[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"/blog/sr-22-vs-fr-44-explained":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"category":205,"dateModified":206,"datePublished":206,"description":207,"draft":208,"extension":209,"featured":208,"image":210,"meta":211,"navigation":212,"path":213,"readingTime":214,"seo":215,"stem":216,"tags":217,"__hash__":224},"blog/blog/sr-22-vs-fr-44-explained.md","SR-22 vs. FR-44: The Two-State Exception","Premier Auto Savings",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":196},"minimark",[10,19,22,27,30,54,58,61,71,81,84,88,105,108,112,133,137,181,188,191],[11,12,13,14,18],"p",{},"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 ",[15,16,17],"strong",{},"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.",[11,20,21],{},"If you're in one of those two states, or moving between them and anywhere else, here's what actually changes.",[23,24,26],"h2",{"id":25},"what-an-sr-22-is-and-isnt","What an SR-22 is (and isn't)",[11,28,29],{},"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.",[11,31,32,33,37,38,43,44,48,49,53],{},"The important part is what the SR-22 ",[34,35,36],"em",{},"doesn't"," change: your coverage limits. A driver with an SR-22 in ",[39,40,42],"a",{"href":41},"/cheap-car-insurance-tennessee-2026","Tennessee"," or ",[39,45,47],{"href":46},"/cheap-car-insurance-ohio-2026","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 ",[39,50,52],{"href":51},"/blog/what-is-sr-22-insurance","SR-22 explainer"," covers the mechanics in full.",[23,55,57],{"id":56},"what-the-fr-44-changes","What the FR-44 changes",[11,59,60],{},"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.",[11,62,63,66,67,70],{},[15,64,65],{},"Florida."," Since October 1, 2007, a Florida driver convicted of DUI must file an FR-44 showing liability limits of ",[15,68,69],{},"$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.",[11,72,73,76,77,80],{},[15,74,75],{},"Virginia."," Virginia's FR-44 requires liability coverage that is ",[15,78,79],{},"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.",[11,82,83],{},"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.",[23,85,87],{"id":86},"what-it-costs","What it costs",[11,89,90,91,94,95,99,100,104],{},"The gap between carriers is the whole story here. In Virginia, an FR-44 policy starts around ",[15,92,93],{},"$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 ",[39,96,98],{"href":97},"/cheap-car-insurance-virginia-2026","Virginia guide"," has the full carrier spread. In Florida, the DUI surcharge compounds an already-expensive market; our ",[39,101,103],{"href":102},"/cheap-car-insurance-florida-2026","Florida guide"," covers the state's DUI pricing by carrier.",[11,106,107],{},"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.",[23,109,111],{"id":110},"the-moving-problem","The moving problem",[11,113,114,115,43,119,123,124,127,128,132],{},"FR-44 requirements don't travel cleanly. A Virginia driver who moves to ",[39,116,118],{"href":117},"/cheap-car-insurance-kentucky-2026","Kentucky",[39,120,122],{"href":121},"/cheap-car-insurance-massachusetts-2026","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 ",[34,125,126],{},"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 ",[39,129,131],{"href":130},"/blog/moving-states-car-insurance-2026","moving-states guide"," covers the general rule; the short version is that the state that imposed the requirement is the state you answer to.",[23,134,136],{"id":135},"what-to-do-if-you-need-one","What to do if you need one",[138,139,140,147,153,164,170],"ol",{},[141,142,143,146],"li",{},[15,144,145],{},"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.",[141,148,149,152],{},[15,150,151],{},"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.",[141,154,155,158,159,163],{},[15,156,157],{},"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 ",[39,160,162],{"href":161},"/blog/car-insurance-suspended-license","suspended-license guide"," covers how non-owner policies work.",[141,165,166,169],{},[15,167,168],{},"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.",[141,171,172,175,176,180],{},[15,173,174],{},"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. ",[39,177,179],{"href":178},"/","Compare quotes for your profile"," each year, and again the month the three years end.",[11,182,183,184,187],{},"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. ",[39,185,186],{"href":178},"Check what you'd pay today",", and check again when the filing comes off.",[189,190],"hr",{},[11,192,193],{},[34,194,195],{},"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.",{"title":197,"searchDepth":198,"depth":198,"links":199},"",2,[200,201,202,203,204],{"id":25,"depth":198,"text":26},{"id":56,"depth":198,"text":57},{"id":86,"depth":198,"text":87},{"id":110,"depth":198,"text":111},{"id":135,"depth":198,"text":136},"analysis","2026-09-14","Florida and Virginia don't use the SR-22 after a DUI. They use the FR-44, which requires double or more the minimum coverage. Here's what changes.",false,"md",null,{},true,"/blog/sr-22-vs-fr-44-explained","5",{"title":5,"description":207},"blog/sr-22-vs-fr-44-explained",[218,219,220,221,222,223],"sr-22","fr-44","dui","high-risk drivers","florida","virginia","f3WTNFGIkgmyXvyXCinS0V7yfQLrT4jHEqkQGDriSpM"]