An SR-22 is not a kind of insurance. It is a certificate an insurance company files with a state’s motor vehicle agency, saying a liability policy is in force for a driver the state has told to prove “financial responsibility” for the future. An FR-44 is the same idea at higher limits, used by Florida and Virginia after a DUI. There is no national SR-22 rule: each state decides who needs a filing, what it is called, how long it lasts, what starts the clock and what a lapse does. The guides here give each rule as the statute words it, with its section and read date.
This page is general information about the law, not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Traffic, license and SR-22 rules vary by state and change. The court’s or the DMV’s own letter controls.
What the filing is, and what it isn’t
Texas law describes the filing as “the certificate of an insurance company authorized to write motor vehicle liability insurance in this state certifying that a motor vehicle liability insurance policy” for the person “is in effect” (Transportation Code 601.083(a), read 12 November 2026). “SR-22 insurance” is shorthand for an ordinary liability policy whose insurer has agreed to file that certificate. It is not full coverage, it is not a federal rule, and it is not used everywhere: New York has required no such filing since 1 February 1957 (Vehicle and Traffic Law 346, read 12 November 2026). Names differ too: North Carolina’s form is the DL-123, and Kansas has the insurer keep evidence “on file”.
Start with what an SR-22 is, what it isn’t and what it costs: the names by state, the SR-26 (the insurer’s notice that a certified policy has ended) and the three costs.
Why a state asks for one
The reasons are set state by state. Examples, each read 12 November 2026:
- A suspending conviction. In Texas, a suspension on a conviction also suspends the person’s vehicle registrations unless proof is filed and kept (Transportation Code 601.340).
- Driving without insurance. Florida requires proof kept for 2 years after reinstating from a suspension for not carrying the required insurance (Florida Statutes 324.0221(3)).
- Points. California’s DMV “may require” proof from a negligent operator whose license was suspended or revoked (Vehicle Code 12810.5(c)). Colorado asks for evidence of insurance after a points suspension but says that “does not require the use of the form known as the ‘SR-22′” (C.R.S. 42-7-406(2)(b)).
- DUI, which appears on this site only as a cause of a filing; in Florida and Virginia it brings the FR-44 (below).
Whether a given event leads to a filing is the DMV’s decision under its own law, and its letter says so. Why licenses get suspended covers the causes, and license reinstatement the steps back.
How long it lasts, and what starts the clock
“An SR-22 is always 3 years” is a line you may see elsewhere, and it isn’t what the statutes say:
- 1 year: Ohio since 9 April 2025, from the date the registrar imposed the suspension (Ohio Rev. Code 4509.45(D)); Kansas (K.S.A. 40-3118(d)); both read 12 November 2026.
- 2 years: Texas, cancellable on request only after the second anniversary of the date proof was required, with no suspendable conviction in the 2 years before the request (Transportation Code 601.056(b)-(c), read 12 November 2026).
- 3 years: Illinois from the first filing (625 ILCS 5/7-304, read 11 November 2026); Nevada after reinstatement (NRS 483.525, read 12 November 2026).
- Longer: Alaska’s runs 5, 10 or 20 years after a DUI or refusal conviction, by the number of earlier ones, and after a fourth “for as long as the person is licensed” (AS 28.20.230(c), read 12 November 2026).
The wording matters as much as the number. Washington’s department consents to cancelling the certificate on request “at any time after three years from the date such proof was required”, but only if no conviction or finding that would allow a suspension reached it in the three years before the request (RCW 46.29.600(1)(a), read 12 November 2026). Under that wording a new suspendable conviction keeps the filing in place.
The SR-22 rules for all 50 states and DC give each state’s term, starting point and lapse rule with its section and read date, and mark “not confirmed” where we have not read the law in official text (unread, not “none”). The SR-22 period lookup takes a state, a reason and a first or later offense and shows the period in the law’s words. It never works out an end date: the DMV’s letter sets the dates. The filing period is also separate from how long the conviction shows on your record, which is on how long tickets and points stay on your record.
