Wyoming SR-22 requirements after a DUI

Which filing, and what triggers it

Form: SR-22

WYDOT's Driving Privilege Withdrawal guide calls it an SR-22, an insurance certificate that the driver's insurance company files with the Department (WYDOT Driver Services); the Reinstatement page states it must be filed through the insurance company and received by the Department. Wyo. Stat. § 31-9-403 describes it as the written certificate of an insurance carrier authorized to do business in Wyoming, filed with the division.

“SR-22 – An SR-22 is an insurance certificate that your insurance company files with the department. Wyoming Statute 31-9-401 requires that proof of financial responsibility be provided for certain violations or actions.”

What triggers it

A DWUI conviction. WYDOT's withdrawal guide lists 'SR-22' among the reinstatement requirements for a first-offense DWUI conviction suspension, and Wyo. Stat. § 31-7-128(e) requires any person whose license has been suspended to file and maintain proof for three years from the date of suspension. For the separate Administrative Per Se (chemical test 0.08 or greater) suspension the guide lists only completion of withdrawal actions and the reinstatement fee, not an SR-22. The SR-22 is also required before an Ignition Interlock Restricted license or a probationary license is issued.

“Reinstatement requirements – Completion of all withdrawal actions on record, SR-22, and payment of reinstatement fee.”

How long it stays on file, and from when

3 years, counted from the start of the suspension.

Three years. Wyo. Stat. § 31-7-128(e) runs the three-year period from the date of suspension (§ 31-7-127(c): from the date of revocation); § 31-9-401(e) and the WYDOT guide say three years from the date the proof is required. § 31-9-413(c) implies continuity: a driver whose proof was cancelled who reapplies within the three years must reestablish proof for the remainder of the period.

“(e) Any person whose driver's license or nonresident operating privilege has been suspended shall, for a three (3) year period beginning on the date of suspension, file and maintain proof of financial responsibility as required in W.S. 31-9-401 through 31-9-414.”

If the policy is cancelled or lapses

The WYDOT guide says the insurance company must notify the Department when SR-22 insurance is cancelled, and that driving privileges remain suspended until an SR-22 is on file. Wyo. Stat. § 31-9-406 bars cancellation of a certified policy until at least ten days after a notice of cancellation is filed with the division; § 31-9-412 requires other proof and suspends the license pending its filing; § 31-9-413(c) requires proof to be reestablished for the remainder of the original three-year period (no restart stated).

“When an SR-22 is on file, the insurance company must notify the department when there is a cancellation of the insurance. ... If the SR-22 is not on file by the end of your mandatory suspension, your driving privilege will remain suspended until the SR-22 is filed.”

Non-owner and out-of-state policies

Wyo. Stat. § 31-9-403(a) requires the certificate to designate all covered vehicles 'unless the policy is issued to a person who is not the owner of a motor vehicle', and § 31-9-405(a),(c) defines the certified 'liability policy' as an owner's or an operator's policy, the operator's policy covering use of vehicles not owned by the insured. No WYDOT page addresses non-owner filings.

“An operator's policy of liability insurance shall insure the person named as insured against loss from the liability imposed upon him by law for damages arising out of the use by him of any motor vehicle not owned by him”

For nonresidents: Wyo. Stat. § 31-9-404(a) lets a nonresident give proof by filing a certificate of an insurance carrier authorized in the state where the vehicle is registered (or where the insured resides if no vehicle is owned), provided the carrier executes a power of attorney for service of process and agrees in writing that the policy conforms to Wyoming law. A certificate filed under § 31-9-403(a) must come from a carrier authorized to do business in Wyoming. § 31-7-128(e) applies the three-year requirement to a suspended nonresident operating privilege. No WYDOT page addresses out-of-state filings.

“The nonresident owner of a motor vehicle not registered in this state may give proof of financial responsibility by filing with the division a written certificate of an insurance carrier authorized to transact business in the state in which the motor vehicle ... is registered”

Liability limits the filing certifies

Minimum limits: 25/50/20

Wyo. Stat. § 31-9-102(a)(xi) (definition of 'proof of financial responsibility'), repeated in § 31-9-405(b)(ii): $25,000 for bodily injury to or death of one person, $50,000 for two or more persons, and $20,000 for property damage, per accident. No uninsured-motorist or PIP component is stated.

“twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) because of bodily injury to or death of one (1) person in any one (1) accident, ... fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) because of bodily injury to or death of two (2) or more persons in any one (1) accident, ... twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00)”

How the filing is confirmed

WYDOT's Reinstatement page says the SR-22 must have been filed through the insurance company and received by the Department before reinstatement; the withdrawal guide says driving privileges remain suspended until the SR-22 is on file, and WYDOT's Ignition Interlock page lists filing the SR-22 with the Department as an IIR-license step. No WYDOT page describes an online lookup for confirming the filing.

Agency page: www.dot.state.wy.us

“If your offense requires the filing of an SR-22 insurance form, you must have filed that through your insurance company, and it has been received by the Department.”

Financial-responsibility statute

Wyo. Stat. §§ 31-9-401 to 31-9-414 (Motor Vehicle Safety-Responsibility Act); §§ 31-7-127(c) and 31-7-128(e)

“Proof of financial responsibility required to be given and maintained under this act shall be maintained for three (3) years from the date it is required except as provided in W.S. 31-9-413.”