Colorado SR-22 Insurance: Who Needs a Filing and for How Long
Yes — Colorado uses the SR-22. How long it stays on file: 3 years.
- Used in this state
- Yes
- Form
- SR-22
The statute calls it "proof of financial responsibility for the future" and says the SR-22 form may be used for it (§ 42-7-103(14)(b)). One exception worth knowing: reinstating after a points suspension under § 42-2-127 needs ordinary evidence of insurance and "does not require the use of the form known as the 'SR-22' or any substantially similar form" (§ 42-7-406(2)(b)).
- How long it must stay on file
- 3 years
Three years from the date proof was last required (§ 42-7-408(1)(b)). A single DUI, DUI per se or DWAI with no crash involved needs proof only for as long as the driving privilege is restrained, up to three years, counted from the day you reinstate (§ 42-7-408(1)(c)).
- What triggers it
- Revocation under § 42-2-125 or § 42-2-126 — including DUI, DUI per se and DWAI, and express-consent refusals · Driving without insurance — reinstating an administrative insurance suspension · Being in a crash with no insurance in effect (Financial Responsibility Act suspension) · Failing to satisfy a judgment arising from a crash · Owning a vehicle that a non-owner drove in two separate alcohol offenses
- If coverage lapses
- License suspended
The insurer tells the DMV when a certified policy ends. Once the proof on file stops meeting the requirement the director must suspend the license until new proof is filed (§§ 42-7-408(4), 42-7-420). Being convicted of a traffic offense committed while suspended for a dropped SR-22 turns the suspension into a one-year revocation, running from the conviction date.
- Reinstatement fee
- $95
A $95 restoration fee is due before any suspended, cancelled or revoked license is reissued (§ 42-2-132(4)(a)(I)). A DUI-related revocation adds a further $25.
Colorado requires 3 years — the highest of the 37 jurisdictions on this site. The range runs from 1 year to 3 years.
How Colorado compares with every other state
Every statute cited for Colorado
Why the rule looks like this
- What Changed in 2026Liability minimums doubled in Hawaii, two states dropped pure comparative fault, New Hampshire stopped inspecting cars, and three crash reporting thresholds moved — a dated account of the 2026 changes, and the ones already signed for 2027 and beyond.
- The Fine Is the Cheapest PartA first-offense fine for driving uninsured runs from $30 in Florida to a $1,500 floor in Delaware — but South Carolina's $100 fine arrives with a $700 reinstatement fee, and the reinstatement is usually the bigger number.
- The Form Some States Do Not UseAn SR-22 is a certificate, not a policy — and in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina and Michigan the form does not exist at all.
More on Colorado
Checked against the primary sources above on September 27, 2026. If a figure here is wrong, tell us and we will fix it — what we have corrected so far is public.