An SR-22 is your insurer telling the state you're covered, and the state hears from them again if you stop being covered.

1 year. In Oregon, a filing required after an uninsured crash or a conviction for driving uninsured ends after one year under ORS 806.245(2). Most other Oregon filings run three years (ORS 806.245, Oregon Revised Statutes (2025 edition), accessed September 22, 2026).

What an SR-22 is, and what it isn't

An SR-22 is a certificate of financial responsibility. It tells your state's motor vehicle agency that you, by name, carry at least the liability insurance the state requires. The Colorado DMV puts it flatly: the SR-22 form is not an insurance policy (Colorado DMV).

So you can't buy one on its own. You buy a liability policy, and the insurer attaches the certificate and sends it to the state. National General's glossary describes the SR-22 as a certificate that proves you have auto insurance under your state's financial responsibility laws, provided by your insurance company to your state's DMV (National General).

The name is just a form number, and states handle the details their own way. California calls its version the California Insurance Proof Certificate (SR 22/SR 1P). Oregon's statutes call it a future responsibility filing.

Who files it, and why a state asks for one

The insurer files it. Arizona's ADOT says your insurance company sends it directly to the department (ADOT). GEICO, for one, says it files SR-22s electronically or by mail. Your part is buying a policy from a company that'll file in the state asking for it, then not letting that policy lapse.

The state requires it after a specific event. The trigger is usually something on your record that makes the state want ongoing proof of insurance. Oregon's DMV lists a crash while driving uninsured, owning a vehicle involved in an uninsured crash, convictions for driving uninsured, DUII or certain traffic crimes, and applying for a hardship permit (Oregon DMV). Arizona says you may need one if your license or registration was suspended. In Nevada, a lapse of 91 days or more is enough by itself (Nevada DMV).

A court can order one too. Either way, the letter or order you got should say which state wants it and why. Hang onto that paper, because the state named on it is the one whose rules you're living under.

If the reason is a DUI, see DUI car insurance. If your license is suspended now, see insurance with a suspended license. If a gap in coverage started this, see auto insurance after a lapse.

How long an SR-22 lasts

There's no national answer here. It depends on the state and on why you're filing, and it changes when the law changes.

Three years is common. Arizona says you may need to keep an SR22 for three years after a suspension. Colorado lists a three-year SR-22 for reinstatement after a suspension for driving without insurance (Colorado DMV). California's driver handbook describes keeping an SR 22/SR 1P during a three-year period to get a license back (California DMV). Nevada's lapse filing runs three years.

Oregon shows how quickly this moves. Under SB 840, the filing for a driving-uninsured conviction on or after January 1, 2026 dropped from three years to one (Oregon DFR). ORS 806.245(2) now ends both that filing and the one after an uninsured crash after one year, while most other Oregon filings run three.

Get your end date from the state or the court, in writing. Don't cancel on the date you think it ends. Ask first, then cancel.

Owner, non-owner and operator filings

The filing has to match your situation. States and companies use different words for it, but Oregon's DMV lays the common types out clearly enough.

Owner. You own the vehicles on the policy. That's the usual one if you've got a car.

Operator, or non-owner. The person required to file doesn't own the vehicles covered by the policy. This is how a driver without a car meets a filing requirement. Arizona says a non-owner SR22 is available if you don't own a vehicle and need to meet insurance requirements after a serious traffic offense. Nevada says an operator policy may be used in place of a vehicle policy, but you must have a Nevada license. Our non-owner car insurance page covers what those policies include and exclude.

On behalf of. Oregon also allows a vehicle owner to file an SR-22 on behalf of an employee or an immediate family member. If the vehicle belongs to a business, SR-22 when you drive a business vehicle covers how that sits on a commercial policy.

Picking the wrong type trips people up constantly. Sell the car an owner filing sits on and you can end up with no filing at all. A non-owner filing won't do anything for a car you own or drive regularly at home. Tell us every vehicle at the house and who owns each one.

What happens if the policy cancels

If the policy cancels, the insurer tells the state. That's the whole point of the certificate. Nevada's statute, NRS 485.308, requires the insurer to notify the DMV at least 10 days before the policy cancels or terminates. Oregon's ORS 806.270 requires the certificate to provide that the insurer will notify the Department of Transportation of any cancellation within 10 days after it takes effect. Colorado's DMV says the SR-22 requires the insurer to notify DMV of any cancellation.

Then the state acts. Arizona says that if you let it lapse, your license and registration get suspended again. Colorado says your license will be suspended for that reason alone, and Nevada goes further, suspending your license and the registration on every vehicle in your name.

It doesn't matter why the policy ended. A missed payment counts, and so does canceling on purpose because you found a better price somewhere. Colorado's advice, which holds up anywhere, is to get the new SR-22 filed before the old one expires.

