Georgia Insurance Code: Minimums, Penalties, and SR-22A

Georgia car insurance requirements start with a liability policy of at least $25,000 for one person’s bodily injury, $50,000 for total bodily injuries per accident, and $25,000 for property damage, commonly written as 25/50/25.¹ Every registered vehicle must carry this coverage before it can legally operate on public roads.² Driving without it is a misdemeanor with fines from $200 to $1,000, up to 12 months in jail, and a mandatory license suspension.³

What the 25/50/25 Minimums Cover

The three dollar amounts each apply to a different category of loss in a single accident:

$25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person
$50,000 for total bodily injury or death of all persons
$25,000 for property damage

These are floor amounts. If you cause an accident with damages above your limits, you are personally responsible for the difference, and many drivers carry higher limits for that reason.

Georgia does not require collision or comprehensive coverage. If you financed or leased the vehicle, though, your lender almost certainly does, and failing to maintain what the lender requires can trigger force-placed insurance at a much higher cost, or repossession.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage Is Included by Default

Every auto liability policy issued in Georgia must include uninsured motorist coverage, which pays for your injuries and property damage when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough. The minimum uninsured motorist limits match the 25/50/25 liability figures, and you can choose higher limits up to the amount of your own liability coverage.¹

You can reject uninsured motorist coverage, but only in writing. If you never signed a rejection, your policy includes it automatically. Once rejected, the rejection carries forward on renewals with the same insurer without a new signature each time.¹

Proof of Insurance and How the State Tracks You

You must keep proof of insurance in the vehicle when driving, either as a physical card or on your phone. If you cannot show proof during a stop or after an accident, you get a citation. If you can later show the court that valid coverage was actually in place at the time, the fine drops to no more than $25, the conviction does not go on your driving record, and no license suspension follows.³

Georgia also verifies coverage electronically. Insurers must send policy data to the Department of Revenue within 30 days of binding coverage and must notify the state when coverage terminates.⁴ The state often knows about a lapse before the driver does, and the administrative penalty process starts automatically.

Criminal Penalties for Driving Without Insurance

Operating an uninsured vehicle is a misdemeanor. The fine runs from a minimum of $200 up to $1,000, and a judge can impose up to 12 months in jail, or both. The same penalties apply if you knowingly let someone else drive your uninsured vehicle. Making a false statement about your insurance status, including handing an officer a fake insurance card, carries the same $200 to $1,000 fine and up to 12 months imprisonment.³

Lapse Fees and Registration Suspension

The Department of Revenue imposes its own consequences whenever your insurer reports a coverage termination. These apply even if you never drive the vehicle during the lapse.

If your coverage lapses more than ten days but you provide proof of new coverage, you owe a $25 lapse fee.⁴ If you don’t pay it within 30 days, your registration is suspended by operation of law.⁵

If you do not provide proof of coverage at all, the penalties escalate with each suspension in a five-year window:

First or second suspension: registration is suspended immediately, and reinstatement requires proof of current insurance, the $25 lapse fee, and a $60 restoration fee.⁴
Third or subsequent suspension within five years: registration is revoked, and reinstatement requires proof of insurance, the $25 lapse fee, and a $160 restoration fee.⁴

The commissioner can waive the lapse and restoration fees if you can prove you had continuous coverage the whole time and the termination report was an error.⁴ Insurer reporting errors do happen, so keep documentation of your policy dates.

License Suspension After a Conviction

A conviction for driving without insurance triggers a mandatory license suspension on top of any court-ordered fine or jail time. A first offense brings a 60-day suspension. A second or subsequent offense within five years brings a 90-day suspension, and your license plate and tag registration are suspended for the same 90 days.⁶

Reinstatement takes more than waiting out the clock. You must prepay a six-month minimum insurance policy in full and pay a restoration fee of $210 ($200 if handled by mail). A second or subsequent offense within five years raises the restoration fee to $310 ($300 by mail).⁶ The prepayment is a real financial hurdle: a monthly policy will not satisfy the requirement, and the full six months must be paid upfront.⁷

The SR-22A Filing

After a no-insurance conviction, Georgia requires you to file an SR-22A certificate (or SR-22 marked “paid in full”) with the Department of Driver Services. Your insurer files it on your behalf to certify you carry at least the state minimum coverage. You must keep the SR-22A on file for three years from the conviction date.⁸

If you don’t own a vehicle but still need to reinstate your license, you must carry an SR-22 non-owner policy for the same three years, prepaid in full every six months.⁸ If the SR-22 coverage lapses at any point during those three years, your insurer notifies the state and your license is suspended again. One missed payment can restart the whole process.

Exemptions and Self-Insurance

Not every vehicle needs a standard liability policy. The insurance mandate reaches “motor vehicles” as Georgia defines them: vehicles with more than three load-bearing wheels, designed for public road use, and required to be registered.⁹ Farm equipment, ATVs, and similar vehicles fall outside that definition.

Georgia also allows self-insurance. Any owner of one or more registered vehicles can apply to the Commissioner of Insurance for a certificate, and the Commissioner issues one only after being satisfied the applicant can provide coverage, benefits, and claims handling equivalent to a standard policy.¹⁰ The application requires a complete audited financial statement from an independent CPA.¹¹ In practice this is a route for large companies, government entities, and fleet operators, not individual drivers. Taxicab operators face additional rules: only those with 25 or more cabs qualify, and they must maintain at least $100,000 in cash deposits with the Commissioner plus $300,000 in approved investments.

If You Drive for Uber or Lyft

A personal auto policy alone will not cover you while you’re working for a rideshare company. Georgia sets specific requirements for transportation network company (TNC) drivers, and the coverage depends on what stage of a trip you’re in.

When the app is on and you’re waiting for a request, the TNC must maintain at least $50,000 per person for bodily injury, $100,000 total per accident for bodily injury, and $50,000 for property damage. Once you accept a request and until the trip ends, required coverage rises to $1 million per occurrence for death, personal injury, and property damage, plus uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.¹²

Most personal auto policies exclude commercial use, and the TNC’s coverage only applies while you’re logged in. If you’re driving with the app off, or doing food delivery, you may have no coverage at all. Some insurers offer rideshare endorsements that fill this gap, but you have to ask for one; it isn’t part of a standard personal policy.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 33-7-11 – Uninsured Motorist Coverage
2
Justia. Georgia Code 33-34-4 – Owner Required to Provide Coverage
3
Justia. Georgia Code 40-6-10 – Insurance Requirements for Operation of Motor Vehicles Generally
4
Justia. Georgia Code 40-2-137 – Notice of Insurance Coverage and Termination
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Georgia Department of Revenue. Lapse or Loss of Insurance Coverage
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Justia. Georgia Code 40-5-70 – Suspension of License, License Tag, and Tag Registration for Operation of Vehicle Without Effective Insurance
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Legal Information Institute. Georgia Comp. R. and Regs. R. 375-3-3-.16 – Reinstatement Procedure
8
Georgia Department of Driver Services. No Proof of Insurance Multiple
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Justia. Georgia Code 33-34-2 – Definitions
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Justia. Georgia Code 33-34-5.1 – Self-Insurers
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Legal Information Institute. Georgia Comp. R. and Regs. R. 120-2-46-.03 – Application for Self-Insurance
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Justia. Georgia Code 33-1-24 – Insurance Requirements for Transportation Network Companies