Vermont requires at least $25,000 of bodily injury liability per person, $50,000 per accident and $10,000 of property damage liability, often written as 25/50/10. Every policy also has to include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and that coverage has higher minimums than the liability part: $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident.
Vermont treats driving without insurance as a civil traffic violation. It can cost up to $500 and adds two points to your record, and an uninsured crash can lead to a license suspension until you file proof of insurance with the DMV.
Key Takeaways
- Vermont’s liability minimum is 25/50/10. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is required at 50/100 or more, plus up to $10,000 of uninsured motorist property damage coverage with a $150 deductible.
- Driving uninsured brings a civil penalty of up to $500 and two points. Not carrying proof can cost up to $100, but you avoid that conviction by showing proof of coverage that was in effect within seven business days of the stop.
- Since January 1, 2021, a no-insurance ticket by itself no longer requires an SR-22. Under current law, most SR-22 filings last one year, and three years only after certain fatal-crash or repeat DUI convictions.
- After a policy has been in force 60 days, an insurer can cancel only for a short list of reasons, with 45 days’ notice (15 for nonpayment). Nonrenewal also takes 45 days’ notice.
Vermont Minimum Car Insurance at a Glance
| Coverage | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury liability | $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident |
| Property damage liability | $10,000 per accident |
| Uninsured and underinsured motorist bodily injury | At least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident |
| Uninsured motorist property damage | Up to $10,000 per claim, with a $150 deductible |
| Personal injury protection and medical payments | Not required |
| Collision and comprehensive | Not required by law, but lenders and lessors often require them |
The liability limits come from 23 V.S.A. 800, which says you can’t drive a registered vehicle in Vermont without a liability policy or bond for at least those amounts. The law also allows self-insurance of $115,000, and under 23 V.S.A. 801 the Commissioner can issue a self-insurer certificate to someone with at least that much in net unencumbered capital.
The 25/50/10 figures aren’t new. The section was amended in 2024, but the dollar amounts didn’t change. The Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) lists the same limits in its Consumer’s Guide to Auto Insurance. RateFrog’s guide to how liability limits work explains what each number pays for.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage in Vermont
Under 23 V.S.A. 941, an auto liability policy for a car registered or principally garaged in Vermont has to cover you when you’re legally entitled to recover from the driver of an uninsured, underinsured or hit-and-run vehicle. The bodily injury part has to be at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident, which is double the liability minimum.
If you buy liability limits above that, your uninsured motorist limits have to match them unless you direct otherwise. The statute doesn’t include a way to reject this coverage, and DFR’s guide doesn’t mention one either.
The policy also includes uninsured motorist property damage coverage for your car. It’s capped at $10,000 per claim and comes with a $150 deductible. DFR’s guide notes that $10,000 is also the most you can buy, so this isn’t a limit you can raise.
When a Driver Counts as Underinsured
Vermont law treats a vehicle as underinsured to the extent that the at-fault driver’s liability limits are lower than your uninsured motorist limits, or the at-fault driver’s coverage has been reduced below your limits by payments to other people hurt in the same crash. The coverage also applies when the other driver’s insurer can’t pay because it’s insolvent.
Hypothetical example: you carry 50/100 uninsured motorist coverage, and the driver who hits you has only the 25/50 liability minimum. Because $25,000 per person is less than your $50,000, that driver counts as underinsured under the statute. How much your own policy then pays depends on your policy and the facts of the claim, so ask your insurer how it handles a claim like this. RateFrog’s guide to uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage explains these coverages in more detail.
Vermont isn’t a no-fault state, and it doesn’t require personal injury protection or medical payments coverage.
Proof of Insurance in Vermont
Under 23 V.S.A. 800, you have to carry proof of financial responsibility while you drive a registered vehicle. You can show it on a phone or other electronic device, and doing so doesn’t by itself let the officer look at anything else on the device.
If you don’t have proof with you, the penalty is up to $100. You won’t be convicted, though, if you produce proof of insurance that was in effect at the time of the stop within seven business days afterward. RateFrog’s guide to getting proof of insurance quickly can help if you need a card right away.
How Vermont Checks Your Coverage
The Vermont statutes and DMV pages reviewed for this guide don’t describe an electronic system that matches registrations against insurer records. Proof can be requested at a traffic stop, before a vehicle inspection (the law lets the Commissioner require it) and after a crash.