FR-44 in Florida and Virginia

Two states use a second certificate for DUI convictions. Florida requires an FR-44 for DUI convictions after October 1, 2007, with liability limits of 100/300/50 or a $350,000 combined single limit, kept for three years from reinstatement (FLHSMV). Virginia requires an FR-44 after certain alcohol and drug convictions, at limits double its SR-22 limits under Va. Code 46.2-472 (Virginia DMV).

GEICO's own SR-22 page says the FR-44 applies only in Florida and Virginia. For the five states we write most of this in, the state pages below cover the SR-22 rules each one uses.

Moving to another state with an SR-22

Moving usually doesn't end a filing requirement. The state that asked for it keeps its rules running until it says otherwise. Oregon is blunt about this. If Oregon law requires you to file an SR-22, you file with Oregon DMV even if you live out of state, and the SR-22 has to come from an insurer doing business in Oregon.

That creates a real problem. Your new policy gets written for your new state, but the certificate still has to satisfy the old one, and not every company files everywhere. Tell us both states and the date the filing started before you move. We'll look for a company that writes where you're going and files where you've been, subject to underwriting.

If you're applying for a license in the new state, ask that state's motor vehicle agency whether the old requirement follows you onto the application. We don't guess at another state's licensing rules.

Choose your state

Each state runs its own triggers, statutes, filing periods and contacts.

• Oregon SR-22: future responsibility filings, the SB 840 change, and required PIP and uninsured motorist coverage.
• Arizona SR-22: three-year filings after a suspension and the non-owner SR22.
• Colorado SR-22: reinstatement after a suspension for driving uninsured.
• California SR-22: the SR 22/SR 1P certificate and the 30/60/15 minimum.
• Nevada SR-22: the filing that follows a lapse of 91 days or more.

What catches people

Assuming the filing ends on its own. It ends when the state says it ends. Cancel early and you can pick up a fresh suspension.

Letting a payment slip. A cancellation for nonpayment sends the same notice to the state as any other cancellation.

Switching carriers with a gap. Have the new certificate filed before the old policy ends.

Buying the wrong type. A non-owner filing does nothing for a car you own, and an owner filing can end the day you sell the car.

Leaving a household driver off the policy. The filing doesn't change the carrier's rules on who must be listed.

What to compare on an SR-22 quote

An SR-22 quote is a policy quote with a filing riding on top of it. Here's what's worth checking when you line a few up.

Will the company file in the state that asked? First question, and it's the one that bites people who've moved. A company that doesn't write in that state often can't file there at all.

Is it the right type of filing? Owner, operator or non-owner, matched to whether you own a car. Get the wrong one and the quote's no good to you.

The filing fee. Some carriers charge a one-time fee to file. GEICO, for example, says its fee varies by state. Ask whether the fee is included in the quote you're looking at.

The liability limits. The filing only proves you carry the minimum. You can buy more than that, and a bad claim runs past the minimum fast.

What's due at signing, and what the installments look like. You can pay in full or finance, depending on the carrier. Because a missed payment can lead to a notice to the state, choose a schedule you can keep.

Every household driver. A filing doesn't change who the company makes you list. Leave somebody in your house off the quote and it may not hold up when there's a claim.

Who this page is for

Most people get here holding a letter, a court order or a DMV notice with the words SR-22 somewhere on it. Others already carry a filing and are switching companies, buying or selling a car, or moving out of state. If a DUI, a suspension or a lapse started it, the topic pages linked above go into what changes with each. And if you're still working out whether you belong in the non-standard market at all, the high risk auto hub below is the better place to start.

What to send us

• The letter, court order or DMV notice that asks for the filing, and the state that sent it
• The date the requirement started, if you know it
• Your driver license number and state
• Every vehicle you own, or confirmation that you don't own one
• Every driver in your household
• Your current declarations page, if you have a policy now
• Any move you're planning, with the new state

Where we usually start

We shop this out to more than one company and put the answers next to each other. Three companies that write drivers with a filing are Kemper, National General and GEICO. Kemper says its personal auto program serves drivers who need an SR-22 or have a suspended license, and that it files SR-22s where applicable. Its guide to high-risk car insurance discusses DUI convictions and coverage gaps. National General, an Allstate company, writes personal auto in all five states above, and its underwriting guides provide for SR-22 filings and named non-owner policies. GEICO says it files SR-22s, and FR-44s where required, for a one-time filing fee that varies by state, and that it must notify the state if a policy cancels while an SR-22 is required.

Each one decides for itself. We'll show you who quoted and who passed. For the wider picture on the records that lead to a filing, see our high risk auto insurance hub.

Reviewed for insurance accuracy by Richard Sweet, owner of Vantage Point Risk and an independent insurance advisor. Last reviewed September 24, 2026. How we review this.