The most useful thing to understand about a DUI is that two separate deadlines start moving, days or weeks apart, and only the second one is the SR-22.
The first is administrative. In Florida the officer takes your licence at the roadside, before any judge sees the case. Fla. Stat. § 322.2615 says so in the opening sentence:
"A law enforcement officer or correctional officer shall, on behalf of the department, suspend the driving privilege of a person who is driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle and who has an unlawful blood-alcohol level or breath-alcohol level of 0.08 or higher, or of a person who has refused to submit to a urine test or a test of his or her breath-alcohol or blood-alcohol level."
The same section tells the officer to "take the person's driver license and issue the person a 10-day temporary permit if the person is otherwise eligible for the driving privilege," and sets the suspension at "6 months for a first offense" on an unlawful alcohol level and "1 year for a first refusal" to test.
The second clock is the filing. It attaches to the conviction, not the arrest, and in several states it does not begin to run until the state gives the licence back — which means the administrative suspension you are serving right now is time that does not count towards it. If you have not read what an SR-22 actually is, start there: it is a certificate your insurer files with the state, not a type of policy, and the state is the party it is filed for.
This page publishes no premium figures. Every dollar amount below is either a statutory liability limit or a fee an agency publishes itself.
Two clocks start the night of the arrest, and the SR-22 is not the first one
Every state in this guide splits the same event into an administrative track and a conviction track, and the paperwork that governs each one is different.
Maine runs the administrative track through the Secretary of State rather than a court. 29-A M.R.S. § 2453 is blunt about the timing: "The Secretary of State shall immediately suspend a license of a person determined to have operated a motor vehicle with an excessive alcohol level." A hearing request inside ten days stays that suspension while it is decided; the court-ordered suspension under 29-A M.R.S. § 2411 arrives later and separately, at "a period of 150 days" for a first offence and "a period of 3 years" for a second within ten years.
Minnesota splits it the same way but puts the numbers two sections apart. Minn. Stat. § 169A.52 tells the commissioner to revoke "as provided in section 171.178" on a test result of 0.08 or more, and § 171.178 is where the length lives: "not less than 90 days" for a first test failure below 0.16, and "not less than one year" for a refusal. Refusing the test costs roughly four times the administrative suspension that taking it and failing it does.
Georgia's administrative track has its own form and its own price. The arresting officer issues DDS Form 1205 or 1205S, and the driver who wants to contest it files form DDS-1206, which prints the fee on the face of the checkbox: "Administrative License Suspension/Refusal ($150.00 Fee Required-Full payment is due with request)". The form also explains what the fee buys — the case is docketed with the Office of State Administrative Hearings, and "DDS will review your driving record and if eligible a letter will be mailed to you granting temporary driving privileges while awaiting your hearing."
None of that is the SR-22. The SR-22 is what the state wants before it will hand the licence back at the end of all this, and its length is measured from a date that varies by state — which is the subject of where each state starts counting.
Six states after a DUI, in one table
Nobody publishes these four facts side by side, so here they are, each cell read in the source named in the last column on 2 September 2026.