After a crash, if you say you were insured, the state can send notice to the insurance company you named. Under 23 V.S.A. 801, that insurer has 15 days to say if the policy wasn’t in effect, and false coverage information is handled under the state’s suspension rules in section 802. If you have an SR-22 on file, your insurer has to tell the DMV if the policy is cancelled or not renewed.
Penalties for Driving Without Insurance in Vermont
A no-insurance ticket is a civil matter, but points and the crash rules can add to it.
Civil Penalty and Points
Driving without the required coverage carries a civil penalty of up to $500 under 23 V.S.A. 800. It’s treated as a traffic violation, which goes through the Judicial Bureau. 23 V.S.A. 2502 adds two points to your driving record for it.
No jail term, impound or registration suspension for being uninsured was found in the statute or on the DMV pages reviewed for this guide. A no-insurance ticket also doesn’t suspend your license by itself.
Points Suspensions
Points can still lead to a suspension. Under 23 V.S.A. 2506, collecting 10 points within two years brings a 10-day suspension. The suspension grows to 30 days at 15 points and 90 days at 20 points, and it increases by 30 days for each 5 points after that. The DMV’s suspensions page uses the same 10-points-in-two-years trigger.
Reinstatement Fee
Getting a suspended license back costs $96 under 23 V.S.A. 675, on top of any other fees the law requires. The DMV says the reinstatement fee can only be paid online, by mail or in person at its Montpelier office.
A Crash Without Insurance
Under 23 V.S.A. 801, a driver in a crash that causes an injury, a death or at least $3,000 in total property damage has to provide proof of financial responsibility unless a qualifying policy was in effect. Proof is also required while a Vermont crash judgment based on a motor vehicle violation goes unpaid.
23 V.S.A. 802 gives you a hearing on your insurance status before you’re required to file proof or suspended. If you’re found uninsured, you’ll have to file proof or face a suspension. Proof is due within 20 days after the Commissioner mails the notice, and the suspension lasts until you provide it. You can ask the Superior Court to review the decision. RateFrog’s guide to what happens when car insurance lapses covers the broader risks.
SR-22 Filings in Vermont
An SR-22 is a form your insurance company files with the DMV to show you’re meeting Vermont’s financial responsibility law. The DMV accepts it from an insurance company, not from an agent. Under 23 V.S.A. 801, it can be required after a DUI conviction and after certain other convictions, such as careless and negligent driving or reckless driving that caused a death, leaving the scene of a crash or driving while suspended. For those other convictions, the requirement doesn’t apply if you show a standard liability policy was in effect at the time. It can also be required after an unpaid crash judgment or an uninsured crash.
Since January 1, 2021, a conviction for driving without insurance is no longer one of the reasons Vermont requires an SR-22. The same 2020 law set the current filing periods.
Under 23 V.S.A. 809, the general rule is one year from the crash, conviction or judgment. If a suspension or revocation resulted, it’s one year after your reinstatement eligibility date. The period is three years after a conviction for careless and negligent operation or reckless driving that resulted in a death, and after a second or later DUI conviction.
The DMV’s suspensions page is in line with the statute’s one-year rule and says to carry an SR-22 for one year from the date of the offense. The DMV’s insurance page still says three years, so confirm your own end date with the DMV. If the policy behind the filing is cancelled or not renewed, your driving privileges are suspended until a new filing is on record. RateFrog’s SR-22 insurance guide explains how these filings work in general.
If You Can’t Find Coverage
The Vermont Automobile Insurance Plan, which DFR’s guide also calls the assigned risk plan, offers certain coverages to drivers who can’t get a policy in the regular market. According to AIPSO’s Vermont plan page, you have to certify that you tried and couldn’t get auto insurance in Vermont within the past 60 days. Applications go through producers licensed by DFR and certified by the plan.
AIPSO’s Northeast Region office handles the plan and can be reached at (401) 528-1488 or (401) 946-2800. A local insurance agent can also tell you how it works.
How Vermont Insurers Set Rates
DFR’s guide says many companies divide Vermont into rating territories and look at the age, sex and driving experience of the drivers on the policy. It also says credit history has become a rating element for most companies.
Vermont allows the use of credit with limits under 8 V.S.A. 4727. Among other rules, an insurer can’t:
- Deny, cancel or nonrenew a policy based solely on credit information
- Base a renewal rate solely on credit information
- Take action against you because you don’t have a credit card
- Use an insurance score that factors in your income, gender, address, ZIP code, ethnic group, religion, marital status or nationality
You can ask for an exception if your credit was hurt by certain life events, such as a serious illness, divorce or identity theft. You can also ask for a re-rate at your annual renewal, once every 12 months, and an insurer has to re-rate you within 30 days after a credit error is corrected.
