No insurance violation without accident
Any driver convicted of driving without insurance after January 1st, 2026 will only be required to submit and carry an SR22 for one year from the date the conviction is recorded in the DMV system. This is a huge reduction in the length of time from the three years previously required for decades in the past. It appears that if a driver was convicted prior to January 1, 2026, the three-year SR22 requirement will remain in effect.
No insurance violation with accident
A driver convicted of driving without insurance while involved in an accident (at fault or not) after January 1, 2026, will still be required to submit an SR22 financial responsibility certificate for three years from the date the conviction is entered into the DMV system. However, the automatic one-year suspension of the driver’s license or privileges won’t apply unless the driver is also convicted of some other serious offense. The length of suspension or cause for revocation of driving privileges will be determined by the severity of the conviction.
The effect on existing SR22 requirements
So far, there is no call for a reduction of the SR22 requirement for drivers already convicted of driving without insurance prior to January 1, 2026, nor will the one-year minimum suspension be lifted for uninsured drivers involved in an accident before that date.