SR-22 Services

Insurance While Your Ohio License Is Suspended

You can buy a policy while suspended — and for most reinstatements you have to.

Licensed in Ohio · Serving Franklin County and Central Ohio

Downtown Columbus. Photo: Shelly Woodford via Google Maps

A struck-through licence beside an active SR-22 certificate
Quick Answer

You can buy a policy while suspended — and for most reinstatements you have to. Call (614) 300-2110 or request a quote.

One of the most common misunderstandings we hear is that you cannot buy auto insurance without a valid licence. You can, and in Ohio the sequence usually requires it. The certificate has to be on file before the BMV will restore your driving privileges, which means the policy exists before the licence does.

The BMV also requires current proof of insurance to activate a reinstatement fee payment plan or an amnesty fee reduction. So the policy is not just the last box to tick — it is what unlocks the money side too.

What the policy looks like depends on your situation. Still own a vehicle? An owner’s policy with the filing attached. Sold it, or never had one? A non-owner policy is usually cheaper and does the same job.

A suspended licence makes you a harder risk to place and some carriers decline outright. That is exactly why the spread between quotes is widest for drivers in this position, and why calling one company tells you very little about the market.

Sources: Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles — Insurance Suspensions; Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles — Reinstatement Fees & Amnesty.

What is our services?

Here is what applies:

  • How long you need it — and what changed in 2025For a first non-compliance offence added to your record on or after 9 April 2025, the SR-22 requirement is one year. Before that date it was three years for a first offence and five years for a repeat offence within five years. What decides which applies is when the offence was added to your record, not today’s date.
  • Who files itYou contact an insurance company licensed to do business in Ohio, apply and pay for the policy, and the company files the SR-22 or bond with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. You cannot file it yourself.
  • How fast it processesMany insurance companies file electronically, and those filings usually process within 72 hours of receipt.
  • What the certificate actually isThe BMV describes an SR-22 or bond as a minimum-limit liability insurance policy that covers only the individual named on it.
  • If the policy cancelsInsurance companies are required by law to report a cancelled SR-22 or bond policy to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. A lapse is not something the state finds out about later; it is reported.
  • If you move out of OhioYou still file. If the SR-22 or bond is a requirement of your Ohio suspension, it follows the Ohio record — and the certificate must be written for the state of Ohio.
  • Minimum liability limitsOhio requires $25,000 for injury or death of one person, $50,000 for injury or death of two or more people, and $25,000 for property damage in an accident.

Minimum coverage required: Ohio’s minimum liability limits are 25/50/25 — $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 bodily injury per accident, and $25,000 property damage per accident (Ohio BMV, Mandatory Insurance).

Source: Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles — Insurance Suspensions. See also Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles — Reinstatement Fees & Amnesty.

Ready to get filed?

Most Central Ohio drivers get a quote in under 10 minutes and have the filing sent the same business day.

Other SR-22 situations we handle

Page last updated 21 August 2026. We update these pages when the state changes its published guidance.

Get Your Columbus SR-22 Quote in Under 10 Minutes

Tell us your conviction and its date, your ZIP code, and whether you own a vehicle. We will compare carriers, give you a real number, and get the filing sent as soon as you are ready.

Or call (614) 300-2110 · Text (614) 300-2110 · Open Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.. Se habla español. No obligation, no credit card to get a quote.

Submitting this form does not bind coverage and is not an application. Coverage begins only when a carrier issues a policy.