Most drivers who get a DUI in the United States end up with an SR-22 — a certificate their insurer files with the state to prove they're carrying at least the legal minimum coverage. Two states do it differently. In Florida and Virginia, a DUI conviction triggers an FR-44 instead, and the difference isn't the form number. It's the coverage. An SR-22 proves you meet the state minimum; an FR-44 proves you're carrying double it or more, for three years, with a hard reset if the policy lapses for a single day.
If you're in one of those two states, or moving between them and anywhere else, here's what actually changes.
What an SR-22 is (and isn't)
An SR-22 isn't insurance. It's a filing — a one-page certificate your insurer sends to the DMV saying "this person has a policy that meets your minimums, and we'll tell you if it cancels." States require it after violations serious enough that they want ongoing proof of coverage rather than a one-time check: driving without insurance, a suspended license, reckless driving, multiple tickets in a short window, and in most states, a DUI. The requirement usually runs three years. If the policy lapses, the insurer files an SR-26, and the state suspends the license again.
The important part is what the SR-22 doesn't change: your coverage limits. A driver with an SR-22 in Tennessee or Ohio can carry the same 25/50/25 minimum as everyone else. The cost of the SR-22 is the surcharge for the underlying violation, plus a filing fee, not a bigger policy. Our SR-22 explainer covers the mechanics in full.
What the FR-44 changes
Florida and Virginia both keep the SR-22 for lesser violations. For a DUI, they swap in the FR-44, and the FR-44 comes with its own minimums.
Florida. Since October 1, 2007, a Florida driver convicted of DUI must file an FR-44 showing liability limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $50,000 for property damage — or a $350,000 combined single limit — per the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida's ordinary minimum is 10/20/10, so the FR-44 requires ten times the bodily-injury coverage of a standard policy. It stays on file for three years from reinstatement, and any lapse suspends the license immediately.
Virginia. Virginia's FR-44 requires liability coverage that is double the state minimum, under Virginia Code § 46.2-316. Since Virginia raised its minimums to 50/100/25 in January 2025, that means an FR-44 policy carries at least 100/200/50. The requirement runs three years after the revocation or suspension period ends, and it applies to DUI convictions, DUI-related refusals, and driving on a license revoked for those offenses. Virginia still uses the SR-22 for driving uninsured, falsified insurance information, and motor-vehicle felonies.
The practical effect is the same in both states: the FR-44 driver isn't just paying a DUI surcharge on a minimum policy. They're paying a DUI surcharge on a policy several times larger than the minimum, at the moment insurers consider them highest-risk. That's why FR-44 rates run so much higher than SR-22 rates in states that use the standard form.
What it costs
The gap between carriers is the whole story here. In Virginia, an FR-44 policy starts around $67 a month at Auto-Owners and $69 at State Farm, per rate data current as of August 2026 — not far above the state's $56 clean-record floor, because those two carriers price the filing gently. At the other end of the same table, the same FR-44 driver pays more than $200 a month. Our Virginia guide has the full carrier spread. In Florida, the DUI surcharge compounds an already-expensive market; our Florida guide covers the state's DUI pricing by carrier.
Two things follow from that. First, shopping matters more for an FR-44 driver than for almost anyone else, because the spread between the cheapest and most expensive carrier is widest exactly where the surcharge is largest. Second, the filing itself is cheap — insurers typically charge $15 to $25 to file it — so a quote that looks high isn't the form; it's the carrier's view of the risk, and another carrier may see it differently.
The moving problem
FR-44 requirements don't travel cleanly. A Virginia driver who moves to Kentucky or Massachusetts — two states that don't issue SR-22s at all — still owes Virginia its three years of FR-44, and needs an insurer licensed in Virginia willing to file it from out of state. Virginia accepts a letter on the insurer's letterhead confirming the double-minimum limits for non-residents. The reverse is simpler: a driver moving into Florida or Virginia with an SR-22 from another state keeps that state's requirement, not the new one's, until it expires. Our moving-states guide covers the general rule; the short version is that the state that imposed the requirement is the state you answer to.
What to do if you need one
- Know which form you actually need. In Florida and Virginia, a DUI means FR-44; most other violations mean SR-22. The DMV notice will say which.
- Quote the carriers that price the filing gently first. In Virginia that's Auto-Owners and State Farm. In Florida, ask specifically for FR-44 quotes — some carriers decline them outright, and the ones that don't vary by hundreds of dollars a month.
- Consider a non-owner policy if you don't have a car. Both states accept non-owner FR-44 filings, and they're cheaper than covering a vehicle. Our suspended-license guide covers how non-owner policies work.
- Don't let it lapse. Not for a day. A lapse restarts the clock in both states and re-suspends the license. Set the policy to auto-pay before you do anything else.
- Re-shop every renewal. The DUI surcharge fades faster at some carriers than others, and the FR-44 limits stay fixed while your record improves. Compare quotes for your profile each year, and again the month the three years end.
The three years pass. The DUI stays on the record longer than that in most states, but the FR-44 requirement itself expires, the limits drop back to whatever you choose, and the carrier that priced you kindest during the filing period is rarely the one that's cheapest afterward. Check what you'd pay today, and check again when the filing comes off.
Florida FR-44 limits and effective date per Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles financial responsibility bulletins (limits of 100/300/50 or $350,000 combined single limit for DUI convictions after October 1, 2007). Virginia FR-44 requirement per Virginia DMV Form FR-44 and Virginia Code § 46.2-316(C) (coverage double the minimums of § 46.2-472); Virginia's 50/100/25 minimums effective January 1, 2025. Virginia FR-44 carrier rates per the data cited in our linked Virginia guide, current as of August 31, 2026. Filing fees and non-owner availability per carrier disclosures. Requirements vary by conviction and court order; confirm your own timeline with your state DMV.