What Florida Requires After a DUI Conviction
You left the courthouse with a DUI conviction under Florida Statute 316.193, and the reinstatement letter from FLHSMV says FR-44. Your lawyer mentioned SR-22, your insurance agent quoted SR-22, and three comparison sites returned SR-22 results. None of those filings will reinstate your Florida license.
Florida eliminated SR-22 for alcohol-related offenses on October 1, 2007. If your DUI conviction occurred on or after that date, the state requires FR-44 — a different filing with substantially higher liability limits. The FR-44 certificate proves you carry bodily injury coverage of at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident, plus $50,000 property damage. That's ten times the property damage minimum Florida requires for standard drivers and adds a bodily injury requirement the state doesn't impose on drivers without a DUI.
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FR-44 requires higher liability limits than SR-22 — compare carriers that understand the difference.
Get Your Free QuoteFlorida FR-44 Liability Minimums
100/300/50
Florida Statute 316.193 requires DUI offenders to maintain bodily injury coverage of $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, and $50,000 property damage for the entire 3-year filing period. Standard Florida drivers face only a $10,000 property damage minimum with no bodily injury requirement.
Florida Statute 316.193; FLHSMV FR-44 requirements
Why SR-22 Quotes Don't Satisfy Florida's Requirement
SR-22 still exists in Florida for non-DUI financial responsibility cases — license suspensions tied to at-fault accidents without insurance, repeated traffic violations, or Financial Responsibility Law sanctions. Those drivers file SR-22 for 2 years. DUI offenders file FR-44 for 3 years. The forms are not interchangeable.
Most national aggregators and carrier quote tools default to SR-22 because 48 states use it. Florida and Virginia are the only two states that require FR-44, and only for DUI or DWI convictions. If you enter your DUI conviction into a quote tool and receive an SR-22 filing option, the system either misclassified your violation or the carrier doesn't write FR-44 in Florida. Paying premiums on an SR-22 policy doesn't start your 3-year FR-44 clock — FLHSMV tracks FR-44 filings separately, and your license stays suspended until the correct certificate transmits.
The coverage difference matters beyond the filing name. An SR-22 in Florida can be satisfied with the state's $10,000 property damage minimum and PIP. FR-44 requires the elevated 100/300/50 limits. If your policy doesn't carry those limits, your carrier cannot file FR-44 on your behalf, even if they offer FR-44 filing in Florida.
An SR-22 filing with standard Florida minimums will not reinstate your license after a DUI conviction — FLHSMV requires FR-44 with 100/300/50 limits, and the two filings are tracked separately in the state's system.
How FR-44 Filing Works in Florida
You buy an auto insurance policy that carries at least 100/300/50 liability coverage. The carrier files the FR-44 certificate electronically with FLHSMV on your behalf — most carriers charge a small one-time filing fee set by the carrier and state. FLHSMV receives the certificate, updates your driver record, and you become eligible for reinstatement once you've completed all other requirements: paid the $45 reinstatement fee, completed a DUI program licensed by the state, installed an ignition interlock device if required by your conviction, and satisfied any court-ordered conditions.
The 3-year filing period begins on your reinstatement date, not your conviction date or the date you buy the policy. If you let the policy lapse or cancel before the 3 years expire, your carrier notifies FLHSMV within 24 hours. FLHSMV suspends your license immediately, and the 3-year clock resets to zero when you file a new FR-44. Continuous coverage for the full term is not optional — it's a statutory condition of your license reinstatement under Florida Statute 322.271.
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Which Carriers Write FR-44 in Florida
Not all carriers that write auto insurance in Florida will write FR-44 policies for DUI offenders. Geico, Progressive, National General, Allstate, Bristol West, Dairyland, Infinity, Kemper, Acceptance Insurance, Direct Auto, The General, and Clearcover actively write FR-44 in Florida and file certificates electronically with FLHSMV. State Farm writes SR-22 in Florida but does not uniformly write new FR-44 business for DUI convictions — their FR-44 capability is limited to specific underwriting scenarios. USAA writes SR-22 and serves members with DUI convictions, but their Florida FR-44 capability is not confirmed across all member situations.
Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Travelers, Hartford, Amica, Auto-Owners, Mercury General, GAINSCO, Southern Farm Bureau, and Automobile Club of Michigan (AAA-affiliated) either do not write FR-44 in Florida or do not confirm FR-44 capability on their carrier websites. If you're quoted by one of these carriers after a DUI, confirm explicitly that they will file FR-44 with FLHSMV before paying premiums. A standard auto policy without FR-44 filing leaves your license suspended.
The carrier scarcity creates a pricing asymmetry. Fewer carriers writing FR-44 means less competition for your business. Non-standard carriers like Bristol West, Dairyland, and The General specialize in high-risk filings and typically quote online. Standard-tier carriers like Geico and Progressive write FR-44 but reserve the right to decline DUI applicants based on underwriting criteria — conviction date, BAC level, prior violations, claims history. If a standard carrier declines you, the non-standard tier becomes your only option until your record improves.
Florida FR-44 Filing Period
3 years
Florida requires continuous FR-44 filing for 3 years from your license reinstatement date. If your policy lapses or cancels before the 3 years expire, FLHSMV suspends your license immediately and the 3-year clock resets to zero when you file a new FR-44.
Florida Statute 322.271
Non-Owner FR-44 for Suspended Drivers Without Vehicles
If you don't own a vehicle but need license reinstatement, non-owner FR-44 satisfies Florida's filing requirement. A non-owner policy provides the required 100/300/50 liability limits when you drive a borrowed or rental vehicle. It does not cover a vehicle you own, lease, or regularly use — if you later buy a car, you must convert to an owner FR-44 policy and notify FLHSMV of the change.
Geico, Progressive, National General, Bristol West, Dairyland, Infinity, Kemper, Acceptance Insurance, Direct Auto, and The General write non-owner FR-44 policies in Florida. Non-owner premiums are lower than owner premiums because the policy doesn't cover collision or comprehensive damage to a vehicle, but the liability limits are identical. The FR-44 certificate filed with FLHSMV is the same whether the underlying policy is owner or non-owner — FLHSMV tracks the filing by your driver license number, not by vehicle.
Compare FR-44 Carriers and Start Your Filing
Your next step is comparing quotes from carriers that actually write FR-44 in Florida. Enter your conviction details, confirm the quote includes 100/300/50 liability limits, and verify the carrier will file FR-44 electronically with FLHSMV. Once the policy binds and the certificate transmits, you can complete reinstatement. The 3-year clock starts the day FLHSMV reinstates your license — not the day you buy the policy.