State
Administrative suspension, before any conviction
Filing duration, and the date it runs from
Special form or special limits for the alcohol case
Fee the agency or statute publishes
Florida
6 months first unlawful BAC, 1 year first refusal; 10-day temporary permit (§ 322.2615)
3 years "from the date of reinstatement of driving privileges" (§ 324.023)
Yes — FR-44 at 100/300/50, or a $350,000 certificate of deposit
$45 after suspension, $75 after revocation, plus a $130 DUI-specific fee (§ 322.21(8))
Georgia
ALS by the officer on form DDS-1205/1205S; $150 to contest (DDS-1206)
3 years "from the date of conviction" (§ 33-7-16(c) and rule 375-3-3-.24)
Yes — 50/100/50 first conviction, 100/300/100 second; SR-22 form "must be green in color"
DUI first offence, age 21+: $200.00 by mail, $210.00 in person (DDS)
Alabama
Not verified in an ALEA source read for this page
3 years from the date proof was required (§ 32-7-31(a)(1))
No separate alcohol limits found; ordinary SR-22
$275 for an alcohol- or drug-related suspension and $275 for a revocation; $150 interlock issuance (ALEA)
Maine
Immediate suspension by the Secretary of State; 10 days to request a stay (§ 2453)
At least 3 years, and only after reinstatement (§ 1603(3))
No separate alcohol limits found
$50, the same for OUI and non-OUI (§ 2486(1) and (1-A))
Minnesota
90 days first test failure under 0.16; 1 year for refusal (§ 171.178)
Certificate is a one-year instrument (rule 7409.0100 subp. 1b); required only after two or more withdrawals in five years (rule 7409.3900)
No separate alcohol limits found
$250 fee plus a $430 surcharge "for each instance of revocation" (§ 171.29 subd. 2)
New Jersey
Not verified in an MVC source read for this page
No SR-22 regime; the surcharge is billed annually for three years
No form; the mechanism is a surcharge, not a certificate
"$1,000 for first and second DWI ($3,000 total)"; "$1,500 3rd DWI" ($4,500 total) (MVC)
Sources, all read 2026-09-02: Fla. Stat. §§ 322.2615, 322.21(8), 324.023 (leg.state.fl.us); O.C.G.A. § 33-7-16 as enacted by SB 121 (gov.georgia.gov) and DDS rule 375-3-3-.24, form DDS-1206 and the DDS reinstatement fee schedule (dds.georgia.gov); ALEA reinstatement fee schedule (alea.gov); 29-A M.R.S. §§ 1603, 2411, 2453, 2486 (legislature.maine.gov); Minn. Stat. §§ 171.178, 171.29 and Minn. Rules 7409.0100, 7409.3900 (revisor.mn.gov); NJ MVC surcharge schedule (nj.gov).
Three observations that come from putting the columns next to each other, and that none of the sources makes on its own.
The fee schedules disagree about whether alcohol is a separate thing. Alabama prices the cause: an ordinary suspension is $100, an alcohol-related one is $275. Florida prices it as a bolt-on: $45 or $75 for the reinstatement, then a further $130 "if the suspension or revocation involved a violation of s. 316.193." Maine does not price it at all — 29-A M.R.S. § 2486 sets $50 for a suspension "for any reason other than OUI" in subsection 1 and $50 for one that is for OUI in subsection 1-A. Two subsections were written to distinguish the cases and both landed on the same number.
Georgia charges more to reinstate in person than by post. The DDS fee schedule publishes $200.00 by mail and $210.00 in person for a first DUI at age 21 or over, and the same $10 gap repeats down the schedule — no proof of insurance, points, second offences. If you are budgeting to the dollar, the counter is the expensive door.
Only one of these six charges you per revocation rather than per reinstatement.Minn. Stat. § 171.29 subd. 2 reads "$250 fee plus a $430 surcharge for each instance of revocation before the driver's license is reinstated" — so two revocations arising from one bad stretch produce two surcharges, not one. The same subdivision is the only instalment plan in the table: a driver may "choose to pay 50 percent and an additional $25 of the total amount of the surcharge and 50 percent of the fee," with the licence expiring in two years unless the balance is cleared. Choosing the instalment costs $25 more and hands you a second deadline.
Where a DUI buys you a different form, not just a longer one
In most states a DUI makes the same SR-22 last longer. In two it changes the instrument, and that is a different kind of problem, because the policy underneath has to be rewritten rather than merely certified.
Florida's is the FR-44, and the limits are in Fla. Stat. § 324.023: "$100,000 because of bodily injury to, or death of, one person in any one crash," "$300,000 because of bodily injury to, or death of, two or more persons in any one crash," and "$50,000 because of property damage in any one crash." The statute says those "higher limits must be carried for a minimum period of 3 years," and offers a deposit alternative — the "certificate of deposit must be at least $350,000."
Georgia joined that group in 2025 and almost nothing written about Georgia SR-22 filings has caught up. Senate Bill 121, as passed, created a new Code section, O.C.G.A. § 33-7-16, setting "not less than $50,000.00" for bodily injury to one person, "not less than $100,000.00" for all persons, and "not less than $50,000.00" for property on a first DUI conviction — and 100/300/100 on a second or subsequent one. Subsection (c) fixes the length: the driver "shall maintain no less than such coverage uninterrupted for a period of three years from the date of conviction." Subsection (d) is the part that catches people: these coverages "shall be in lieu of the minimum motor vehicle liability insurance coverage required under Code Section 33-7-11." The state floor no longer applies to you. And subsection (e) defines conviction to include "a plea of nolo contendere," so pleading no contest does not sidestep it. Section 3 of the Act makes it effective on the Governor's approval and applicable "to any convictions on or after such date."
Georgia's Department of Driver Services then wrote the rule that operationalises it, and the rule is more specific than the statute. Rule 375-3-3-.24 opens with the requirement — "Reinstatement of driver's licenses suspended for convictions under O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391 will require an SR-22 to be filed and maintained for three (3) years from the date of conviction" — and then specifies the certificate down to its appearance: "The form must be green in color." Its published synopsis says the purpose "is to align with SB 121, which passed in April 2025." Statute and rule agree on the anchor here, which is worth saying plainly, because they frequently do not; the site's Georgia guide and Florida guide carry the state-level detail, including the anchor disagreement in Florida between the statute's reinstatement date and the manual's original suspension date.
What moves the start date: an interlock in Maine, a clerk's pen in Alabama
If your state counts the three years from reinstatement rather than from conviction, then anything that brings reinstatement forward also brings the end of the filing forward. Maine is the clearest worked example in the table.
29-A M.R.S. § 1603(3) puts the proof after the licence comes back: "After a conviction or adjudication of a person for a violation of a motor vehicle law and reinstatement of that person's license and registration, the person shall maintain proof of financial responsibility for at least 3 years." Serve a 150-day suspension and the real exposure is 150 days plus three years.
But § 2508 lets the Secretary of State "reinstate the license of a person convicted of a violation of section 2411 ... if the person satisfies all other conditions for license reinstatement and installs an ignition interlock device," and for a single OUI that is available "after 30 days of the suspension period has been served." Read those two sections together and the interlock does something no page about interlocks mentions: by moving reinstatement from day 150 to day 30, it starts the three-year proof period roughly four months earlier. The interlock is a cost, and it is also the only lever in this table that shortens the far end of the filing.
Alabama sits at the other pole. Its three years run from the date proof was required rather than from reinstatement, under Ala. Code § 32-7-31(a)(1), and the operative date for an individual driver is the one an ALEA clerk writes by hand on the reinstatement requirements form — which is why the site's Alabama guide tells you to request that form before doing anything else. Alabama also closes a door that DUI drivers commonly reach for. Its hardship licence rule, 760-X-1-.24, provides at subsection (6) that a driver "required to carry SR-22 insurance under applicable law is required to carry SR-22 insurance while holding a hardship driver license" — the filing travels with the limited licence — and then at subsection (7)(a) says a hardship licence will not be issued at all "To a person who has been adjudicated or convicted of driving under the influence pursuant to Alabama Code Section 32-5A-191." In Alabama the hardship route is closed to exactly the drivers reading this page. Whether the offence in your paperwork is written as DUI, DWI or OUI changes none of this by itself; DUI vs. DWI covers why the label varies and what does turn on it.
What I could not verify
Whether Alabama and New Jersey impose a pre-conviction administrative suspension, and for how long. Both cells are marked unverified in the table rather than filled from a secondary source. aldoi.gov refuses connections from this server, and no ALEA or NJ MVC page read for this page states the administrative period. Ask the agency.
The exact date the Georgia Governor signed SB 121. The Act's own Section 3 makes the effective date the date of approval, and the DDS rule synopsis says the bill "passed in April 2025," but the signature date itself does not appear on either document read here. Because the Act applies to convictions on or after that date, a conviction in early April 2025 sits close enough to the line to be worth confirming with DDS.
How each state treats a lapse in a DUI filing. The consequence is state-specific and the statutes read here do not settle it uniformly; the mechanics of cancellation are covered separately in what happens if you don't file on time.
Anything about premiums. No insurer publishes a rate for an individual record, and this site does not print averages built from other drivers' records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I need an SR-22 after a DUI?
It depends on the state and, more importantly, on what date the state counts from. Georgia is three years "from the date of conviction" under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-16(c) and DDS rule 375-3-3-.24. Florida is three years "from the date of reinstatement of driving privileges" under Fla. Stat. § 324.023. Maine requires at least three years and only starts after reinstatement, under 29-A M.R.S. § 1603(3). Alabama counts from the date proof was required. Two states can both say "three years" and mean deadlines a year apart, so get the date, not the duration.
Does the administrative suspension count towards the SR-22 period?