A 2026 bill, H.526, would have required insurers to give a discount for completing a driver safety course, but it didn’t pass. DFR’s guide suggests using whatever discounts a company offers. RateFrog’s guide to what affects car insurance rates covers the other factors.
Cancellation and Nonrenewal Rules
These rules apply to personal auto policies covering an individual or a married couple in the same household, on up to four private passenger vehicles. Under 8 V.S.A. 4222, they don’t cover policies issued through the Vermont Automobile Insurance Plan.
Once a policy has been in effect for 60 days, or if it’s a renewal, 8 V.S.A. 4223 lets the insurer cancel only for these reasons:
- Nonpayment of premium
- Fraud or material misrepresentation affecting the policy or a claim, or a violation of the policy’s terms or conditions
- A suspended or revoked license for the named insured, someone in the household or a regular driver of the car during the policy period
Under 8 V.S.A. 4224, the insurer has to give at least 45 days’ notice before a cancellation takes effect, or 15 days when the reason is nonpayment, and the notice has to include the reason. If the insurer doesn’t plan to renew, 8 V.S.A. 4225 requires at least 45 days’ advance notice, though that notice isn’t required in some cases, such as nonpayment or when the insurer offered to renew. The law doesn’t require a reason for nonrenewal.
If an insurer cancels for a reason other than nonpayment, or doesn’t renew, 8 V.S.A. 4227 requires the notice to tell you that you may be eligible for the state plan. RateFrog’s guide to car insurance grace periods explains what usually happens when a payment is late.
Is Vermont’s Minimum Coverage Enough?
A 25/50/10 policy can run out fast in a serious crash, and $10,000 of property damage liability may not replace a newer car. If a claim is more than your limits, you could owe the rest yourself. If you buy liability limits above 50/100, your uninsured motorist limits rise to match unless you choose otherwise, which adds protection if the other driver carries only the minimum.
More coverage costs more, so weigh it against your savings and any lender requirements. RateFrog’s guide to choosing how much car insurance to carry can help, and you can compare car insurance quotes at a few different limits to see the price difference.
Where to Get Help
For problems with an insurer, such as a cancellation you think was unfair or missing notice, contact DFR’s Insurance Division. Its complaints page lists 800-964-1784 for help with a complaint and 802-828-3302 for insurance consumers, and you can also file a complaint online. For license suspensions, SR-22 filings and reinstatement, contact the Vermont DMV.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage Required in Vermont?
Yes. Every auto liability policy has to include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident, plus uninsured motorist property damage coverage of up to $10,000 with a $150 deductible.
What Is the Penalty for Driving Without Insurance in Vermont?
A civil penalty of up to $500 and two points on your driving record. If you were in a crash with injuries, a death or $3,000 or more in property damage, you may also have to file proof of insurance or face a license suspension.
Do I Need an SR-22 After a No-Insurance Ticket in Vermont?
Not for the ticket alone. Since January 1, 2021, a conviction for driving without insurance doesn’t trigger an SR-22. An uninsured crash, an unpaid crash judgment or certain other convictions still can.
Can I Show Proof of Insurance on My Phone in Vermont?
Yes. Vermont law lets you show proof on a phone or other electronic device. If you can’t show proof at the stop, producing proof that was in effect at the time within seven business days avoids a conviction.
Sources
- 23 V.S.A. 800
- 23 V.S.A. 801
- 23 V.S.A. 802
- 23 V.S.A. 809
- 23 V.S.A. 941
- 23 V.S.A. 2502
- 23 V.S.A. 2506
- 23 V.S.A. 675
- 8 V.S.A. 4222
- 8 V.S.A. 4223
- 8 V.S.A. 4224
- 8 V.S.A. 4225
- 8 V.S.A. 4227
- 8 V.S.A. 4727
- Vermont Legislature: H.526 (2026) Bill Status
- Vermont Department of Financial Regulation: Consumer’s Guide to Auto Insurance
- Vermont Department of Financial Regulation: Insurance Complaints
- Vermont DMV: Insurance
- Vermont DMV: Suspensions
- AIPSO: Vermont Automobile Insurance Plan