Virginia SR-22 Insurance: Who Needs a Filing and for How Long
Yes — Virginia uses the SR-22. Form: SR-22 or FR-44. How long it stays on file: 3 years.
- Used in this state
- Yes
- Form
- SR-22 or FR-44
Virginia names both forms in statute (§ 46.2-439). The FR-44 is required after a DUI, maiming while under the influence, or driving on a license forfeited for those offenses, and it must certify double the minimum limits — $100,000/$200,000/$50,000 against today's 50/100/25 (§ 46.2-316(C)). Every other case uses the SR-22 at the standard minimum limits.
- How long it must stay on file
- 3 years
Three years. For an uninsured-vehicle suspension the Commissioner may release the requirement once three years have passed from the suspension (§§ 46.2-706, 46.2-707); for the offenses in § 46.2-316 the three years run from the date the driver would otherwise be entitled to a license.
- What triggers it
- DUI, maiming while under the influence, or driving on a license forfeited for those offenses — FR-44 at double limits · Owning or operating an uninsured vehicle, or failing to verify insurance when DMV asks · Falsifying an insurance certification · An unsatisfied judgment · Vehicular manslaughter, a felony involving a motor vehicle, or hit-and-run causing death or injury · Perjury or a false statement to DMV or on a license application · A second conviction for carrying passengers for hire without the required license (§ 46.2-316(A)(6))
- If coverage lapses
- License, registration and plates suspended
When filed proof of financial responsibility no longer serves its purpose, the Commissioner must suspend the person's driver's license, registration cards and license plates until new proof is furnished (§ 46.2-459).
Virginia requires 3 years — the highest of the 37 jurisdictions on this site. The range runs from 1 year to 3 years.
How Virginia compares with every other state
Every statute cited for Virginia
Why the rule looks like this
- What Changed in 2026Liability minimums doubled in Hawaii, two states dropped pure comparative fault, New Hampshire stopped inspecting cars, and three crash reporting thresholds moved — a dated account of the 2026 changes, and the ones already signed for 2027 and beyond.
- The Fine Is the Cheapest PartA first-offense fine for driving uninsured runs from $30 in Florida to a $1,500 floor in Delaware — but South Carolina's $100 fine arrives with a $700 reinstatement fee, and the reinstatement is usually the bigger number.
- The Form Some States Do Not UseAn SR-22 is a certificate, not a policy — and in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina and Michigan the form does not exist at all.
More on Virginia
Checked against the primary sources above on September 22, 2026. If a figure here is wrong, tell us and we will fix it — what we have corrected so far is public.