Proof of insurance in Texas

What counts as proof

Under Transportation Code Section 601.053, a peace officer or another driver in a crash with you can ask for evidence of financial responsibility. You can show any of these:

• Your liability policy, or a photocopy of it.
• The standard proof-of-insurance card your insurer issues on the form TDI prescribes.
• An image of that card on your phone or another wireless device, as provided by your insurer.
• An insurance binder confirming you're in compliance.
• A surety bond certificate, a certificate of deposit with the comptroller or a county judge, or a certificate of self-insurance.

Showing your phone doesn't open the rest of it

The statute says that showing your insurance on a phone does not give an officer, or anyone else, consent to look at other contents of the device. Only the insurance information is covered.

A standard card must list the insurer's name, policy number, policy period, the name and address of each insured, the policy limits (or a statement that they meet the state minimum), and the make and model of each covered vehicle. If any of that is wrong on your card, ask your insurer to fix it.

TexasSure: how the state checks your coverage

TexasSure is the state's vehicle insurance verification program, created under Chapter 601, Subchapter N. TDI, DPS, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Department of Information Resources run it together. Law enforcement and vehicle registration offices use it to check whether Texas-registered vehicles are insured. Your insurer reports your policy; you don't.

Before writing a ticket for no insurance, an officer must try to verify coverage through TexasSure and be unable to, and the citation must say so. If the officer can confirm coverage there, the presumption that you were uninsured doesn't apply.

TexasSure can miss coverage you really have. Common reasons it lists: your name, address, or VIN doesn't match between your policy and registration; your policy is new or recently changed (updates take about three weeks); your policy is from another state; or the vehicle is on a commercial policy, which insurers don't have to report.

• When you get a policy, compare the VIN on your car, your policy, and your registration.
• If anything doesn't match, call your insurer or TxDMV. TexasSure can't change records itself.
• Keep your card or phone image handy for the first few weeks of a new policy.

Proof at registration

Under Transportation Code Section 502.046, a county tax assessor-collector can't register a vehicle unless you submit evidence of financial responsibility, which can be a listed document or coverage verified through TexasSure. TxDMV tells new residents to bring their insurance card along with proof of ownership when registering. TxDMV also notes that, since Jan. 1, 2025, non-commercial vehicles no longer need a safety inspection before registration, though 17 counties still require an emissions inspection.

Penalties for driving uninsured

Driving without required coverage is a misdemeanor under Section 601.191. The law sets these penalties:

• First conviction: a fine of $175 to $350. A court can reduce it below $175 if it finds you can't afford to pay.
• Second or later conviction: a fine of $350 to $1,000.
• Second conviction: DPS suspends your license unless you file and maintain an SR-22 for two years (Section 601.231).
• Second or later conviction, if you owned the car then and still own it: the court orders the sheriff to impound it for 180 days, with a $15-a-day reimbursement fee. Release requires proof of insurance covering the next two years (Sections 601.261 to 601.263).

If you were insured but couldn't show it

It's a defense if you bring the court one of the accepted documents that was valid on the date of the alleged offense. Once the court verifies it, the law says the charge must be dismissed (Section 601.193).

You may have heard about Texas "surcharges" for no-insurance convictions. DPS says the Driver Responsibility Program was repealed effective Sept. 1, 2019, and suspensions for unpaid surcharges were lifted. Fines and other suspensions still apply.

Make sure the proof is real

TDI has warned about a scam where criminals pose as agents, keep the payment, and hand over fake insurance cards. Victims often don't find out until a crash or a traffic stop. TDI suggests paying the insurance company rather than the agent personally, calling the company to confirm your policy is active, and checking the agent's license through its Help Line at 800-252-3439.