Maryland minimum car insurance requirements set a floor of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury liability, $15,000 per accident for property damage, matching uninsured motorist limits, and $2,500 in personal injury protection on every registered vehicle.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 17-103 – Required Security Letting any of this lapse triggers automatic registration suspension and fines that start at $200 and climb daily.
The Required Coverages
Bodily Injury Liability: $30,000 / $60,000
This pays for medical bills, lost wages, and related costs when you injure someone in a crash you caused. Transportation Code 17-103 fixes the minimum at $30,000 for any one person and $60,000 total when more than one person is hurt.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 17-103 – Required Security Anything above those numbers comes out of your own pocket, and the injured party can sue you directly for the difference.
Property Damage Liability: $15,000
Property damage liability covers repairs or replacement when you damage someone else’s car, fence, utility pole, or other property in an at-fault accident. Maryland’s floor is $15,000 per accident.2Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Insurance Requirements for Maryland Vehicles It does not pay for damage to your own vehicle.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage: $30,000 / $60,000 / $15,000
Every Maryland auto policy must include uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, which pays you when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough of it. Insurance Code 19-509 requires UM limits that at least match the state liability minimums: $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 19-509 – Uninsured Motorist Coverage in General UM also applies when a hit-and-run driver cannot be identified.
If you buy liability limits above the minimum, your insurer has to offer UM at the same higher amount. You can keep UM at the state minimum only through a written waiver that meets the requirements of Insurance Code 19-510; without that waiver, UM automatically rises to match your liability limits.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 19-510 – Uninsured Motorist Coverage Waiver
Personal Injury Protection: $2,500
PIP pays your own medical expenses, lost income, and certain household service costs after a crash, regardless of fault. The required minimum is $2,500 in benefits for expenses incurred within three years of the accident, and the lost-wage portion covers 85% of missed income subject to the same cap.5Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 19-505 – Personal Injury Protection Coverage You can buy higher PIP, and you can waive it under separate procedures, but it is on the policy by default.
Why Minimum Limits Carry Real Risk Here
Maryland follows pure contributory negligence. If a jury finds you even 1% at fault for a crash, you recover nothing from the other driver. That rule makes your own UM and PIP coverage the only reliable safety net when fault is disputed, because the other side’s insurer has a strong incentive to pin a sliver of blame on you. Drivers with assets to protect commonly carry $100,000/$300,000 liability or higher for the same reason.
Proof of Insurance and How the MVA Tracks It
You have to carry proof of insurance and show it on request during traffic stops or crash investigations. An insurance card, a declaration page, or a digital copy on your phone all qualify. The Motor Vehicle Administration monitors coverage electronically: insurers must notify the MVA whenever a policy terminates or lapses, and the MVA matches those reports against vehicle registrations.6Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 17-106 – Lapse or Termination of Required Security A gap during a carrier switch or a billing dispute gets caught the same way a deliberate cancellation does.
Penalties for a Lapse or Driving Uninsured
Civil and criminal penalties run on separate tracks, and the same lapse can land you in both.
MVA Fines and Suspended Registration
When the MVA detects a coverage gap, the vehicle’s registration is suspended automatically. The penalty is a flat $200 for the first 30 uninsured days, then $7 for each additional day, capped at $3,500 per violation in any 12-month period.6Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 17-106 – Lapse or Termination of Required Security Each separate lapse is its own violation. Registration stays suspended until you restore coverage, give the MVA proof, and pay the full penalty.
Unpaid balances go to the state’s Central Collections Unit, which adds a 17% collection fee and can intercept your state income tax refund to satisfy the debt.2Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Insurance Requirements for Maryland Vehicles
Criminal Charges
Driving without the required insurance is a criminal offense. A first conviction carries up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. A second or later conviction raises the jail ceiling to two years, with the same $1,000 fine cap.7Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 17-107 – Penalty for Driving Without Required Security A conviction also adds points to your driving record.
What a Lapse Does to Future Coverage
Insurers read any gap as a risk signal. Expect a higher premium at renewal, and in some cases a refusal to write a standard policy at all. Drivers who cannot get standard coverage are pushed into the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund, which costs considerably more. The MVA may also require you to file an SR-22, which is not a separate policy but a certificate your insurer files with the state confirming you carry at least the minimum coverage. SR-22 filing typically runs three years and marks you as a high-risk driver for that period.
If you cause an accident while uninsured, no carrier stands between you and the damages. You are personally liable for the other driver’s medical bills, repairs, and lost wages, and in a contributory-negligence state the at-fault, uninsured driver has essentially no path to recover anything on their own side. Lawsuits, wage garnishment, and asset collection are all on the table.