North Dakota SR-22 requirements after a DUI

Which filing, and what triggers it

Form: SR-22

NDDOT calls it an 'SR-22 insurance certificate', obtained from the driver's insurance company, which certifies coverage to the department; an insurance card, policy or declaration page is not accepted in its place. NDDOT's form SFN 54148 'Certificate of Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance' (rev. 4-2026) is the certificate: it must be submitted by the insurance agency or representative, by email to the Driver License Division (drs@nd.gov), and the same form carries the insurer's Notice of Cancellation or Termination.

“An SR-22 insurance certificate is required for proof of financial responsibility for persons whose driving privileges have been suspended or revoked for certain convictions or traffic offenses. It must be obtained from your insurance company.”

What triggers it

Under N.D.C.C. § 39-16.1-07(2), a person convicted (or who forfeits bail) for driving or being in actual physical control while under the influence in violation of § 39-08-01 has the license suspended or revoked and no license may be issued or returned unless the person gives and maintains proof of financial responsibility; § 39-16.1-07(1) applies the same to any revocation under other laws. NDDOT's FAQ says the SR-22 is required after suspension or revocation 'for certain convictions or traffic offenses' without naming DUI or the § 39-20 administrative (test-result or refusal) suspension; § 39-20-03.1(5) separately requires proof of financial responsibility for a 24/7-sobriety temporary restricted license.

“driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence in violation of section 39-08-01 or equivalent ordinance ... no license may be issued or returned to the person, unless the person gives and maintains proof of financial responsibility.”

How long it stays on file, and from when

1 year, the source does not state when the period starts.

Under N.D.C.C. § 39-16.1-19(1)(a), the director waives the filing or consents to its cancellation at any time after one year from the date such proof was required, if in that one-year period no conviction or bail forfeiture requiring revocation was received. The statute does not say which event is 'the date such proof was required' (conviction, revocation or reinstatement), and NDDOT's FAQ states a one-year period only for uninsured-crash filings ('one year from the date of the crash'); no NDDOT page states the DUI period or its start date.

“the director shall waive the requirement of filing proof, in any of the following events: a. At any time after one year from the date such proof was required when, during the one-year period preceding the request, the director has not received record of a conviction or a forfeiture of bail”

If the policy is cancelled or lapses

NDDOT states the insurer must notify the department if the policy is cancelled, terminated or lapses, and if the department receives notice of a cancelled SR-22 the driving privileges are suspended. Under § 39-16.1-12 the insurer files the notice of cancellation or termination no later than ten days after the certified policy ends (the notice section is on form SFN 54148), and under § 39-16.1-18 the director requires other proof and suspends the license on failure to file it. § 39-16.1-19(3) requires proof to be re-established for the remainder of the one-year period only where the filing was cancelled after a license surrender; no source states whether the period otherwise restarts.

“The insurance company must notify the department if the policy is canceled, terminated, or lapses. If the department receives notice of a canceled SR-22, the driving privileges will be suspended. An insurance card, policy, or declaration page cannot be accepted in place of the SR-22.”

Non-owner and out-of-state policies

N.D.C.C. § 39-16.1-09(1) provides that the certificate filed as proof must designate the covered vehicles 'unless the policy is an operator's policy'; § 39-16.1-11(1) defines a motor vehicle liability policy as an owner's or an operator's policy, and § 39-16.1-11(3) requires an operator's policy to insure the named person's use of any motor vehicle (unlimited, or limited by excluding classes of vehicles) at the same limits as an owner's policy; § 39-16.1-09(2) lets the director restrict the license to the vehicles covered when a limited certificate is filed. NDDOT's FAQ does not address non-owner policies.

“Such certificate must give the effective date of such motor vehicle liability policy ... and must designate by explicit description or by appropriate reference all motor vehicles covered thereby, unless the policy is an operator's policy.”

Under N.D.C.C. § 39-16.1-10, a nonresident owner of a vehicle not registered in North Dakota may file the certificate of an insurer authorized in the state where the vehicle is registered (or where the nonresident resides, if no vehicle is owned), if the insurer executes a power of attorney for service of process and agrees in writing that the policy conforms to North Dakota law; subsection 3 also allows proof from an insurer licensed in the nonresident's state of residence as long as it is in the amounts North Dakota requires. For other filers § 39-16.1-09(1) requires the certificate of an insurer 'duly authorized to do business in this state'. NDDOT's pages do not address drivers who now live elsewhere.

“the nonresident owner of a motor vehicle not registered in this state may file proof of future financial responsibility of an insurance company or other state-authorized entity providing insurance and authorized or licensed to do business in the nonresident's state of residence”

Liability limits the filing certifies

Minimum limits: 25/50/25

Under N.D.C.C. § 39-16.1-11(2)(b), a certified owner's policy must insure against liability of $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $50,000 for two or more persons in one accident, and $25,000 for property damage in one accident; an operator's policy is subject to the same limits (§ 39-16.1-11(3)), and § 39-08-20 requires every driver to carry liability insurance 'in the amount required by chapter 39-16.1'. No uninsured-motorist or no-fault component is stated for the filing in chapter 39-16.1.

“twenty-five thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident ... fifty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and twenty-five thousand dollars because of injury to or destruction of property of others”

How the filing is confirmed

NDDOT's Driver Record Services and Suspensions page directs drivers to the online 'Driver License Pay Reinstatement Fee/Outstanding Requirements System' to view outstanding reinstatement requirements, and states that the order of suspension tells the driver what reinstatement requirements must be met. The SR-22 itself is certified to the department by the insurer on form SFN 54148, which states the certification continues until cancelled or terminated under the state's financial responsibility laws.

Agency page: www.dot.nd.gov

“Driver License Pay Reinstatement Fee/Outstanding Requirements System You can view your outstanding reinstatement requirements online. Once all requirements have been met and required time has been served you are eligible to be reinstated.”

Financial-responsibility statute

N.D.C.C. § 39-16.1-09

“39-16.1-09. Proof by showing insurance coverage. 1. Proof of financial responsibility may be furnished by filing with the director the written or electronically transmitted certificate of any insurance carrier duly authorized to do business in this state”