Last updated: October 12, 2026
SR-22 vs FR-44: The Short Answer
SR-22 vs FR-44 is really a question of which state you live in and why you need the form. An FR-44 is a stricter version of the SR-22. Only two states use it: Florida and Virginia. Both forms tell the state you carry proof of financial responsibility. The difference is how much coverage that proof has to show.
An FR-44 requires substantially higher liability limits than a standard SR-22. It also shows up for a narrower reason: mainly a DUI or DWI conviction, not the broader list of triggers behind an ordinary SR-22.
If your notice came from a state other than Florida or Virginia, you almost certainly need an SR-22, not an FR-44. Check the letter or court order you received. It will name the form directly, so you don’t have to guess.
| SR-22 | FR-44 | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it is used | Most states | Florida and Virginia only |
| What triggers it | Virginia: unsatisfied judgments, uninsured-vehicle suspensions, felonies involving a motor vehicle. Florida: other violations, and a DUI on or before October 1, 2007 | DUI and DWI-type convictions. Florida: DUI convictions after October 1, 2007 |
| Florida liability limits | $10,000 per person and $20,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $10,000 property damage | $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident and $50,000 property damage |
| Virginia liability limits | The standard minimum, $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident and $25,000 property damage since January 1, 2025 | Double the standard limits (Virginia DMV). Confirm the dollar figure with your insurer or the DMV |
| How long Florida and Virginia require it | Three years | Three years |
Why Florida and Virginia Use FR-44 Instead of SR-22
Both states decided a standard SR-22 wasn’t enough protection after an alcohol-related offense. As a result, they built a separate form with a higher bar.
The logic is simple. A driver with a DUI on record has already shown the state one kind of risk. In response, the state asks for more coverage behind that driver, not less.
Florida’s FR-44 Minimums
Florida’s requirement is documented directly by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in a bulletin dated December 19, 2007. It applies to convictions from October 1, 2007 onward:
- $100,000 bodily injury liability per person
- $300,000 bodily injury liability per accident
- $50,000 property damage liability per accident
- Or a combined single limit of $350,000
For comparison, Florida’s ordinary minimum is just $10,000 property damage and $10,000 personal injury protection. The jump is significant. The requirement runs for three years from the date it starts, per the same bulletin.
Virginia’s FR-44 Minimums (and Why the Web Disagrees on Them)
This is where we’re going to slow down, because the numbers genuinely don’t match across sources, and we think we know why.
The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles confirms on its own site that FR-44 limits are double the standard limits set in Code of Virginia § 46.2-472. However, it doesn’t publish the dollar figure directly.
Here’s the complication. Virginia raised its own standard minimum on January 1, 2025. The new minimum is $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 in property damage. Doubling that gives $100,000/$200,000/$50,000 for FR-44.
That’s not what most guides currently say. Several, including one major insurer’s own consumer blog, list Virginia’s FR-44 minimum as $50,000/$100,000/$40,000. That figure lines up with Virginia’s old standard minimum ($25,000/$50,000/$20,000) doubled, not the one that took effect in 2025. In other words, the pricing math on those pages likely hasn’t caught up with the rate change yet.
We’re not going to repeat a number we can’t confirm is current. If you’re filing an FR-44 in Virginia, ask your insurer or the DMV directly for today’s figure before you buy a policy. We’ll lock in a single verified number here once we have it in writing from an official source.
| Figure | Per person / per accident / property damage | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Standard minimum since January 1, 2025 | $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 | Virginia's current standard limits |
| Doubled new minimum | $100,000 / $200,000 / $50,000 | Our arithmetic: the FR-44 limits are double the standard limits |
| Older figure still printed by many guides | $50,000 / $100,000 / $40,000 | Matches the old minimum ($25,000 / $50,000 / $20,000) doubled. The DMV certification guide still prints it |
Confirm today’s figure with your insurer or the DMV.
How Much More an FR-44 Costs You
Two separate charges get lumped together constantly, and untangling them matters.
The filing fee is what your insurer charges to submit the form itself. For a standard FR-44 or SR-22, that’s typically around $25.
The bigger cost is your premium increase, and here the data is more concrete than most articles let on. According to a 2026 industry analysis, drivers who need an SR-22 pay $1,511 a year more on average, based on rate data covering more than 220 insurers and 34,588 ZIP codes nationwide. For a DUI specifically, that average rises to roughly $2,700 a year. FR-44 states aren’t broken out separately in that data, but because FR-44 requires double the coverage, expect the increase to run higher than the DUI-only average, not lower.
