SR-22 Requirements by State (2026)

By Mustafa Bilgic · Updated 2026-09-28

An SR-22 is a certificate your insurance company files with the state to show that you carry the liability insurance the law requires. 22 of the 27 jurisdictions whose official sources state a period require it for 3 years, and a few set 1, 2 or up to 20 years. This page lists the rules for all 50 states and the District of Columbia as of September 28, 2026, taken from each state's motor vehicle agency and financial responsibility law, and the checker below counts the date your filing can end.

SR-22 Requirements by State: 2026 Table

Which filing each state uses, how long it must stay on file and when the period starts, as of September 28, 2026.

What Is an SR-22?

You do not buy an SR-22 on its own. Your insurer files it with the state motor vehicle agency to prove that a liability policy is in force for you. Oregon DMV describes it as a certificate showing that you have motor vehicle liability insurance, issued by insurers as proof of future responsibility, and Nevada DMV calls it a certificate of financial responsibility that your insurance company files with the DMV. The certificate shows at least the state's minimum liability limits; see minimum car insurance requirements by state for those amounts.

States ask for it after events that show a higher risk. The most common triggers in the official sources are a DUI conviction, a crash or conviction while uninsured, an unpaid judgment from a crash, and certain license suspensions or revocations. Georgia calls its form the SR-22A and, after a second no-insurance conviction, requires that policy (a paid-in-full SR-22 is also accepted). Some state laws, such as those of Alaska, Kansas, Montana and North Dakota, describe the same idea as a certificate of insurance or proof of financial responsibility without using the SR-22 name.

How Long Do You Need an SR-22?

Of the 27 jurisdictions whose official sources give a period, 22 set 3 years: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Iowa and Texas set 2 years; Kansas, North Dakota and Ohio set 1 year (Ohio for no-insurance suspensions recorded since April 9, 2025).

• Longer periods: Alaska requires proof for 5 years after a first DUI or test-refusal conviction, 10 years with one prior conviction and 20 years with two. Ohio required 5 years for a repeat no-insurance offense recorded within five years before April 9, 2025.
• Shorter periods for insurance violations: Indiana needs 180 consecutive days of SR22 coverage for an insurance suspension, Idaho 1 year for a first no-insurance offense, and Oregon 1 year after an uninsured crash or a conviction for driving uninsured.
• Tied to the suspension: Tennessee requires the SR-22 for the length of the suspension or revocation period.

When the clock starts matters as much as the number of years. Arizona and Wyoming count from the date of suspension, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Texas and Utah from the conviction date, Washington and Wisconsin from the date you are eligible to reinstate, and Alabama, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon and South Carolina from the date the proof was first required. The checker above uses the start date you enter, so use the date on your notice.

FR-44 in Florida and Virginia

Florida and Virginia use a second form, the FR-44, after drunk-driving convictions. It works like an SR-22 but certifies higher liability limits.

• Florida: after a DUI conviction the FR-44 must show at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per crash for bodily injury and $50,000 for property damage (Fla. Stat. 324.023). The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles department says the FR-44 must be kept for three years from the date driving privileges are reinstated.
• Virginia: the DMV requires an FR-44 after convictions such as DUI and maiming while under the influence, with limits double the SR-22 limits in Va. Code 46.2-472. For policies from January 1, 2025 the minimum is $50,000/$100,000/$25,000, so the FR-44 doubles to $100,000/$200,000/$50,000.

In Virginia a standard SR-22 certifies the limits set in Va. Code 46.2-472.

States Without SR-22 Filings

Not every state uses an SR-22 in the same way. Maryland MVA pages describe FR-19 insurance certifications, North Carolina DMV pages describe FS-1 certificates of insurance, and the New York DMV handles insurance lapses with civil penalties, suspensions and revocations; we found no SR-22 rule on those pages. Connecticut law lets the DMV commissioner require proof of financial responsibility based on a driver record, and a 2004 law removed the proof filing that used to follow a no-insurance conviction.

For Delaware, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia, the official sources we could read do not describe an SR-22 requirement or a period. That does not mean a court or the motor vehicle agency cannot require proof of insurance in a particular case; the notice you receive is the rule that applies to you.

What Happens If Your SR-22 Lapses?

The SR-22 only works while the policy behind it stays in force. When a policy is cancelled, the insurer tells the state, and the state acts:

• Illinois: The insurer files an SR-26 and the Secretary of State suspends the driving record.
• Texas: The license is suspended again until a new SR-22 is filed and a $100 reinstatement fee is paid.
• Georgia: Georgia DDS cancels the driver license when the insurer reports a cancelled SR-22A.
• Wyoming: Failing to keep proof for the three years leads to a new suspension.
• Vermont: Any lapse leads to a suspension until coverage is on file again.
• Nevada: The insurer tells the DMV at once if coverage is dropped, and the license is suspended.
• Indiana: An SR26 cancellation, or no SR22 on file during the period, suspends driving privileges.

Keeping the policy paid through the whole period, and asking your insurer to confirm the filing is on record, helps you avoid a new suspension.

Worked Examples

• Texas, conviction on September 28, 2026: 2 years from the conviction date means the SR-22 must stay on file until at least September 28, 2028.
• Alaska, first DUI conviction on September 28, 2026: 5 years, so until at least September 28, 2031.
• Florida, driving privileges reinstated after a DUI on September 28, 2026: an FR-44 with $100,000/$300,000/$50,000 limits until at least September 28, 2029.
• Iowa, suspension starting September 28, 2026: 2 years from the first day of the suspension, until at least September 28, 2028.
• Indiana, suspension for an insurance violation stayed on September 28, 2026: 180 consecutive days of SR22 coverage, through March 27, 2027.

How This Table Was Built

For each state and the District of Columbia we read the motor vehicle agency page on SR-22 or financial responsibility and, where the agency page was silent, the state's financial responsibility statute, and we recorded the exact words that state the form, the period and the triggers. Every period in the table appears in that wording, and the sources are listed below. Where a state website did not answer our server, we read an archived copy of the same official page. Arkansas and Georgia pages come from agency pages because their codes are not freely readable online.

The table shows the rules as of September 28, 2026. Next scheduled review: January 1, 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions