Driving without insurance in Virginia

Virginia's current law has no fee in place of insurance. An uninsured vehicle means a $600 noncompliance fee, suspension of license and plates, and up to three years of proof — with a payment plan for the fee.

No fee instead of insurance

Many people still search for Virginia's “uninsured motorist fee” — a payment that once let an owner register a vehicle without insurance. The current section 46.2-706, as published in the 2025 Code, contains no such alternative. Every person registering a motor vehicle must certify to the Commissioner “that the motor vehicle is an insured motor vehicle,” or that the owner holds a certificate of self-insurance. That is the whole choice.

An “insured motor vehicle” is one with bodily injury and property damage liability insurance at the amounts in section 46.2-472 — 50/100/25 — from an insurer authorized in Virginia, or covered by a bond, a deposit or self-insurance. Mopeds are outside this article.

When the DMV finds no insurance

The DMV compares its records with liability information insurers transmit. If it finds none, it may require the owner to verify coverage. If the owner refuses or neglects to do so within 30 days, or the insurer reports the policy is not in effect, the Commissioner must suspend “any driver's license and all registration certificates and license plates issued to the owner” until the person:

• pays a noncompliance fee of $600, and
• furnishes proof of financial responsibility in the future — the SR-22 filing.

The suspension does not take effect until the owner has been offered an administrative hearing; a request must reach the DMV within 180 days of the order, with exceptions for military service, incarceration, hospitalization and absence from the country. After three years from the suspension, the Commissioner may relieve the person of the proof requirement.

Driving uninsured: a Class 3 misdemeanor

An owner of an uninsured vehicle licensed or subject to registration in Virginia, or carrying temporary plates, who operates it or lets someone else operate it is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. So is a driver who is not the owner but knows the vehicle is uninsured. Falsely verifying insurance to the Commissioner is the same offense.

Surrender the plates

The owner of an uninsured vehicle “shall immediately surrender the vehicle's license plates” to the DMV unless the registration has been deactivated; failing to is a further Class 3 misdemeanor.

Good-cause belief

These offenses do not apply if the owner “had good cause to believe and did believe” the vehicle was insured — a lapse the owner did not know about is treated under a different section.

After a conviction

A conviction leads to suspension of the titled owner's license and all registrations and plates until the $600 fee is paid and proof for the future is filed, again relievable after three years. The Commissioner dispenses with the suspension where the records show conclusively that the vehicle was insured before the alleged offense.

An uninsured vehicle in an accident

If an uninsured vehicle subject to Virginia registration is in a reportable accident with death, injury or property damage, the owner's license, plates and registrations are suspended until the accident provisions are complied with, the $600 fee is paid and proof for the future is filed. A certificate of insurance showing the vehicle was insured on the date and at the time of the accident is “sufficient bar” to the suspension.

Paying the $600 over time

The DMV may let a person 18 or older pay the noncompliance fee in installments over no more than three years. To enter the plan the person pays a $25 administrative fee and any reinstatement fee, has no other suspension outstanding, and must not have defaulted twice on the same plan. Driving privileges are reinstated on entering the plan. A late or missed installment re-suspends everything until the balance is paid and proof is filed.

SR-22 here, FR-44 elsewhere

The proof required after an uninsured suspension is proof at Virginia's ordinary limits — the SR-22. The FR-44, at double limits, follows intoxication convictions. The Virginia page covers both forms and the reinstatement fee, and driving without insurance compares other states.

Common questions