SR-22 insurance in North Dakota

North Dakota runs the shortest clean-record clock on this site: proof can be released one year after it was required, if that year is clean. A DUI conviction is one of the things that starts it.

What North Dakota proof has to cover

Chapter 39-16.1 of the North Dakota Century Code is headed “Proof of Financial Responsibility for the Future”. Its owner's policy limits are $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident / $25,000 property damage — 25/50/25. The authority is N.D. Cent. Code sec. 39-16.1-11.

That is $25,000 for injury to or death of one person, $50,000 for two or more people in one accident, and $25,000 for property of others. Proof may be given by an insurer's certificate, a bond, or a certificate of a cash or securities deposit.

What starts it

Two situations require proof before a license is issued or returned. First, whenever the director revokes a license under any other North Dakota law — with two listed exceptions — the license stays revoked until proof is given and maintained. Second, after a conviction or bail forfeiture for driving under the influence under section 39-08-01, or for driving while a license is under a suspension of at least ninety-one days or a revocation, no license may be issued or returned without proof.

One year, clean

The release section lets the director cancel the certificate “at any time after one year from the date such proof was required when, during the one-year period preceding the request, the director has not received record of a conviction or a forfeiture of bail which would require the revocation” of the license. N.D. Cent. Code sec. 39-16.1-19(1)(a).

It is a rolling look-back like the three-year versions elsewhere, compressed to twelve months. A qualifying conviction inside the year moves the earliest release date with it.

Surrender, deposits, and the remainder rule

Release is also available on death or permanent incapacity, or on surrender of the license. A person who surrenders and applies again within one year of the date proof was originally required is refused, and the license stays suspended or revoked until they re-establish proof for the remainder of the year.

Bonds and deposits are held while a damages action is pending or a judgment is unpaid, or if the person was in an injury or damage accident in the preceding year.

The alternatives to a certificate

North Dakota spells out the two non-insurance routes in more detail than most. A deposit is made with the Bank of North Dakota: $25,000 in cash, or securities of that market value, backed by evidence that there are no unsatisfied judgments against the depositor in their county. A bond can come from a surety company or from two individual sureties who each own real estate worth twice the bond, scheduled in the bond and recorded with the county. Either way, the money or property stands behind any judgment arising from the person's driving after it is deposited.

The insurer reports after cancellation

North Dakota does not hold a certified policy open for a notice period. The insurer “shall notify the director no later than ten days after cancellation or termination of the certified insurance policy.” A replacement certified policy ends the earlier one on its own effective date.

Proof given by someone else

Where the person required to give proof works for an owner, or is a member of the owner's immediate family or household, the director accepts the owner's proof in its place, with the restriction designated on the face of the license.

What this page does not cover

North Dakota's DUI penalties, revocation periods and any sobriety-program conditions are in other chapters of Title 39 that this site has not read, so none of them is described here.

A note on sources

The Legislative Council's site did not respond to the machine this page was built on, so chapter 39-16.1 was read from a published reproduction of the 2025 Century Code.

Getting a comparable quote in North Dakota

Plan for a year

The shortest period on this site — but only if the year is clean.

Check the limits line

25/50/25.

North Dakota's clock is compared with every other state's in the filing-period guide.

Common questions about the North Dakota SR-22