The Texas SR22 Form

This is something that confuses many Texans when they have done something to get their drivers license suspended. They will be told that in order to have a provisional driver’s license they will need to complete and hold a SR-22 form as a proof of insurance in order to get the privilege of driving back. In essence the SR-22 is a certificate of insurance which has to be used to prove that you actually have insurance on the car that you are driving.

The most common reasons that motorists will require a SR-22 form are:

- Uninsured crash;
- Driving with a suspended drivers license;
- Driving without insurance;
- Drug offences;
- Driving under the influence of alcohol.

You should know that not all insurers are happy to have clients which require an SR-22 form. Some insurer will flat out refuse to do business with you. The ones that will do business with you will want you to pay large sums to compensate for the extra risk that you pose to them. Finding a new insurer when you have a requirement for a SR-22 form will make life rather difficult and unpleasant for you.

If you already have an insurer then your best bet would be to request a SR-22 form from your current insurer. More times than not, if you have been a faithful customer will not many infractions then the insurer would normally add the SR-22 filling to your policy with a small additional fee. The increase will come from an additional administrative fee and also any added extra risk that the insurer will see from your “tainted” drivers or criminal record.

If your driver’s license has been suspended then the best thing you can do is to contact your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles services. There you will be able to find out how to get your driving privileges back and also what you need to do to get the process going. Most of the time they would ask you for your SR-22 form which you can get with the help of your insurance company. Don’t be surprised that you might have to get a provisional drivers license which you will need to hold for a couple of years before your original drivers license is reinstated. With the provisional driver’s license, you must to extremely careful as you won’t be allowed much leeway in terms of infractions. If you do something wrong you might have to pay to have the provisional drivers license re-instated again with the timing reset. It can be quite frustrating if you aren’t careful.

In addition to just the SR-22 form and the provisional driver’s license, most motorists will also need to complete some sort of educational program. The type of educational program required depends on what infraction was committed and how serious it is.