Auto insurance in Virginia: what’s required, and what isn’t
Virginia changed something fundamental on 1 July 2024: it eliminated the option to register a vehicle uninsured by paying a $500 fee. That fee never provided coverage to anyone — it simply bought permission to drive without it. Every vehicle registered in Virginia now needs a policy meeting 30/60/20, with uninsured motorist coverage at matching limits.
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What Virginia requires you to carry
| Bodily injury, per person | $30,000 |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury, per accident | $60,000 |
| Property damage, per accident | $20,000 |
Virginia also requires
- Uninsured motorist coverage — at your liability limits
- Virginia requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage matching your liability limits. Because the liability floor is 30/60/20, so is the UM floor.
These are floors, not recommendations. Virginia sets the minimum a driver may legally carry. It does not assess whether that amount would cover a claim you caused. Anything above your limits is your personal exposure.
How Virginia enforces it
Virginia verifies insurance electronically and can suspend registration and driving privileges on a lapse. Since 1 July 2024 there is no alternative to carrying a policy: every vehicle registered in Virginia must have insurance meeting the state limits.
How rates are set in Virginia
Virginia is an at-fault state. The driver responsible for a crash is responsible for the resulting injury and property damage, and their liability limits cap what the insurer pays on their behalf.
The State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance regulates carriers and publishes the Virginia auto insurance guide, while the DMV owns registration, proof of coverage and financial responsibility. Virginia is a competitive-rating state.
The uninsured motorist requirement is the structural detail worth knowing: coverage must match your liability limits rather than sit at an independent minimum, so the two move together.
Credit-based insurance scores in Virginia
Virginia permits credit-based insurance scores in rating. Virginia premiums have historically run below the national average, though the 2024 removal of the uninsured fee option and the earlier increase in minimum limits have pushed the floor up for the drivers who were carrying least.
What actually moves your premium here
The $500 uninsured fee option is gone
For decades Virginia let you register a vehicle without insurance by paying a $500 uninsured motor vehicle fee — a fee that bought you nothing and covered nobody. That option was repealed effective 1 July 2024. Every registered vehicle now needs a real policy. If your last registration predates the change, this is new.
Uninsured motorist coverage tracks your liability limits
Virginia requires UM and UIM at your liability limits rather than at a separate floor. Raise liability and your own protection rises with it automatically — which makes increasing liability a better-value decision here than in states where UM stays put unless you ask.
Northern Virginia is a different market from the rest of the state
The DC suburbs carry congestion, repair costs and claim frequency well above the rest of Virginia. Carriers rate by garaging ZIP, so the statewide average badly misrepresents both ends.
Coastal and inland storm exposure
Hampton Roads carries hurricane and tidal flooding exposure, and remnants of tropical systems produce inland flooding across the state. Vehicle flood and storm damage is comprehensive coverage — liability of any size does not respond.
See what you’d be matched with in Virginia
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Comparing carriers in Virginia
If you previously paid the uninsured motor vehicle fee, you are shopping for a real policy for the first time. Fix your limits before comparing price, and remember the fee you were paying bought no coverage at all — the comparison is not like for like.
Because UM tracks liability in Virginia, raising your liability limits raises your own protection at the same time. That makes moving above 30/60/20 better value here than the premium difference alone suggests.
One habit matters more than any single carrier choice: re-check every year or two, and again after anything that changes your risk profile — a move across town, a new vehicle, a driver added or removed, or a violation ageing off your record. Carriers re-weight their rating factors continuously, so the one that priced you best three years ago is often not the one that prices you best today.
If you need an SR-22 in Virginia
Virginia requires an SR-22 filing after certain suspensions, including driving without insurance and DUI convictions. Your insurer files it with the DMV and must notify the state if the policy lapses. Confirm the period for your case with Virginia DMV, since it runs from your reinstatement date.
Virginia auto insurance FAQ
- What is the minimum car insurance required in Virginia?
- Liability coverage of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury plus $20,000 for property damage, with uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage at matching limits.
- Can I still pay the uninsured motor vehicle fee in Virginia?
- No. The option to pay a $500 fee instead of carrying insurance was eliminated effective 1 July 2024, and the DMV no longer collects it. Every vehicle registered in Virginia must now have a policy meeting the state limits.
- Did the uninsured motor vehicle fee provide any coverage?
- No, and that was the point of removing it. Paying the fee allowed you to register an uninsured vehicle. It did not provide or substitute for insurance coverage for you or anyone you might injure.
- How much uninsured motorist coverage do I need in Virginia?
- It must match your liability limits. If you carry the 30/60/20 minimum, your UM is 30/60/20; if you raise liability, UM rises with it automatically.
- Is Virginia an at-fault or no-fault state?
- Virginia is an at-fault state. The driver who caused the crash is responsible for the resulting damage, and their liability coverage pays up to the policy limits.
Sources
Requirements on this page were verified against Virginia’s own regulator and motor vehicle agency on the date shown at the top. Rules change — if you are making a decision that turns on an exact figure, confirm it at the source.
- Virginia DMV — Insurance requirements
- Virginia DMV — New laws effective 1 July 2024
- Virginia SCC — Virginia auto insurance guide
Consumer help in Virginia: Virginia State Corporation Commission, Bureau of Insurance, (877) 310-6560.