What changed in California

Insurance law does not sit still, but most guides are written once and left alone. Repealed programs and retired forms keep circulating for years. This is what actually changed inCalifornia, when, and where to verify it.

1. January 1, 2025

   Minimum coverage

   Minimum liability limits raised from 15/30/5 to 30/60/15

   SB 1107, the Protect California Drivers Act, doubled California's minimum liability limits for every policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025: $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury or death, and $15,000 for property damage. The old 15/30/5 figures had stood since 1967 and still appear in a great many guides; under Veh. Code § 16056 they now apply only to policies written before 2025. The same act schedules a further increase to 50/100/25 on January 1, 2035.

   Cal. Veh. Code § 16056 (Stats. 2022, Ch. 717 — SB 1107)

2. January 1, 2025

   SR-22

   Proof of financial responsibility now means 30/60/15

   SB 1107 also rewrote Veh. Code § 16430, the definition that governs what an SR 22 has to certify. From January 1, 2025 a driver filing proof after a suspension must show at least $30,000/$60,000 bodily injury and $15,000 property damage coverage, not the old $15,000/$30,000/$5,000. The three-year filing period itself is unchanged.

   Cal. Veh. Code § 16430 (Stats. 2022, Ch. 717 — SB 1107)

3. January 1, 2019

   Moving here

   Smog abatement fee replaced the inspection for newer vehicles

   Since January 1, 2019, owners of vehicles less than four model years old pay a smog abatement fee at registration instead of obtaining a smog inspection, and gasoline vehicles remain exempt from inspection for their first eight model years. This does not exempt an out-of-state vehicle being registered in California for the first time, which still needs a California smog certification unless it falls into an age or fuel-type exemption.

   California DMV — Smog Inspections