer required to have FR-44 insurance.
Mistakes happen, and an FR-44 form is a way to fix that mistake while ensuring protection for other drivers on the road. Most important is making sure you maintain a clean driving record going forward, and in the meantime find ways to save on car insurance costs to make FR-44 insurance a little less painful.
FR-44 insurance in Virginia is a certificate of financial responsibility, not a separate insurance policy. It proves you carry double Virginia’s standard minimum liability coverage, 100/200/50 instead of 50/100/25, typically required after a DUI or DWI conviction.
Based on 2026 Insurify data, Virginia drivers with a first-offense FR-44 typically pay $140 to $165 per month for liability-only coverage, compared to $95 to $120 per month for a clean-record driver. Repeat offenses can raise that to $180 to $220 per month or more.
You’ll typically need to carry FR-44 insurance for 3 years. A lapse in coverage during that period can restart the requirement.
SR-22 applies to less serious violations and requires Virginia’s standard minimum liability coverage. FR-44 applies to DUI, DWI, and similarly serious convictions and requires double that coverage. See our guide to the difference between SR-22 and FR-44 for details.
No. A non-owner FR-44 policy satisfies the requirement if you don’t own a vehicle, and it typically provides liability-only coverage.
The insurer’s filing fee is typically $15 to $25. This is separate from Virginia’s $145 DMV license reinstatement fee, which applies if your license was suspended.
Rates vary by driver profile, but insurers like State Farm, Auto-Owners, and USAA (for eligible members) are generally among the more competitively priced options for FR-44 filings in Virginia, per 2026 Insurify data.
Yes, once the required period (typically 3 years) ends and you’ve maintained a clean driving record, you can notify your insurer to remove the FR-44 requirement, which usually reduces your premium.
Virginia’s uninsured driver rate is roughly 10 to 12 percent, among the lowest in the country, and expected to decline further following the state’s 2024 shift to mandatory auto insurance.
Explore state-by-state car insurance trends to understand where drivers pay less on average.
Lauren Lewthwaite Lauren Lewthwaite has been freelance writing for almost five years writing content that ranges from health to insurance and everything in between. Lauren is also a trained translator in French and English and is a dog-mom to an adorable Australian Shepherd.
