California car insurance requirements
Last checked September 15, 2026
Average premium per insured vehicle (2023)
$607
2nd highest of 51 states and DC. Up 22.5% since 2019 , against 21.4% nationally. Five-year trend
What California requires
Recent changes
Full historyJanuary 1, 2025
Minimum liability limits raised from 15/30/5 to 30/60/15
January 1, 2025
Proof of financial responsibility now means 30/60/15
Guides covering California
- What a Gap in Coverage Actually Costs
A lapse is billed differently in every state — by the day in New York, by the reinstatement in Florida, by a civil penalty in North Carolina, and in Ohio by a fine that does not appear at all.
- The Crash You Are Required to Report Is Smaller Than You Think
Reporting duties start at $500 in Georgia, $1,000 in six states, $2,000 in Florida for crashes from 1 October 2026, and at no dollar figure at all in Pennsylvania.
- The One Percentage Point That Decides Your Claim
Across ten states there are four different rules for what your own share of the blame does to your claim — and in one of them, being 1% at fault ends it entirely.
- Two Deadlines, and Sometimes Two Agencies
Every state gives a new resident one deadline for the car and another for the licence — 10 days apart in Florida, 60 in Texas, and none at all in Michigan.
- The Form Four of These Ten States Do Not Use
An SR-22 is a certificate, not a policy — and in New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Michigan it does not exist at all.
- Fifteen Thousand Dollars, or Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand
The legal minimum for injuring one person in a crash ranges from $15,000 to $250,000 across ten states — and in Florida there is no bodily injury requirement at all.
Who to ask in California
- California Department of Insurance (CDI) — coverage, policies, complaints
- California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) — registration and titles
- California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) — driver licensing and SR-22