Updated August 6, 2026. Quick answer: state minimums are quoted everywhere and a lot of what is published is out of date — because the numbers move and nobody re-reads the statute. California is the current example: its minimums went up on 1 January 2025, and tables still citing 15/30/5 are describing a rule that no longer applies. Every row below was read at the state’s own code, with the quote and the date.
The freshness problem, named
Minimum-limit tables are among the most copied pages on the consumer internet, and copying is exactly how a repealed number survives for years. Cal. Veh. Code §16056 now requires “not less than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000)” for bodily injury to one person — up from the long-standing $15,000 — for “policies and bonds issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025”.
If a source still says California is 15/30/5, you have learned something useful about the source. That is the honest reason to publish a small table with quotes rather than a large one without them.
The table
| State | Bodily injury, one person | Bodily injury, per accident | Property damage | No-fault | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $30,000 | $60,000 | $15,000 | No | Cal. Veh. Code §16056 |
| Minnesota | $30,000 | $60,000 | $10,000 | Yes | Minn. Stat. §65B.49 subds. 2, 3, 3a |
| Oregon | $25,000 | $50,000 | $20,000 | No | Or. Rev. Stat. §806.070 |
| Washington | $25,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | No | Wash. Rev. Code §§46.30.020, 46.29.090 |
Read across and the spread is real: property-damage minimums alone run from $10,000 to $20,000 among these four states, and the bodily-injury floor differs by $5,000 per person. The minimum is a floor set by politics, not a recommendation set by arithmetic — a $15,000 property-damage limit does not go far against a modern vehicle.
The two structural facts worth more than the numbers
Minnesota is a no-fault state. Minn. Stat. §65B.49 subd. 2 requires plans to “provide for payment of basic economic loss benefits”, and subd. 3a separately requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. A liability-only comparison across states is therefore not comparing like with like.
Washington does not require you to buy a policy at all. RCW 46.30.020 accepts self-insurance, a certificate of deposit, or a liability bond in place of insurance. The obligation is financial responsibility; a policy is only the usual way of proving it.
Every row, quoted
California
Cal. Veh. Code §16056, read 2026-08-06.
- limits: “not less than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident and, subject to that limit for one person, to a limit of not less than sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and…to a limit of not less than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) because of injury to or destruction of property”
CALIFORNIA RAISED THESE EFFECTIVE 2025-01-01. Published tables citing 15/30/5 are describing the pre-2025 rule.
Minnesota
Minn. Stat. §65B.49 subds. 2, 3, 3a, read 2026-08-06.
- bi_person: “not less than $30,000 because of bodily injury to one person in any one accident”
- bi_accident: “not less than $60,000 because of injury to two or more persons in any one accident”
- pd: “not less than $10,000 because of such injury to or destruction of property”
- uim: “limits of $25,000 because of injury to or the death of one person in any accident”
Minnesota is a no-fault state: subd. 2 requires plans to provide basic economic loss benefits (PIP). The section does not state the PIP dollar amount, so that cell is left blank rather than guessed.
Oregon
Or. Rev. Stat. §806.070, read 2026-08-06.
- bi_person: “$25,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident”
- bi_accident: “$50,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident”
- pd: “$20,000 because of injury to or destruction of the property of others in any one accident”
Washington
Wash. Rev. Code §§46.30.020, 46.29.090, read 2026-08-06.
- requirement: “a motor vehicle liability policy with liability limits of at least the amounts provided in RCW 46.29.090”
- bi_person: “not less than twenty-five thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident”
- bi_accident: “not less than fifty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident”
- pd: “not less than ten thousand dollars because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident”
RCW 46.30.020 sets the limits BY REFERENCE to RCW 46.29.090; both were read. Washington also permits self-insurance, a certificate of deposit or a bond instead of a policy.
Cite this
Clear Money Guide, Auto Insurance Minimums by State, 2026. https://clearmoneyguide.com/auto-insurance-minimums-by-state/. Read at primary source on the dates shown. Reusable under CC BY 4.0.
What this does not cover
Wave one: 4 states, and every cell was read rather than copied. Minnesota’s PIP dollar amount is not stated in the section read, so that figure is absent rather than guessed. Nothing here covers rate-setting, what coverage you should actually carry, or how a claim is handled — this is a citation table, not insurance advice, and we do not sell insurance.
One practical note and no more: if you have retired, your mileage, your vehicle count and your liability exposure have all probably changed since the policy was written — the retiree insurance audit covers reviewing it.
See methodology and corrections. General information about published law, not legal or insurance advice. No advertising appears on this page and we earn nothing from it.