SR and FR filings: how financial-responsibility labels differ

Drivers dealing with a license action may hear of a filing labeled with the letters SR. They may also hear of a different filing labeled with the letters FR. Both are form labels for paperwork connected to proof of financial responsibility. They are not separate kinds of driver's licenses, and they are not insurance policies.

The statutes excerpted for this guide from Arizona, North Carolina and Ohio do not use either label. They speak instead of "proof of financial responsibility" and describe how that proof is furnished. The excerpts do not establish which states, if any, use the FR label. They also do not establish what purpose that label serves where it exists, or how its requirements differ from a filing under the SR label. Those questions have no national answer.

The basic definition of the SR filing, and how it relates to insurance after a DUI, is covered in a separate guide on this site. Coverage amounts and the length of time proof must be kept on file are legal figures that this guide does not state.

The license side of a DUI is distinct from the criminal court case. In the examples below, the proof requirement is tied to action by the motor vehicle department or registrar, not to the court. Arizona's statute, A.R.S. § 28-3319, addresses a driver's license or a nonresident's driving privilege that is suspended or revoked under the driving-under-the-influence, test-refusal and related sections it lists. Subsection A provides that in that situation the department shall not terminate the suspension or revocation until the person provides proof of financial responsibility under the title's financial-responsibility provisions. The same condition applies before the department issues a special ignition interlock restricted driver license, where that license is applicable.

Subsection B applies a similar condition to an unlicensed resident who is denied a license or permit under those listed sections. The department shall not issue a license or permit until the person provides proof of financial responsibility.

Ohio's statute also ties proof to a license action. Ohio Rev. Code § 4509.45, in division (D), requires proof under division (B) to be filed and maintained for a period measured from the date of the registrar's imposition of a suspension of operating privileges. It also provides that proof required during that suspension shall not be given through an electronic wireless communications device. The length of that period is a legal figure that this guide does not state.

No. The filing is proof that coverage or another form of security exists; it is not the coverage itself. North Carolina's statute, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-279.19, provides that proof of financial responsibility may be furnished by filing a written certificate with the Commissioner. The certificate comes from an insurance carrier authorized to do business in the state. It certifies that a motor vehicle liability policy is in effect for the benefit of the person required to furnish proof.

That section also sets out what the certificate must show. It must give the effective date of the policy, which is to be the same as the effective date of the certificate. It must also describe or reference the covered motor vehicles, unless the policy is issued to a person who is not the owner of a motor vehicle. The Commissioner may require the certificate to be on an approved form.

Under that North Carolina provision, the policy and the certificate are separate documents. The insurer issues the policy. The certificate filed with the Commissioner reports that the policy is in effect.

Ohio's statute shows that proof of financial responsibility need not be an insurance certificate. Ohio Rev. Code § 4509.45, in division (B), applies when proof is required under the sections it lists. Proof may then be given by filing and maintaining any of the following: a financial responsibility identification card, a certificate of insurance, a bond, or a certificate of deposit of money or securities. It may also be a certificate of self-insurance, supplemented by an agreement that the self-insurer will pay the same amounts an insurer would have been obligated to pay under an owner's motor vehicle liability policy.

Ohio Rev. Code § 4509.62 describes the deposit route. A person may effectuate proof by depositing money with the registrar of motor vehicles. The registrar shall not accept the deposit unless it comes with evidence that there are no unsatisfied judgments against the depositor in the county where the depositor resides. The deposit amount is a legal figure that this guide does not state.

Ohio also connects proof to vehicle registration. Ohio Rev. Code § 4509.44 provides that no motor vehicle shall be or continue to be registered in the name of a person required to file proof unless that proof is furnished and maintained in accordance with Ohio Rev. Code § 4509.45.

North Carolina's statute also recognizes proof that does not come from an insurer's certificate. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-279.24 provides that proof may be furnished by filing a bond with the Commissioner. The bond may come from a surety company authorized to transact business in the state. It may instead be a bond with individual sureties who meet the number and real-estate equity requirements the section sets. That real estate must be scheduled in the bond, and the bond must be approved by the clerk of the superior court of the county where the real estate is located.

Under that section, the bond is conditioned for payments in amounts and under the same circumstances as would be required in a motor vehicle liability policy. It may not be cancelled except after written notice to the Commissioner. A bond with individual sureties becomes a lien on the described real estate once it is filed for recordation. If the terms of the bond are not met, the Commissioner may foreclose that lien through a public sale, subject to the procedures the section describes.

The bond provision shows that a financial-responsibility filing and an insurance policy are distinct ideas. A surety bond can serve as the proof, and the statute measures the bond against what a liability policy would pay.

Several questions depend on a specific state's law and a specific record. They include whether a filing is required, which label applies, what forms of proof the state accepts and how long proof must be maintained. The excerpts in this guide come from Arizona, North Carolina and Ohio. They show how those statutes describe proof, but they do not establish whether a requirement applies to any particular person.

A lawyer licensed in the state that took the license action can review the notice, the agency's records and the state's current law. That lawyer can also explain how the license matter relates to the separate criminal court case. Questions that fit that conversation include:

• Does this state's law require proof of financial responsibility in connection with this license action, and under which provision?
• Does this state use a filing label beginning with SR, a label beginning with FR, or different terminology?
• Which forms of proof does this state accept, such as an insurer's certificate, a bond or a deposit?
• Which agency receives the filing, and how is it tied to reinstatement or vehicle registration?
• What coverage amounts and time periods does this state's current law set for the filing?

Deadlines, limits and penalty ranges are set by each state’s statutes, so this page does not state them. Each state page shows them with the official source and the date they were verified — or says plainly that a figure has not been confirmed yet.