Maine SR-22 Insurance: Who Needs a Filing and for How Long
Yes — Maine uses the SR-22. Form: SR-22 (Certificate of Insurance). How long it stays on file: 3 years.
- Used in this state
- Yes
- Form
- SR-22 (Certificate of Insurance)
The statute never uses the term. It says proof may be given "by filing with the Secretary of State a certificate from an insurance or surety company" (29-A M.R.S. §1605(3)(A)). BMV's own financial responsibility page calls that document a Certificate of Insurance (SR-22).
- How long it must stay on file
- 3 years
After a conviction or adjudication of a motor vehicle law and reinstatement, proof must be kept on file for at least 3 years (29-A M.R.S. §1603(3)). The Secretary of State may waive the requirement 3 years after the demand was made (§§1602(5), 1603(5)).
- What triggers it
- Adjudication for driving without the required financial responsibility · Failure to give proof within 30 days of a demand made after a reported crash · Conviction or adjudication of a motor vehicle law, at the Secretary of State's discretion · A second OUI conviction within 10 years — the license cannot be reinstated without proof on file · An unsatisfied judgment arising out of a crash
A demand after a crash is not automatic. The Secretary of State must demand proof on receiving a crash report, but ten exceptions apply — among them a driver who was already covered by a policy in effect at the time (29-A M.R.S. §1602(1)).
- If coverage lapses
- License and registration suspended until new proof is filed
A policy certified as proof of financial responsibility may not be canceled until at least 10 days after notice of cancellation is filed with the Secretary of State (29-A M.R.S. §1606(5)). The suspension then runs until proof is filed again (§§1602(3), 1603(1)). Driving during that period without authorization is a Class D crime, not a traffic infraction (§1605(6)).
- Reinstatement fee
- $50
$50 for a suspension other than OUI or refusing a test, and $50 for an OUI or refusal suspension (29-A M.R.S. §2486). BMV adds a $5 processing fee if you pay online.
Maine requires 3 years — the highest of the 37 jurisdictions on this site. The range runs from 1 year to 3 years.
How Maine compares with every other state
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 Maine
Checked against the primary sources above on September 29, 2026. If a figure here is wrong, tell us and we will fix it — what we have corrected so far is public.