An SR-22 is a form, not a kind of insurance
Half the searches on this subject are two characters and a number, and most of them are looking for a product that does not exist. There is no SR-22 policy to buy and no cheap version of one. There is a certificate your insurer sends to the state, a policy underneath it, and — in two states — a different form entirely after a drunk driving conviction.
Filed, not bought
The insurer sends it; you cannot purchase it alone.
Two or three years
The state sets the clock, and a lapse restarts trouble.
Florida wants more
FR-44 after a DUI, at ten times the injury limit.
A filing, not a policy
An SR-22 is a certificate your insurer files with the state to confirm that a policy meeting the required liability limits is in force. Florida describes it plainly as an insurance filing certifying bodily injury and property damage liability for reinstatement purposes. You cannot buy an SR-22 on its own, no company sells a cheaper one, and shopping for “SR-22 insurance” is shopping for ordinary liability cover with a form attached.
Source: FLHSMV, Florida Insurance Requirements, checked 2026-08-30
The form is cheap; the risk rating is not
The filing fee itself is small. What moves the bill is that the conviction sits on your record and, in states like Florida, that the law now requires far higher limits than you carried before — $100,000/$300,000/$50,000 instead of $10,000/$20,000/$10,000. Higher limits cost more before any risk rating is applied, so part of the increase is not a penalty at all but a different product.
Source: FLHSMV bulletin, increased BIL/PDL limits for DUI cases, checked 2026-08-30
Which form, and for how long
The name of the form and the length of the obligation are both set locally. Reading national advice about SR-22 in a state that uses FR-44 sends you to the insurer asking for the wrong thing.
| State | Form | How long | What the agency says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | SR-22 | 2 years | Missouri runs two clocks that people mix up. Alcohol-related and points suspensions need proof for two years from the date the suspension started; a mandatory-insurance suspension needs it for three years from the date you became eligible to reinstate. Same form, different arithmetic. Missouri DOR, Reinstatement Requirements · checked 2026-09-06 |
| Virginia | FR-44 | 3 years | Virginia raised its ordinary minimum limits on 1 January 2025, and the FR-44 is defined as double that minimum — so the FR-44 figure moved with it. Pages still quoting $50,000/$100,000/$40,000 are quoting the doubling of the old limits. Virginia DMV, Financial Responsibility Certifications · checked 2026-09-06 |
| Kansas | SR-22 | 1 year | Do not buy the filing early. Driver Solutions states plainly that an SR-22 received before the requirement notice is sent earns no credit — the year starts when the Division asks, not when you file. Kansas Department of Revenue, Imposed Actions on Major Violations · checked 2026-09-06 |
| Colorado | SR-22 | As long as the restraint runs, up to 3 years | Colorado is the one state where a first offence is not automatically three years. The statute ties the period to the restraint itself, capped at three years — and the clock does not start until the privilege is reinstated, so serving the revocation does not run it down. Colorado Revised Statutes § 42-7-408 · checked 2026-09-06 |
| North Carolina | No SR-22 — form DL-123 instead | Not applicable | The DL-123 and any binder or certificate are valid for only thirty days from the date of issue, and the insurer must be licensed in North Carolina — an out-of-state policy is not accepted. Getting the form too early is as bad as getting it too late. NCDMV, Proving Liability Insurance · checked 2026-09-06 |
| Arizona | SR-22 | 3 years | Arizona calls it future financial responsibility and starts the three years at different points depending on which action is on the record: the end of a revocation, the end of a court-conviction suspension, or the date of eligibility for reinstatement. The filing is required even if you no longer own a car — that is what a non-owner policy is for. Arizona MVD, Future Financial Responsibility (SR-22) · checked 2026-09-06 |
| Georgia | SR-22 | 3 years | A premium-financed SR-22 that is cancelled for non-payment locks you out: the Department will not accept another premium-financed SR-22 for twelve months from the date the original was accepted. Georgia DDS Rule 375-3-3-.24, Reinstatement Procedures for DUI Suspensions · checked 2026-09-06 |
| Pennsylvania | No SR-22 — ordinary proof of insurance | Not applicable | Pennsylvania has no SR-22 to buy, so a quote for “SR-22 insurance in Pennsylvania” is a quote for an ordinary policy with a fee attached. What PennDOT does check is that the vehicle was never uninsured: a lapse of 31 days or more costs the registration for three months on its own. PennDOT fact sheet, Driving Privilege Sanctions and Restoration Requirements Letter · checked 2026-09-06 |
