By Core 4 Insurance Team · Licensed Florida Insurance Agency · Miramar, FL
Five companies write about 78% of Florida’s auto market — and for 2026 they filed an average rate change of about −8%, with one cutting as deep as 16.5%. Here is who actually writes coverage here, where each tends to be competitive, and exactly how we built this comparison.
A Florida DUI produces two separate problems that people tend to merge into one. There is the criminal case, which your attorney handles. And there is the administrative path back to a driver license, which nobody handles for you.
The FR-44 sits in the second category. It is not a punishment or a type of insurance — it is a certificate your insurer files with the state proving you carry specific, unusually high liability limits.
This guide covers that pathway. If you need the mechanics of filings generally, including SR-22, our Florida SR-22 and FR-44 guide covers those; this one is about what happens after a DUI specifically.
What is an FR-44 in Florida?
The short answer: A certificate of financial responsibility your insurer files electronically with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, proving you carry 100/300/50 liability. In Florida it is triggered specifically by a DUI conviction.
Florida is one of only two states that use the FR-44 at all. Everywhere else, a DUI produces an SR-22 at ordinary limits.
What makes Florida's version severe is the limit structure. Florida does not require any driver to carry bodily injury liability at all in normal circumstances — the state minimum is $10,000 PIP and $10,000 property damage. An FR-44 jumps you from zero bodily injury coverage to $100,000 per person.
FR-44 vs SR-22: what is the difference in Florida?
The short answer: Same mechanism, very different limits and duration. An SR-22 proves you carry Florida's standard financial responsibility levels. An FR-44 proves you carry 100/300/50 and follows a DUI specifically.
| SR-22 | FR-44 | |
|---|---|---|
| Triggered by | Driving uninsured, certain suspensions, serious violations | DUI conviction after October 1, 2007 |
| Liability required | Florida standard financial responsibility levels | 100/300/50, or $350,000 combined single limit |
| Typical duration | About two years | Three years from reinstatement |
| Available without a car | Yes, non-owner | Yes, non-owner |
| Filed by | Your insurer, electronically | Your insurer, electronically |
Requirements depend on your specific case and conviction date. Confirm your exact obligation with FLHSMV or your attorney rather than relying on a general summary. Figures verified against FLHSMV guidance as of September 2026.
For DUI convictions on or before October 1, 2007, the older rule applied — proof of 10/20/10 on the arrest date and a small reinstatement fee. Anything after that date falls under the current FR-44 schedule.
If you own no vehicle, a non-owner FR-44 satisfies the requirement. We cover that structure in non-owner car insurance in Florida.
How long does an FR-44 last, and when does the clock start?
The short answer: Three years — measured from the date your driving privilege is reinstated, not from the arrest, the conviction, or the day you buy the policy. That distinction routinely costs people a year.
This is the single most misunderstood part of the process.
Picture a common sequence. Arrest in January. Conviction in June, carrying a six-month to one-year revocation. Requirements completed and license reinstated the following March. The three-year FR-44 obligation runs from that March — more than fourteen months after the arrest.
A first DUI generally results in a six-month to one-year revocation, effective on the conviction date. A first DUI involving serious bodily injury carries at least a three-year revocation.
What does the full Florida reinstatement pathway look like?
The short answer: DUI school, any court-ordered treatment, an ignition interlock device if required, the FR-44 on file, and a reinstatement fee. The FR-44 is one step among several, and it cannot be the first one.
- Complete DUI school and any referred treatment. Proof goes to the Bureau of Administrative Reviews in your county.
- Install an ignition interlock device if required. Under Fla. Stat. § 322.2715, first-time offenders with a BAC of .15 or higher and all repeat offenders need one.
- Get the FR-44 filed. Your carrier transmits it electronically to FLHSMV, frequently same-day.
- Pay the reinstatement fee. FLHSMV describes a fee between $150 and $500 depending on the offense and prior violations.
- Apply for reinstatement at a DHSMV office or through Administrative Reviews.
- Keep it in force for three years. The obligation starts the day the license comes back.
Does a hardship license waive the FR-44?
The short answer: No. A hardship license — Business Purposes Only or Employment Purposes Only under Fla. Stat. § 322.271 — is a restricted driving privilege, not a reinstatement. The FR-44 is still required to drive on it.
Florida allows a suspended driver to petition for limited driving privileges covering work, school, medical appointments, church, and interlock maintenance.
