North Dakota's one-year SR22 clock starts on different days
Nearly every North Dakota SR22 requirement lasts one year. The tricky part is the start date, and the state transportation FAQ sets it by reason.
- DUI or APC conviction: one year from reinstatement, or from the day a Temporary Restricted License is issued.
- Driving under suspension or revocation that brings more than 90 days of suspension: the same one-year count.
- A crash with no insurance: one year from the crash date.
- A conviction for driving without liability insurance: one year from the day the office receives a valid SR22 or form SFN 54148.
- Making payments on a court judgment: the SR22 stays until the judgment is paid in full.
Email beats paper: how the SR22 reaches Bismarck
An SR22 is a filing your insurance company makes, not a card you carry. The NDDOT driver license page says the insurer certifies your coverage to the department. The insurer must also report a policy that is canceled, terminated or lapses.
Insurers email the form to drs@nd.gov or fax it to 701-328-2435, and the state encourages email. ID cards, declarations pages and policy binders are refused as SR22 proof. After a no-insurance conviction, the state also takes the Certificate of Motor Vehicle Liability, SFN 54148. That form must arrive from the insurance representative, never from you.
The FAQ says emailed or faxed documents are typically processed within 1 to 3 business days.
Which reinstatement fee you owe: $50 or $100
North Dakota will not release a suspended license until you pay a processing charge called a reinstatement fee. The Driver License Division fee list sorts suspensions into tiers.
The $50 tier covers failing to provide proof of insurance, failing to maintain liability insurance, 12 or more points and driving under suspension. The $100 tier covers BAC over the legal limits, physical control, implied consent, refusal and driving under revocation.
Pay by mail with a check or money order, by phone with a card, or through the online reinstatement system. Online payments need the full amount on a credit or debit card.
Crashed without insurance? Your options with NDDOT
The rule applies when a crash involves injury, death, or property damage of at least $4,000. If the department learns you had no proof of insurance, the NDDOT driver license page lists what you can do.
You can show you had liability insurance at the time of the crash. You can post a security deposit equal to the damages, held for one year against any judgment. Or you can file proof of financial responsibility. That last route means an SR22 or a $25,000 deposit of cash or negotiable securities, kept for one year from the crash date.
Coverage your North Dakota policy has to carry
The SR22 only certifies a policy that meets state minimums. The North Dakota Insurance Department sets bodily injury liability at $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. Property damage liability is $25,000 per accident.
Uninsured motorist coverage is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, and underinsured coverage must equal it. Basic no-fault, also called PIP, is $30,000 per person for your own medical and work losses.