What Is the Minimum Car Insurance Required in Arkansas?
The legal answer is three numbers. The practical answer is that those three numbers are a floor rather than a target, and the difference between the two is where uninsured losses come from.
Short Answer
Liability coverage of 25/50/25: $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. That is the entire legal requirement. Your insurer must also provide uninsured motorist coverage and first-party medical benefits unless you reject them in writing. Nothing in the minimum covers your own vehicle or your own injuries.
Arkansas sets its requirement in Ark. Code § 27-22-104, and it is narrower than most drivers assume. It is liability only: money for the people you injure and the property you damage. Your car, your injuries and a replacement vehicle are all outside it.
This page owns the law. The types of car insurance covers what the six coverages are, and what full coverage means covers the nickname. What follows is the statutory floor, how it is enforced, and what happens when it is not met.
The Three Numbers
| Limit | Amount | What it pays for |
|---|---|---|
| Bodily injury, per person | $25,000 | Injury to or death of any one person in a single accident you cause |
| Bodily injury, per accident | $50,000 | The total across everyone injured in that accident, however many people are involved |
| Property damage | $25,000 | The other party’s vehicle and any other property you damage |
Two further coverages sit alongside the requirement without being part of it. Your insurer must provide uninsured motorist coverage and a package of first-party medical and income benefits unless you reject them in writing, and a written rejection continues until you withdraw it in writing. Both are covered in full on the types page. If you do not remember signing anything, that is worth checking rather than assuming.
Proof of Insurance, and What Your Phone Does Not Authorize
Arkansas runs an electronic verification system that lets law enforcement check coverage at the roadside. Failing to produce proof, or the system not showing current coverage, creates a rebuttable presumption that the vehicle is uninsured — the burden shifts to you to show otherwise.
Electronic proof is valid, and handing over the phone is not consent to a search
Arkansas accepts proof of insurance in electronic form on a phone or other portable device. The statute is explicit that presenting it that way does not authorize a search of any other content on the device, and does not expand or restrict an officer’s existing search authority. It is a narrow point and it is worth knowing before you unlock a phone and hand it to someone.
Insured but could not show it? That is a $25 problem
If you can prove the required coverage was in effect at the time of the stop, the failure-to-present fine is $25, and the statute says no court costs or other costs or fees are assessed for that violation. Being uninsured and failing to produce proof are two different offenses with very different prices. There is a further provision worth knowing: on a showing that the required coverage was in effect at the time of arrest, the judge may dismiss the charge, and the penalties are then not imposed. Produce the proof.
What Driving Uninsured Costs
Penalties escalate by offense under Ark. Code § 27-22-103. The figures below are the ones confirmed against the current code:
- Second offense — not less than $250 and not more than $500, and the minimum is mandatory.
- Third or any subsequent offense — not less than $500 and not more than $1,000, or one year in jail, or both.
The first-offense fine is deliberately not stated here
Published guidance disagrees about it. Several widely circulated sources give one figure for the statutory floor and others give a different one, the subsection is subject to a codification note about a contingent effective date, and the operative text was not confirmed in the course of writing this page. Where sources conflict on a number, this site says so rather than picking one. What is not in doubt is the shape: a first offense carries a mandatory fine, the amount is set by the court within a statutory range, and court costs are assessed separately and vary by jurisdiction. For the figure that applies to a specific citation, the court handling it is the authority.
The fine is rarely the expensive part. On a conviction where coverage cannot be established, the court transmits an order suspending the registration of the vehicle to the Office of Motor Vehicle, and it stays suspended until proof of coverage is presented. There is a reinstatement fee, and it is a different fee from the one for reinstating a suspended driver’s license — two separate things that published guidance blends together constantly. Neither amount is stated here, for the same reason as above.
Beyond the state’s penalties, a lapse follows you. Continuous coverage history is one of the larger factors carriers price on, so the policy bought after a lapse costs meaningfully more than the one that was dropped, often for years afterward. Where a filing is required to reinstate, that can be arranged.