Where the filing period runs from reinstatement, no — the administrative suspension is time served before the clock starts. Florida's roadside suspension under Fla. Stat. § 322.2615 is 6 months for a first unlawful alcohol level and 1 year for a first refusal, and § 324.023 then measures three years from reinstatement. Where the period runs from the conviction date, as in Georgia, the two clocks overlap instead. That single difference is worth more than any national average of "how long an SR-22 lasts."
Do I need higher liability limits because it was a DUI?
In Florida and Georgia, yes, and they are not small increases. Florida's FR-44 requires $100,000 per person, $300,000 per crash and $50,000 property damage, or a $350,000 certificate of deposit. Georgia's SB 121 requires $50,000/$100,000/$50,000 on a first DUI conviction and $100,000/$300,000/$100,000 on a second, and O.C.G.A. § 33-7-16(d) says those limits apply "in lieu of" the ordinary state minimum. In Alabama, Maine and Minnesota no separate alcohol-case limits appeared in the sources read for this page.
Will pleading no contest keep me out of the Georgia requirement?
No. O.C.G.A. § 33-7-16(e), created by SB 121, defines conviction as "a jury's finding of guilty, a guilty plea, or a plea of nolo contendere." A nolo plea is inside the definition, so the three-year coverage obligation and the SR-22 filing follow it.
Can an ignition interlock shorten how long I have to file?
In Maine, in effect yes, and this is the one lever in this guide that touches the far end of the filing. 29-A M.R.S. § 1603(3) starts the three-year proof period at reinstatement, and § 2508 lets the Secretary of State reinstate a single-OUI driver "after 30 days of the suspension period has been served" with an interlock installed, against a 150-day court suspension. Reinstating earlier starts, and therefore ends, the three years earlier. Do not assume this transfers: in a state that counts from the conviction date, an interlock changes when you drive and not when the filing ends.
What does a DUI reinstatement actually cost in state fees?
Only the agency's own figures, and they vary in shape as much as in size. Florida: $45 after a suspension or $75 after a revocation under Fla. Stat. § 322.21(8), plus a $130 DUI-specific fee, of which "only one $130 fee may be collected from one person convicted of violations arising out of the same incident." Georgia: $200.00 by mail or $210.00 in person for a first DUI at 21 or over. Alabama: $275 for an alcohol- or drug-related suspension or revocation, plus $150 if an interlock is issued. Maine: $50. Minnesota: $250 plus a $430 surcharge for each instance of revocation. New Jersey charges no reinstatement fee of this kind but bills $1,000 a year for three years on a first or second DWI.
Can I get a hardship or limited licence while the SR-22 runs?
It depends on the state, and in Alabama the answer for a DUI is no. Rule 760-X-1-.24(7)(a) says a hardship driver licence will not be issued "To a person who has been adjudicated or convicted of driving under the influence pursuant to Alabama Code Section 32-5A-191," and subsection (6) confirms that where a hardship licence is available the SR-22 obligation travels with it rather than being suspended. Georgia runs a separate ignition interlock limited driving permit, whose revocation carries its own $250 appeal fee on form DDS-1206. Ask the agency that suspended you which limited-licence regime applies before paying for anything.
Sources for this guide
This guide is not about a single state, so its sources are the statutes, agency pages and company pages that state each thing it claims, each with the date I read it. Comparison sites are not listed here: where this guide reports a figure one of them published, the text names it as a reported figure rather than presenting it as evidence.
Alonso Pinar Jiménez writes ClearRoad Guide. He is a web developer, not an insurance agent or a lawyer. On the state guides, legal requirements come from the state agency that sets them, linked to the page that says it and dated. Every dollar amount on this site is a statutory limit or a fee the agency itself publishes; no premium figures appear here, because no insurer publishes a rate for an individual record. Where two sources disagree, both are shown with their origin instead of averaged into a number nobody confirmed. See the Editorial Policy for how this site is researched, verified, and updated, and How This Site Is Made for how it was written.
Published July 31, 2026 · Last updated September 2, 2026
Corrections and withdrawn figures on this site are recorded, dated, in the corrections log.
FR-44 exists in Florida and Virginia only. Florida hard-codes 100/300/50; Virginia writes a multiplier. The statutes, and what Virginia's guide misprints.
Most statutes are release rules with a clean-window condition; most agency pages print a duration. Five states contradict themselves. Both sides, sourced.