If you don’t own a car
Owning no car does not, by itself, end the requirement: Oregon DMV says you must file an SR-22 “even if you don’t own a vehicle” (Oregon DMV SR-22 page, read 12 November 2026). The laws we read provide an “operator’s policy” for this case; in Texas it covers the named insured’s use “of a motor vehicle the insured does not own” (Transportation Code 601.077, read 12 November 2026). Non-owner SR-22 sets out five states’ definitions, what changes if you buy a car, and which insurer can file when you live in another state.
FR-44: higher limits after a DUI
- Florida: after a DUI finding of guilt or a guilty or no-contest plea after 1 October 2007, limits of $100,000 per person, $300,000 per crash and $50,000 for property damage (or a $350,000 certificate of deposit), carried “for a minimum period of 3 years”, with an exemption once 3 years pass from reinstatement without a new DUI or felony traffic conviction (Florida Statutes 324.023, 2026 edition, read 12 November 2026).
- Virginia: after a DUI, maiming while under the influence, or driving on a license forfeited for one of them, limits “not less than double” the minimums for three years after the person “otherwise becomes entitled” to a license (Code of Virginia 46.2-316(C), read 12 November 2026). The minimums for policies effective since 1 January 2025 are $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 (46.2-472(B)), so double is $100,000 / $200,000 / $50,000; the arithmetic is ours.
FR-44 in Florida and Virginia quotes both statutes, compares the starting points, and covers Georgia’s higher SR-22 limits after a DUI in its Driver Services rules (375-3-3-.24, read 12 November 2026). Florida’s points and reinstatement are on the Florida points and FR-44 page.
When the policy lapses
The insurer must tell the state when a certified policy ends. In Texas the policy “may not be terminated before the sixth day after the date a notice of the termination is received by the department” (601.085(a)); in Virginia the insurer reports a cancellation “within fifteen days after the cancellation” (46.2-482); both read 12 November 2026. Most texts we read then suspend until new proof is filed, and North Carolina provides a 30-day suspension (G.S. 20-19(k), read 11 November 2026).
Whether a lapse restarts the whole period is answered in no statute we read. Utah and Colorado count from the date proof was “last requested” or “last required” (Utah Code 41-12a-411(1); C.R.S. 42-7-408(1)(b), both read 12 November 2026), so there a new requirement can mean a new count. Elsewhere, the DMV’s letter after a lapse states the period that applies.
What the law sets about cost
Of the three costs, the statutes we read set only the fee to reinstate the license: Texas $100 after a chapter 601 suspension (601.376); Illinois $70 after a suspension and $500 after a revocation (625 ILCS 5/6-118(b)); both read 12 November 2026. Fees change, and the DMV’s letter gives the amount due. No statute we read sets the insurer’s filing charge or the premium, and we don’t publish insurers’ figures. What the law does say about how insurers may use a ticket is on do tickets raise insurance? and in the tickets and insurance rules lookup. A complaint about an insurer goes to the state insurance department.
When people usually involve a lawyer
The filing itself is paperwork between an insurer and the DMV. People more often involve a lawyer at the stage before it: a criminal charge in court, or a DMV hearing whose deadline is in the letter. The court’s self-help center explains court steps; each state bar runs its own referral service.
Your next step
- Read the letter. The DMV’s or court’s notice names the filing (SR-22, FR-44, DL-123 or another), the reason, the period and what starts it. That letter controls, not these pages.
- Find your state’s rule in the 51-state table or the period lookup, and open the statute and the DMV’s own page from there.
- Check that the filing is on record, and later that the requirement has ended, through the state’s official status page: see how to check license status and your driving record.
Fact-check note. Statutes and rules checked on 11 and 12 November 2026, as cited above and on each linked page; each rule carries its own read date. We recheck these rules every three months and after each state’s legislative session.
Found an error? See corrections.