It is granted at the discretion of the FLHSMV Bureau of Administrative Reviews, and it requires DUI school completion first. What it does not do is remove any insurance obligation.
What does FR-44 insurance cost in Florida?
The short answer: Substantially more than a standard policy, for two compounding reasons — the DUI on your record and the 100/300/50 limits. We do not publish sample premiums, because the spread between carriers on the same FR-44 driver is enormous.
The premium increase is not primarily the filing fee, which is usually modest. It is the underlying risk plus the coverage jump.
Remember what the limits mean. You are moving from a policy that may carry no bodily injury liability at all to one carrying $100,000 per person. Even for a clean driver, that is a meaningful increase in coverage purchased.
How do you find an FR-44 policy in Florida?
The short answer: Through carriers that actively write non-standard business. Most standard companies will not file an FR-44 at all, so the first task is finding who will — not comparing the brands you already know.
This is the scenario where staying inside the two most-advertised carriers costs people the most money.
- Confirm which filing the state actually requires. SR-22 and FR-44 are different forms with very different limits.
- Work with carriers that file routinely. Speed matters when a license is suspended; many transmit same-day.
- Do not buy minimum limits by reflex. The FR-44 already forces 100/300/50 — you are buying real protection, so make sure the rest of the policy matches.
- Ask about non-owner if you sold the car. The filing obligation does not disappear with the vehicle.
- Get the effective date right. The filing has to be in force continuously from reinstatement.
- Re-shop every year. Carriers weight the same DUI very differently as it ages.
Our bilingual team handles these filings for Broward and Miami-Dade drivers regularly. Call (954) 420-1501 — disponible en español, todo nuestro equipo habla español.
What do Florida drivers get wrong about the FR-44?
The short answer: They buy the wrong limits, they think a hardship license exempts them, and they cancel the policy the moment the license comes back.
- Buying to "double the minimum." Wrong state's rule. Florida requires 100/300/50 or $350,000 combined.
- Assuming the clock starts at conviction. It starts at reinstatement, which is usually much later.
- Treating a hardship license as an exemption. It is a restricted privilege, not a waiver of the filing.
- Cancelling early. The carrier notifies the state and the suspension can return immediately.
- Switching carriers with a gap. The new filing must be in force before the old policy ends.
- Never re-shopping. Three years is a long time to sit on the first quote you could find.
The bottom line on FR-44 insurance in Florida
The FR-44 is an administrative requirement with a precise answer: 100/300/50 or $350,000 combined, filed electronically, maintained continuously for three years from the date your license is reinstated.
Almost everything that goes wrong here comes from imprecision — the wrong limits because someone repeated Virginia's rule, the wrong start date, or a lapse during a carrier switch that quietly restarts the whole thing.
Get those three details right and the rest is paperwork. Get one wrong and you are suspended again with a new clock running.
We file these regularly and can usually transmit same-day. Call (954) 420-1501 and bring your case number. Disponible en español.
Car insurance by city
Territory rating applies on top of everything above. These local guides cover the markets we write in most:
- Miramar, FL insurance guide — Broward County
- Pembroke Pines insurance guide — Broward County
- Hollywood, FL insurance guide — Broward County
- Best car insurance in Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Best car insurance in Miami, FL — Miami-Dade County
Related guides
More Florida coverage explained by our licensed team:
- classic and collector car insurance in Florida
- the Florida non-standard market
- Florida Car Insurance Discounts
- our guide to rideshare Insurance in Florida
- more on adding a Teen Driver to Your Florida Car Insurance
About this guide
Who wrote it. Written and reviewed by the Core 4 Insurance team — licensed Florida insurance producers based in Miramar, Broward County. This guide is general information about Florida law and procedure, not legal advice about your case.
Where we work. Statewide across Florida, with our office and deepest local experience in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
How we source it. FR-44 limits and duration trace to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and Fla. Stat. § 324.023. Hardship license and interlock rules trace to Fla. Stat. §§ 322.271 and 322.2715. The widely repeated "double the state minimum" description was checked against both states' rules and is incorrect for Florida.
Regulator. Core 4 Insurance is licensed by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.
Last reviewed by the Core 4 Insurance Team on September 8, 2026. Reinstatement procedures and fees change — confirm current requirements with FLHSMV. For the broader picture, see our flagship Florida Driver's Insurance Guide.