California Minimum Car Insurance Requirements: 30/60/15 Explained

Here's how the limits play out. Say you run a red light on Soledad Canyon Road and injure two people in the other car. A minimum policy pays each of them up to $30,000, but no more than $60,000 for both together, plus up to $15,000 for their car and anything else you damaged.

Notice who gets paid: other people. Minimum liability pays nothing to repair your own car and nothing for your own injuries. That protection comes from collision, uninsured motorist and medical payments coverage, none of which the law makes you keep.

The increase came from SB 1107 (Chapter 717, Statutes of 2022). Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara called it the first update to California's financial responsibility laws for motorists in 56 years.

Because the change reached each policy at its next renewal, some drivers carried the old limits into 2025. By now, a policy that has renewed after January 1, 2025 should show at least 30/60/15 on its declarations page, the one-page summary of your coverage.

The 2035 increase is already written into Vehicle Code 16056. It adds $20,000 per person, $40,000 per accident and $10,000 for property damage to today's minimums.

• Paper or phone: the ID card your insurer sends is the usual proof. Vehicle Code 16028 allows you to show it on a mobile device, and the officer may look only at the proof, nothing else on the phone.
• At the DMV: insurers report coverage to the DMV electronically. If the DMV has no proof of insurance for your car, it suspends the registration, and the car can't be driven or parked on public roads until proof is filed.
• After a collision: drivers must exchange their insurer's name and policy number along with license and vehicle details.
• Other options: a $75,000 cash deposit with the DMV, a $75,000 surety bond, or a DMV self-insurance certificate also satisfy the law, though few households use them.

Collision and comprehensive on their own don't count as proof of financial responsibility, because they only cover your car. The DMV's insurance requirements page (opens in a new tab) lists what does.

After an uninsured collision, you can get your license back for the last three years of the suspension by filing an SR-22, a certificate your insurer sends to the DMV, and keeping it in place for those three years. Our page on SR-22 insurance in California explains how the filing works.

If your coverage has lapsed, buy a policy before you drive again. In California, a lack of prior insurance can't, on its own, be held against you on price or Good Driver eligibility.

• Many cars are worth far more than $15,000. Kelley Blue Book put the average price paid for a new vehicle at $50,562 in September 2026. If you total another driver's car worth that much, a minimum policy pays less than a third of it.
• Injuries can cost more than $30,000. Hospital care and lost wages for one seriously injured person can pass that limit.
• Freeway crashes involve more cars. On the 5 or the 14, one mistake can pull in several vehicles, and $60,000 is the most a minimum policy pays for everyone injured, combined.
• Uninsured drivers are common. The Insurance Research Council estimates 20.4% of California motorists were uninsured in 2023. When one of them hits you, your liability coverage pays you nothing; uninsured motorist coverage is what pays.

California insurers must include uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage on a liability policy unless you reject it in writing, and it can't be lower than the 30/60 injury minimum. We usually suggest matching it to your liability limits.

To qualify, the Department of Insurance says you need:

• Household income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level.
• A car worth $25,000 or less.
• A valid California driver's license (AB 60 licenses are accepted) and a good driving record.
• To be 16 or older; drivers under 18 must be legally emancipated.

A 2023 law made the program permanent by removing its sunset date. It doesn't include collision or comprehensive, though you can buy those separately, and uninsured motorist and medical payments coverage are available for an extra charge.

California also requires agents to tell anyone who asks about minimum limits that the program exists, and we will. You can apply at mylowcostauto.com (opens in a new tab) or call 1-866-602-8861.

• Higher liability limits to protect your savings and your home.
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist for your own injuries when the other driver has little or no insurance.
• Collision and comprehensive to repair or replace your own car. Lenders and leasing companies require both.
• Medical payments for medical bills for you and your passengers, no matter who caused the crash.
• Rental reimbursement and roadside help so one repair doesn't leave your household a car short.

Our California car insurance page explains each coverage in plain English, and our guide to how much car insurance costs in California shows what moves the price. Santa Clarita Valley drivers can also see our page on car insurance in Santa Clarita.

Your next step: pull up your declarations page, compare your limits to 30/60/15, and decide what you'd want in place if the worst happened tomorrow. Then call (818) 909-7486 or request a quote, and we'll price the options side by side.