| Oregon | SR-22 | 3 years | Oregon will not reinstate until the filing is on record, and the filing period does not begin until reinstatement — so delaying the paperwork delays the end date by exactly as long. The certificate has to reach DMV before 5 p.m. on the last business day before a suspension begins to stop it. Oregon Revised Statutes § 806.075 · checked 2026-09-06 |
| Mississippi | Proof of insurance — no SR-22 certificate | 3 years | Mississippi does not run an SR-22 programme; the Bureau asks for current proof of insurance because you were cited for DUI, and it wants that proof for three years. Buying an out-of-state “SR-22 policy” solves a problem the state does not have. Mississippi DPS Driver Service Bureau, DUI Department · checked 2026-09-06 |
| Illinois | SR-22 | 36 months | The certificate must come from the insurance company’s home office, not the local agent, and processing can take up to thirty days. Renew at least thirty days before the policy expires — the gap between expiry and the new filing being accepted is itself a lapse. Illinois Secretary of State, Proof of Financial Responsibility — SR-22 · checked 2026-09-06 |
| Alabama | SR-22 | 3 years | Two traps sit in the same statute. The three years end only if no new qualifying conviction lands inside them, and surrendering the licence does not run the clock: reapply within three years and you must re-establish proof for whatever is left of the period. Code of Alabama § 32-7-31 · checked 2026-09-06 |
| Florida | FR-44 | 3 years | Florida does not use SR-22 for drunk driving convictions. Everyone convicted under s. 316.193 must carry an FR-44 proving liability limits of $100,000 per person, $300,000 per crash and $50,000 property damage — ten times the ordinary bodily-injury floor. The requirement runs three years, and an existing SR-22 has to be replaced by the FR-44 to lift the suspension. FLHSMV, Verification criteria for financial responsibility sanctions · checked 2026-08-30 |
| California | SR-22 | 3 years | California keeps the proof running after the restriction period itself has ended, so the interlock coming off is not the end of the filing. California DMV, Financial Responsibility (Insurance) · checked 2026-08-30 |
| Texas | SR-22 | 2 years | Texas measures the two years from conviction rather than from reinstatement, so time under suspension counts toward it. Texas DPS, Alcohol Related Laws (DL-20) · checked 2026-08-30 |
Virginia uses an FR-44 as well — Florida’s own bulletin describes its form as modeled on Virginia’s. If you move mid-term, the obligation follows the state that imposed it, not the one you moved to.
Letting it lapse is worse than never filing
The filing is not a one-off. Insurers notify the state when the policy cancels — in Florida that notice is its own form — and the licensing agency treats the gap as non-compliance, which puts the suspension back in place. That is why paying monthly on a policy you are barely using is still cheaper than the reinstatement that follows a lapse.
The second trap is the vehicle. Some states tie the certificate to the cars you own or drive, so selling the car, buying another, or borrowing one long-term can break compliance without anyone telling you.
Both of these run alongside the interlock, not instead of it. See what your state requires on the device →
SR-22 and DUI insurance questions
What is SR22?
A certificate your insurance company files with the state confirming that you carry liability coverage at the required limits. It is proof, not protection: the policy does the covering, the SR-22 just tells the licensing agency it exists. That is why no insurer sells a standalone SR-22 and why comparing “SR-22 quotes” means comparing ordinary liability policies.
How long do you need SR22 insurance?
Two years from conviction in Texas, three years in California, three years for the Florida FR-44. The clock is set by the state, not by the insurer, and in California it keeps running after the restriction itself has ended. Letting the policy lapse triggers a notice from the insurer to the state and puts your license back at risk.
How much is DUI insurance per month?
The filing costs a few dollars. What moves the bill is the conviction on your record and, in some states, a legally required jump in coverage: Florida demands $100,000/$300,000/$50,000 after a DUI instead of the ordinary $10,000/$20,000/$10,000. Part of what feels like a penalty is simply a much larger policy.
What is the cheapest insurance with a DUI?
There is no separate market to shop. Since the SR-22 is an attachment to a normal policy, the only levers are the usual ones — coverage level, deductible, vehicle, mileage — plus whether a given carrier writes filings at all. Some do not, and that, rather than price, is what narrows the list first.
Do you need an SR-22 for an ignition interlock?
They are separate requirements that usually arrive together. The interlock is a condition on the vehicle and the license; the SR-22 or FR-44 is a condition on your insurance. Satisfying one does nothing for the other, and both have to be in place before most states will reinstate.
What the charge itself carries → The test and the refusal →
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