North Carolina Car Insurance Minimum Requirements

What North Carolina law requires you to carry, and what your insurer must offer you on top of it.

Shorthand: 50/100/50
Raised from 30/60/25 on July 1, 2025. Many guides still print the old limits.
Bodily injury — per person: $50,000
Bodily injury — per accident: $100,000
Property damage: $50,000
Uninsured / underinsured motorist: Required — cannot be rejected
Uninsured motorist bodily injury, uninsured motorist property damage and underinsured motorist bodily injury are all mandatory. By default the limits equal the highest liability limits on the policy; you may buy different limits but never below the state minimum, and no insurer must sell above $1,000,000. UM property damage carries a $100 deductible.
Personal injury protection (PIP): Not required
North Carolina is a tort state and requires no personal injury protection. G.S. 20-279.21(b) requires liability, uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage only; medical payments coverage is sold separately for an additional premium.

What changed

July 1, 2025
Minimum liability limits raised from 30/60/25 to 50/100/50
S.L. 2023-133, as amended by S.L. 2024-29, raised the minimum limits for every policy issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025 — from $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage, to $50,000 / $100,000 / $50,000. Guides that still print 30/60/25 are describing the pre-2025 law.
NC Department of Insurance
July 1, 2025
Underinsured motorist coverage now included in every policy
The same legislation made underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage part of all new or renewed policies, alongside the uninsured motorist coverage North Carolina already required. G.S. 20-279.21(b)(4) now requires UIM in addition to the liability and uninsured motorist coverages, with limits matching the policy's own UM limits unless the insured chooses otherwise.
NC Department of Insurance