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Texas 30/60/25 Minimum Auto Liability Requirements: What the Law Actually Says (and What It Doesn't Cover)

By Accident Atlas Editorial Team · Reviewed by Phil Ayres · Updated July 22, 2026 · 9 min read

What the 30/60/25 Minimum Liability Requirement Means

Texas law requires drivers to show proof that they can pay for the accidents they cause. Most drivers satisfy this requirement by purchasing auto liability insurance. The standard way of meeting that obligation is commonly described as "30/60/25" coverage.

Broken down, the numbers mean: at least $30,000 of coverage for injuries per person, up to a total of $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 of coverage for property damage. Liability coverage pays to repair the other driver's car if you caused the accident, and it also pays the other driver's and his or her passenger's medical bills and some other expenses when you're at fault.

The Texas Department of Insurance is explicit that 30/60/25 is a floor, not a full-coverage plan. TDI guidance advises drivers to think about buying more liability coverage, noting that the minimum limits might be too low if you cause a multi-vehicle accident or the other driver's car is totaled. If you don't have enough liability coverage to pay for the damages and injuries you cause, you might have to pay the rest out of your own pocket, and the other driver could sue you.

Is Auto Insurance Legally Required in Texas?

Texas law technically requires evidence of financial responsibility — proof that you can pay for accidents you cause — rather than mandating one specific insurance product. In practice, however, buying auto liability insurance is how most drivers comply with this requirement.

It's worth distinguishing the state-mandated liability minimums from coverage a lender may require. If you still owe money on your car, your lender will require you to have collision and comprehensive coverage, which is a separate obligation from the state's 30/60/25 liability floor and protects the lender's financial interest in the vehicle rather than the public at large.

How to Prove You Meet the Minimum: Evidence of Financial Responsibility

Under Tex. Transp. Code §601.053, an operator must, on request, provide evidence of financial responsibility to a peace officer or to a person involved in a collision with the operator. Acceptable proof includes a motor vehicle liability insurance policy covering the vehicle (or a photocopy satisfying the statute), a standard proof-of-insurance form issued by a liability insurer, an image on a wireless device containing the required information, an insurance binder, a surety bond certificate, a certificate of deposit with the comptroller or county judge, or a certificate of self-insurance.

Under §601.081, a standard proof-of-insurance form prescribed by the Texas Department of Insurance must include the name of the insurer, the insurance policy number, the policy period, the name and address of each insured, the policy limits (or a statement that coverage complies with the minimum amounts required by the chapter), and the make and model of each covered vehicle.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP): The Coverage Bundled With Every Texas Liability Policy

Under Tex. Ins. Code §1952.152, an insurer may not deliver or issue an automobile liability insurance policy in Texas — including one issued through the Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association — unless the insurer provides personal injury protection coverage in the policy or supplemental to it. This requirement does not apply if a named insured rejects PIP coverage in writing.

PIP is separate from the 30/60/25 liability limits. It pays your and your passengers' medical bills, and also pays for things like lost wages and other nonmedical costs — unless the policyholder has rejected it in writing.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) Coverage Requirement

Tex. Ins. Code §1952.101 requires that an insurer may not deliver or issue an automobile liability insurance policy in Texas unless the insurer provides uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage in the policy or supplemental to it, at limits tied to Chapter 601 of the Transportation Code. This coverage protects insureds who are legally entitled to recover damages for bodily injury, sickness, disease, or death, or property damage, from owners or operators of uninsured or underinsured motor vehicles. As with PIP, this coverage does not apply if a named insured rejects it in writing.

UM/UIM coverage matters because insurance companies must offer it, and it pays if you're hit by someone who didn't have insurance or didn't have enough to pay your medical and car repair bills — including hit-and-run accidents.

When the Minimum Isn't Enough: Filling the Gap After an Accident

TDI guidance addresses exactly this scenario. If the other driver's policy limits aren't high enough to pay for all your car repairs, you should file a claim with your own insurance company — your collision or uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage should pay the difference, though you'll have to pay a deductible.

If the other driver's limits aren't enough to cover all your medical bills, file a claim with your own auto insurance company or your health insurance company. Your auto insurer will use either your PIP coverage, medical payments coverage, or your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage to pay the difference, and you might have to pay a deductible there as well.

This is exactly how a $60,000 per-accident cap or a $25,000 property damage cap can leave real financial exposure on the table — the minimum limits were never designed to cover every possible accident scenario, particularly multi-vehicle crashes or a totaled vehicle.

Special Rule for Guest Passengers: Offset Against Liability Claims

Tex. Ins. Code §1952.159 addresses what happens when a guest or passenger makes a liability claim against the vehicle owner or operator. If that occurs, the owner or operator of the vehicle — or their liability insurer — is entitled to an offset, credit, or deduction against any award made to the guest or passenger.

The offset equals the amounts already paid to that guest or passenger under personal injury protection coverage. In other words, the law prevents a passenger from double-recovering for the same losses once PIP benefits have already been paid out.

Requesting Policy Information From Your Insurer

Tex. Ins. Code §542.101 allows a named insured under a liability insurance policy — a category that expressly includes commercial automobile liability insurance — to make a written request for information about a claim filed under the policy. On such a request, the insurer must provide the name of each claimant, details relating to the amount paid on the claim, settlement, or judgment, details on how the claim, settlement, or judgment is to be paid, and any other information required by commissioner rule. A request must be transmitted to the insurer no later than six months after the date the claim was resolved.

For policyholders, this statute offers a practical tool: it gives you a formal, written channel to request documentation directly from your own insurer about how a claim under your policy was handled and paid.

Adding Young Drivers to a 30/60/25 Policy

TDI guidance outlines two options for covering a young driver in the household: adding them to your existing policy, or buying a separate policy for them. Adding them to your policy is usually cheaper. Some insurance companies require that everyone who lives with you and is of driving age be listed on the policy.

It's important to tell your insurance company when someone in your family starts to drive or turns 16. If you don't disclose a new young driver and the company later learns about them, the company will bill you for the extra premium you should have paid all along — and it also might deny claims or decline to renew your policy.

Deadlines After a Texas Car Accident: What the Clock Doesn't Wait For

Meeting the 30/60/25 minimum is only part of the picture after a crash — Texas law also imposes strict deadlines for pursuing a claim. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003(a), you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. Under §16.003(b), a wrongful-death lawsuit must be filed within two years from the date of death.

If a governmental unit's vehicle was involved, there's an additional, much shorter requirement: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §101.101 requires formal written notice to the governmental unit within six months of the crash — well before the two-year lawsuit deadline arrives.

Because these deadlines run on different clocks and some are easy to miss, the Texas Motor-Vehicle Accident Deadline Calculator compiles them in one place: two years from the crash to file the lawsuit, two years from the death to file the wrongful-death lawsuit, and six months from the crash to give formal written notice to a governmental unit.