An SR-22 is not insurance. It is a certificate your insurance company files with the California DMV to prove you carry at least the state minimum liability coverage. After a DUI, the DMV almost always requires an SR-22 before it will reinstate your driving privilege or issue a restricted license.
Here is how it works. Once you have a DUI on your record, you ask your insurer to file the SR-22 form on your behalf. The DMV then has proof of coverage on file. You typically have to keep the SR-22 active for three years. If your policy lapses during that window, the insurer notifies the DMV and your license can be suspended again.
Expect your premiums to go up once an SR-22 is on file, because carriers treat a DUI as high risk. Not every insurance company writes SR-22 policies, so some people switch carriers to find one that does.
If you are dealing with a suspension, the SR-22 is usually one piece of getting back on the road. The DMV side of a DUI moves fast, and the deadlines are short. Learn how the license suspension process works and what a DMV hearing can do to protect your driving privilege.
This is general information, not legal advice, and every case is different. Call Crudo Law at (858) 622-7280 or visit /contact for a free, confidential consultation.