On this page
A DUI raises car insurance rates everywhere. How much it raises them depends heavily on your state. A LendingTree study published in June 2026 found premiums rose an average of 74.5 percent after a DUI, moving from $2,130 to $3,716 a year. That average hides a spread so wide it barely describes any individual state.
Where a DUI costs the most
North Carolina posted the sharpest increase in the LendingTree study: premiums jumped about 284 percent, from $1,208 to $4,640 a year. That odd result has a cause. North Carolina keeps clean-record rates unusually low through state rate oversight, and its Safe Driver Incentive Plan piles points on after a DUI, so the distance between the before and after numbers is the largest in the country.
California and Delaware followed with increases of about 136 percent and 124 percent. In dollar terms, California drivers added roughly $3,535 a year and North Carolina drivers about $3,432. Motley Fool Money’s rate research showed the same pattern from a different sample: Michigan drivers faced an increase of about $6,499 a year (139 percent), while Alaska drivers saw only about $363 (20 percent).
Where a DUI costs the least (in insurance terms)
Mississippi, Maryland, and Wyoming saw the smallest annual dollar increases in the LendingTree study, at roughly $378, $779, and $810. Maryland is the strange case: its clean-record rates are already the highest in the country, so there is less room for a DUI surcharge to show up as a percentage, even though the final premium is still steep.
How long the increase lasts
Expect three to five years of elevated rates in most states, with the heaviest surcharge in the first two to three years. Some states let insurers look back further. California keeps a DUI on the public driving record for 10 years, and insurers there price accordingly. The surcharge fades only if the record stays clean afterward. A second violation inside the window restarts the clock and often ends the relationship with your current carrier.
The SR-22 layer
Most states require an SR-22 filing after a DUI to reinstate a license. The filing fee itself is small, typically $15 to $25. The real cost is the high-risk premium attached to it, plus a hard rule: let the policy lapse and the insurer notifies the state, which can suspend the license again. If you no longer own a car, a non-owner SR-22 policy is usually the cheapest way to keep the filing alive.
Start with our general guide to how a DUI affects your rates, then compare it against what an at-fault accident alone would have cost. The DUI premium penalty, spread over three years, averages close to $4,755 nationally in the LendingTree figures, before fines, legal fees, or license costs enter the picture.