That’s the honest range: hundreds of dollars a month is not typical, but a meaningful four-figure jump per year is.
SR-22 vs FR-44: Which Violations Trigger Each Form, According to State Agencies
The SR-22 vs FR-44 split follows the violation, not just the state. Virginia’s DMV says an SR-22 certification applies to unsatisfied judgments, uninsured-vehicle suspensions and felonies involving a motor vehicle, while the FR-44 applies to DUI and DWI-type convictions. Florida reserves the FR-44 for DUI convictions after October 1, 2007, as its FLHSMV DUI FAQ explains. It uses the SR-22 for other violations, and for a DUI on or before that date.
The coverage gap between the two Florida forms is large. According to Florida’s procedures manual for insurers, an SR-22 in Florida requires bodily injury liability of at least $10,000 per person and $20,000 per accident, plus $10,000 for property damage. The FR-44 requires the $100,000, $300,000 and $50,000 limits above, and insurers cannot cancel an FR-44 certificate at those limits the way they can cancel some other filings. Our guide on what SR22 insurance is covers the other triggers.
Non-Owner FR-44 Policies
If you don’t own a car but still need to satisfy an FR-44 requirement, a non-owner policy can work, but only in specific circumstances.
Industry guidance is direct on this: non-owner FR-44 coverage is available if you occasionally borrow a car from someone outside your household. It is not available if you own a vehicle, or if you regularly drive a car that belongs to someone you live with. In that case, you need to be added to their policy instead.
This detail gets skipped in most articles that cover FR-44 broadly. It matters most for people rebuilding after losing a license, since they’re often the ones without a car of their own.
A Caution on Non-Owner FR-44 in Florida
The industry guidance above holds in many places, but Florida’s own documents are stricter. Its procedures manual and a related memo tell insurers not to submit non-ownership policies for certification, and they expect drivers to carry the certificate on a vehicle they own. If Florida is your state, confirm with your insurer before you plan around a non-owner FR-44. Virginia takes a different approach. Its DMV describes an operator’s policy for people without vehicles, so they can drive other cars while they maintain proof.
SR-22 vs FR-44: How Long You Need to Carry Either One
Florida’s requirement runs three years, confirmed directly in the official bulletin above. Virginia’s DMV certification guide says the certificate must stay active for three years from the end of your suspension or revocation, or from the date you satisfy a judgment. Note that the same guide still prints an older FR-44 dollar figure of $50,000, $100,000 and $40,000. That predates the 2022 and 2025 minimum increases, which is why we still send you to your insurer for today’s number.
Either way, don’t assume the filing ends automatically. Both states expect your insurer to notify them when the requirement is over, not the other way around. Arizona, for one, runs a three-year clock through its MVD, which we cover in SR22 insurance in Arizona.
SR-22 vs FR-44: What Happens If You Move Out of State
This is a gap in almost every guide on this topic, and it matters more than the cost section for anyone actually relocating.
An FR-44 obligation does not transfer and does not simply end because you moved. You can’t transfer your FR-44 certificate outside Florida or Virginia, and letting the policy lapse creates a real problem: it can get flagged in the National Driver Register, which can block you from getting a license in your new state.
The practical path is keeping your Florida or Virginia FR-44 policy active for the full required period, while separately buying ordinary coverage in your new state for day-to-day driving. It’s an extra cost, but it’s the one that avoids a second suspension on top of the first.
Getting an FR-44 or SR-22 Filed
Whichever side of SR-22 vs FR-44 you land on, the process is the same. You buy a policy that meets the required minimum, and your insurer files the form with the state on your behalf. You don’t file it yourself.
What changes with an FR-44 is simply the size of the policy you need to buy. That’s also why FR-44 policies cost more than a standard SR-22 policy covering an otherwise identical driver.
New to the form itself? What Is SR22 Insurance? explains what it is and who needs one.
For the cost side of a DUI filing, see how much insurance goes up after a DUI.
The team at High Risk Auto Guide isn’t a licensed insurance agency. The information in this article is educational and based on official, verified sources as of the date noted. Confirm the details that apply to your specific case with your state’s DMV/BMV or with your own insurance company.
