Ohio SR-22 Requirements: Who Needs One and for How Long
An SR-22 is not insurance. It is a certificate your insurer files with the state to prove you carry coverage.
- Used in this state
- Yes
- Form
- SR-22
Ohio Administrative Code 4501:1-2-01(B)(4) names the "uniform financial responsibility form, SR-22". Where proof must be held for a fixed period, an ordinary insurance card is not accepted — only an SR-22, a bond, a $30,000 deposit, or a self-insurance certificate.
- How long it must stay on file
- 1 year
One year from the date the registrar imposes the suspension, for every suspension class (ORC 4509.45(D), effective April 9, 2025). Before that date it was three years for a first non-compliance and five years for a repeat, and suspensions added to the record before April 9, 2025 keep those older terms.
- What triggers it
- Suspension for operating without proof of financial responsibility (ORC 4509.101) · Unsatisfied judgment arising from a motor vehicle accident (ORC 4509.33, 4509.34, 4509.40, 4509.42) · Twelve-point driver license suspension (ORC 4510.037) · OVI-related suspension or limited driving privileges (ORC 4511.19(H), 4510.07)
- If coverage lapses
- Suspension resumes until a new filing is made
A certified policy cannot be canceled until ten days after the insurer files notice with the registrar (ORC 4509.57), and reinstatement requires proof to be "filed and continuously maintained" (ORC 4509.101(A)(5)(b)).
- Reinstatement fee
- $40
$40 for a first non-compliance, $300 for a second within one year, $600 for a third or later within one year, plus a $10 deputy registrar service fee. The first-offense fee was $100 until October 3, 2023.
What changed
April 9, 2025
SR-22 filing period cut to one year for every suspension class
H.B. 29 of the 135th General Assembly rewrote ORC 4509.45(D). Proof of financial responsibility is now filed and maintained for one year from the date the registrar imposes the suspension. The old rule ran five years for a class A, B or C suspension and three years for a class D, E or F suspension. Guides that still say "three years for a first offense, five years for a repeat" are describing the pre-April 2025 rule. The BMV notes that a non-compliance added to the record before April 9, 2025 keeps the old three-year or five-year term.
Ohio Revised Code § 4509.45