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Posted on April 11, 2025 in assault & violent crimes
A conviction for driving under the influence (DUI) in Arizona includes as part of its sentence a suspension of your driver’s license. When this happens, a condition of reinstating your license is that you show that you have adequate automobile insurance. The proof takes the form of what is called an SR-22 certificate of financial responsibility.
In this post, we cover when you can be required to have an SR-22 certificate added to your auto insurance policy, the effect this requirement will have on your insurance premiums, how long you will need to have an SR-22 insurance certificate form filed with the state’s Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), and what you must do to have it removed.
If you need help with your DUI case, please call Rosenstein Law Group at (480) 248-7666 or use our contact form to get in touch with an attorney.
You may have heard of “SR22 insurance” in the aftermath of a DUI conviction. This is not an entirely accurate way to think of it. SR-22 is not itself an insurance policy or other kind of insurance.
“SR” stands for “Safety Responsibility,” and SR-22 is a certificate that verifies that you have automobile insurance. Although an auto insurance company licensed to do business in Arizona prepares the SR-22 certificate and files it with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), it is not a form of insurance but proof that you have at least the mandatory minimum auto insurance required by Arizona law.
For Arizona, the state’s minimum requirements for auto insurance are:
Perhaps the most well-known situation that leads to an SR-22 requirement in Arizona is a DUI conviction. Other situations that can also trigger the need to obtain an SR-22 certificate include but are not limited to:
For our purposes here, we confine our examination of SR-22 Certificates when such is required following a DUI conviction.
If your sentence includes a suspended license but you do not own a motor vehicle, such as a DUI conviction when you were driving someone else’s car, then you will be required to have a non-owner SR-22 certificate.
This certificate usually costs less than having an SR-22 requirement in addition to your auto insurance policy because it is not proof of car insurance.
Instead of an SR-22 certificate, it is possible to deposit $40,000 in cash or certificates with the Arizona Office of the Treasurer.
If you have an SR-22 requirement in Arizona but do not live in Arizona, you are still required to provide such to the Arizona MVD.
After a DUI conviction, you must maintain an SR-22 certificate on file with the ADOT for three years from the date you become eligible for license reinstatement. Thus, it is important to calculate how long a state-mandated DUI license suspension or revocation will last.
The following table shows the duration of license suspensions in connection with different kinds of DUI-related convictions.
| Arizona DUI Statute | Nature of DUI Violation | Suspension Period |
| ARS 28-1385 | MVD administrative DUI license suspension based on drug or alcohol test results | 90 days |
| ARS 28-1321 | MVD administrative DUI license suspension for first-time refusal to submit to DUI BAC test | One year |
| ARS 28-1321 | MVD administrative DUI license suspension for second-time refusal to submit to DUI BAC test within 84 months | Two years |
| ARS 28-1381 | Misdemeanor First-Time DUI | Court ordered 90-day license suspension if you have not served suspension under Implied Consent or Admin Per Se (ARS 28-1321 & 28-1385) |
| ARS 28-1381 | Second Misdemeanor DUI within 84 months | One-year revocation of license (ARS 28-1381(K)) |
| ARS 28-1382 | Extreme DUI or Super Extreme DUI | Court ordered 90-day license suspension if you have not served suspension under Implied Consent or Admin Per Se (ARS 28-1321 & 28-1385) |
| ARS 28-1382 | Second Extreme DUI or Super Extreme DUI | Minimum one-year revocation of license (ARS 28-1382(E)(5)) |
| ARS 28-1383 | First Offense Aggravated DUI | Minimum one-year license revocation (ARS 28-1383(J)(1)) |
| ARS 4-244(34) ARS 28-1381 ARS 28-1382 | Underage DUI | Mandatory two-year license suspension (ARS 28-3322(A)) Mandatory three-year suspension if the minor is convicted of aggravated DUI (ARS 28-3320(A)(2) |
If you have automobile insurance, the first way to get an SR-22 certificate after a DUI conviction is to contact your current insurer and add the SR-22 to your existing policy. The insurance company will file the SR-22 with the MVD.
Sometimes, though, your auto insurer may cancel your policy after a DUI. If this happens, you will need to shop for motor vehicle insurers licensed in Arizona to obtain a new insurance policy and an SR-22 certificate.
The filing fee for the SR-22 certificate itself is not very much.
What will cost you more is the increase in your automobile insurance premiums.
This is because, in addition to having a DUI on your driving record, a DUI conviction will also result in 8 points added to your Arizona driver’s license. This combination will usually lead to your insurance provider significantly increasing your auto insurance premium. A 40% or more premium increase is not uncommon.
Insurer requirements vary when deciding what your insurance premium will be. Factors your insurer will consider when deciding what your post-DUI, SR-22-related insurance premium will be include:
If your auto insurance policy lapses, then the MVD will suspend your license and vehicle registration, and your driving privileges will be suspended until you re-establish proof of insurance.
Once three years have passed that you have had an SR-22 on file with the MVD, you can call the MVD to see if you can have the SR-22 requirement lifted. If you are no longer required to have an SR-22 certificate on file with the MVD, you can notify your insurance company to cancel it.
At the Rosenstein Law Group, we are a full-service DUI defense law firm. Our attorneys and staff have more than 150 years of combined legal experience representing thousands of clients in DUI cases.
We provide thorough, personalized legal representation for you throughout the DUI process. We investigate every angle of the state’s DUI case. Our attorneys will be with you every step of the way, working hard to seek the best possible case results for your specific situation.
You can contact one of our DUI attorneys 24/7 at (480) 248-7666.