Mississippi Minimum Car Insurance Requirements

How much car insurance do you have to carry in Mississippi?

You must carry liability insurance. Liability coverage pays for harm you cause to other people and their property. It does not pay to fix your own car or treat your own injuries.

The minimum is written 25/50/25. Those are three caps on what your insurer will pay:

• $25,000 for injuries to any one person you hurt.
• $50,000 for all injuries in one crash, shared among everyone hurt.
• $25,000 for property you damage, such as cars, fences or a storefront.

The $50,000 is for injuries only. Property damage stays capped at $25,000 however many vehicles you hit. If a crash costs more than your caps, you owe the rest.

These limits have stood since 2006. Mississippi requires a policy on every vehicle driven on its roads, not just a card in the glovebox.

What does Mississippi minimum insurance not cover?

Almost everything about you. There is no requirement to carry coverage for your own car or your own medical bills, and no personal injury protection rule. Mississippi is an at-fault state, so the driver who causes a crash pays.

Three optional coverages fill the gaps:

• Collision repairs your car after a crash you cause.
• Comprehensive covers theft, hail and fallen trees.
• Medical payments pays injury bills for you and your passengers, whoever was at fault.

If you finance a car, the lender will usually insist on collision and comprehensive, according to the state Insurance Department. Leasing companies often ask for even more, so read your contract.

Do I need uninsured motorist coverage in Mississippi?

Insurers must put it in your policy, but you can turn it down. Rejection has to be in writing on a state-approved form, and one named insured’s signature binds everyone on the policy.

Why this matters here: one national study estimated that 28.2 percent of Mississippi drivers were uninsured in 2023, the highest of any state. That figure is a ratio of claims, not a head count, so treat it as a rough signal. Even so, it is a poor bet to take.

Uninsured motorist coverage pays you when the other driver has no policy, or when their policy is too small. The minimum amount is 25/50 for injuries. Property damage protection can leave you with the first $200 of the loss. For a hit-and-run, the other car must have touched you or your car.

Read our uninsured motorist guide before you sign any rejection form.

What happens if you drive without insurance in Mississippi?

A first conviction costs you a $100 fine plus a $200 assessment that goes to the state’s uninsured motorist fund. That is how the Department of Public Safety (DPS) arrives at its published $300. Repeat offenses raise the assessment to $300, then $400.

The bigger problem is your license. It can be suspended for a year, or until you show proof of insurance and pay the fines and a $100 reinstatement fee. In practice, the fastest path back is to buy a policy now.

Two points many guides get wrong:

• The Insurance Department’s page still says $1,000. That is out of date; the fine in the law has been $100 since 2018.
• A missing card is not the same as missing coverage. If you can show you were insured on the day you were cited, the case is dismissed and court costs are waived.

If your car was uninsured in a crash, DPS wants proof of insurance within 60 days, or it can suspend your license. Details are on our Mississippi uninsured driver page.

How does Mississippi check that you are insured?

Police can look up your plate or vehicle number in an online database fed by insurers. DPS says statewide enforcement began in September 2017. An officer cannot stop you only to check, but can ask for proof during a stop for something else, or at a roadblock.

You can show a paper card or an image on your phone. The officer may not browse anything else on the phone. If the database confirms your policy, you should not be cited even without the card.

Mississippi does not ask for proof of insurance when you register a car. A bill to start doing that died in committee in February 2026. Commercial, fleet and some other vehicles are outside the database.

Can you use a bond or deposit instead of insurance?

Yes, in theory. The law accepts a surety bond, a $15,000 deposit certified by the State Treasurer, or self-insurance for owners of more than 25 vehicles. A deposit locks up cash that could pay a year of premiums, so it rarely helps an ordinary driver. Do not rely on the Insurance Department’s description of the deposit amount; the statute sets $15,000.

Is 25/50/25 enough? A worked example

These numbers are invented to show how the limits work. You rear-end a pickup near Jackson at highway speed:

• The pickup driver has $38,000 in medical bills. Your policy pays $25,000. You owe $13,000.
• A passenger has $22,000 in bills. That is within your limits, and your per-crash cap has room.
• The pickup and its trailer cost $52,000 to replace. Your policy pays $25,000. You owe $27,000.

Total losses are $112,000. Your insurer pays $72,000 and you owe $40,000. Under 50/100/50 limits you would owe $2,000.

The injured driver can sue you for the difference. A judgment can reach your wages and bank accounts.

Who should carry more than the minimum?

Think about higher limits if any of these fit you:

• You own a home, savings or a steady paycheck someone could go after.
• You drive often on interstates or commute through busy areas.
• You carry passengers or drive for work.
• You have a loan or lease, since the lender sets its own coverage rules.

Ask for a quote at 50/100/50 and compare it with your current price. Our full coverage page explains the extras.

Has Mississippi changed or planned changes to the minimum?

No change as of October 10, 2026. Senate Bill 2406 would have raised the limits to 50/100/50 but died in committee in February 2025. Senate Bill 2073 would have raised the no-insurance fine to $500 and died in February 2026. Bills to make uninsured coverage mandatory (2025 and 2026) and to require medical payments coverage (2026) also died in committee.

The next session opens in January 2027. We re-check bills then.

What to do next

1. Find your declarations page, the summary at the front of your policy, and check the three liability numbers.
2. Look for an uninsured motorist line. If you cannot find one, ask your insurer whether you signed a rejection form.
3. Keep a card in the car or a saved image on your phone.
4. If you financed or leased, check your contract for coverage requirements.
5. Get a quote at 50/100/50 and compare it with what you pay now. Try our liability limit checker.
6. If you got a no-insurance ticket and were covered that day, bring proof to court.

Common mistakes

• Treating the card as the insurance. The policy is what counts.
• Letting a policy lapse for a week “until payday”. The ticket and the suspension do not care.
• Rejecting uninsured motorist coverage to save a few dollars.
• Trusting old websites for the fine amount.

Bottom line

If you only need to be legal, 25/50/25 on every vehicle is the floor. If you have anything to lose, price 50/100/50 and keep uninsured motorist coverage. Check details with the Mississippi Insurance Department; this page is information, not legal advice.