Why the Floor Is Not a Target
Arkansas is an at-fault state. Cause a crash and you owe the other side’s losses; your policy stops paying at your limit, and everything past it is legally yours. That exposure reaches wages, savings and other assets, and it does not go away because the policy ran out.
Set the numbers against ordinary events rather than catastrophic ones. The property damage limit is one newer vehicle. The per-person bodily injury limit is a short hospital stay before any lost income or continuing treatment. Neither of those is an unusual claim, and both clear the minimum without difficulty.
There is a second exposure the minimum does not touch at all. Liability pays other people, so if an uninsured driver causes your injuries, your own liability limits are irrelevant — the coverage that responds is uninsured motorist, which is the one you may have rejected in writing years ago without remembering.
What the upgrade costs is a fair question, and it is answered elsewhere
Liability limits are among the least expensive things on a policy to raise, because catastrophic claims are rare relative to minor ones and the premium curve flattens quickly above the floor. The figures belong on the pricing page rather than here, where they would sit next to statutory amounts and borrow their authority. Ask for the minimum and the next tier side by side; the comparison is the useful thing, not any single number.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum car insurance required in Arkansas?
Liability coverage of 25/50/25: $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. That is the complete legal requirement under Ark. Code 27-22-104. None of it covers your own vehicle or your own injuries, which is the part most drivers are surprised by.
Can I show proof of insurance on my phone in Arkansas?
Yes. Arkansas accepts proof of insurance in electronic form on a phone or other portable device. The statute also states that presenting it that way does not authorize a search of any other content on the device and neither expands nor restricts an officer’s existing search authority.
What happens if I had insurance but could not show proof?
If you can prove the required coverage was in effect at the time of the stop, the failure-to-present fine is $25, and the statute provides that no court costs or other costs or fees are assessed for that violation. Separately, on a showing that coverage was in effect at the time of arrest, the judge may dismiss the charge altogether.
What is the penalty for driving uninsured in Arkansas?
A second offense carries a fine of not less than $250 and not more than $500, with the minimum mandatory. A third or subsequent offense carries not less than $500 and not more than $1,000, or a year in jail, or both. A first offense carries a mandatory fine within a statutory range, and published sources disagree about the floor of that range, so no figure for it is given here. Court costs are assessed separately and vary by jurisdiction.
Does my registration get suspended?
It can. Where coverage cannot be established at the disposition of the charge, the court transmits an order to the Office of Motor Vehicle suspending the registration of the vehicle involved, and it remains suspended until proof of coverage is presented. Reinstating a registration and reinstating a driver’s license are separate processes with separate fees, which published guidance frequently merges.
Is 25/50/25 enough?
Rarely, and the arithmetic is the argument. The property damage limit is roughly one newer vehicle and the per-person injury limit is a short hospital stay before any lost income. Arkansas is an at-fault state, so anything above the limit is legally yours to pay from wages and savings. What higher limits cost is worth asking, because the answer usually surprises people in the helpful direction.
Does the minimum include uninsured motorist coverage?
No, but it is not simply optional either. Your insurer must provide uninsured motorist coverage unless you reject it in writing, and that rejection stays in force until withdrawn in writing. The same structure applies to the statutory first-party medical and income benefits. Both are frequently rejected once, on a form, and never revisited.
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Disclaimer: This article is general information and is not insurance, legal, tax or financial advice, and it is not a substitute for the terms of your own agreements or policies. This article is not legal advice and is not a substitute for guidance from an attorney or from the court handling a particular citation. Statutory limits, fine ranges, fees and enforcement procedures are set by Arkansas law and may change; fines are ranges imposed by the court, and court costs vary by jurisdiction. Where published sources disagree about a statutory figure, this page says so rather than selecting one. Coverage names, terms, limits and availability vary by carrier and by policy, and the policy actually issued to you controls. Coverage is set by the insurance company and is subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued to you, which controls in every case. Cribb Insurance Group Inc is an independent insurance agency licensed in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas. Reviewed 2026-08-09; insurance law and carrier filings change, and this article may not describe the current position after that date. Cribb Insurance Group Inc, 1601 SW Regional Airport Blvd, Bentonville, AR 72713 · (479) 286-1066 · service@cribbinsurance.com.