sr22finderSR-22 insurance in Ohio
Ohio runs the filing for one year, and it starts the year earlier than any other state on this site: from the date the registrar imposed the suspension. It is also the one state read here that switches off phone proof of insurance for exactly that year.
The same diagram as a table
| Cover | Amount | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Bodily injury, one person | $25,000 | Ohio Rev. Code sec. 4509.51(B)(1)-(3) |
| Bodily injury, one crash | $50,000 | Ohio Rev. Code sec. 4509.51(B)(1)-(3) |
| Property damage | $25,000 | Ohio Rev. Code sec. 4509.51(B)(1)-(3) |
Shorthand: 25/50/25. Read on September 19, 2026 from https://law.justia.com/codes/ohio/title-45/chapter-4509/section-4509-51/.
| Certificate | SR-22 |
|---|---|
| Minimum liability certified | $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident / $25,000 property damage |
| Shorthand | 25/50/25 |
| Filed with | the Ohio registrar of motor vehicles |
| How long | one year — Ohio Rev. Code sec. 4509.45(D) |
| Authority for the amounts | Ohio Rev. Code sec. 4509.51(B)(1)-(3) |
| Figures read | September 19, 2026 |
The registrar, a year, and five ways to prove it
Ohio's financial responsibility chapter is built around the registrar of motor vehicles, and the operative section lists five ways to give proof when it is required: a financial responsibility identification card, a certificate of insurance, a bond, a certificate of deposit of money or securities, or a certificate of self-insurance.
The certificate of insurance is the one an SR-22 is. The identification card is the unusual entry — most chapters read for this site have no equivalent — but it is the certificate that the market actually runs on when a suspension is involved.
What the certificate has to say
Ohio puts a dating rule on the certificate itself. It must state an expiration date for the policy “not less than one year from the effective date of the certificate” — or, if it states none, the policy does not expire until it is canceled or terminated under the chapter's cancellation section. Either way the paperwork is built to outlast the one-year requirement it serves.
What it certifies
$25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident / $25,000 property damage — 25/50/25, under Ohio Rev. Code sec. 4509.51(B)(1)-(3).
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Agencies that file SR-22 certificates in Ohio. Enter your ZIP and we will carry it up to the form.
One year, from the date the suspension was imposed
The period is written in a single sentence: proof “shall be filed and maintained for one year from the date of the registrar's imposition of a suspension of operating privileges.”
The anchor is the imposition of the suspension. That is earlier than the date most people count from, and earlier than the anchor in the other one-year state on this site: Georgia counts its year from the date the license is restored. Two states, both “one year”, and for the same driver they can end months apart. The Georgia page works through its version.
This is new text
The section carrying the period was most recently amended by House Bill 29 of the 135th General Assembly, effective 9 April 2025. Anything describing Ohio's rules from before that date was describing an earlier version of the section, which is why this page carries the date beside the citation.
The same diagram as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Filing period | one year — Ohio Rev. Code sec. 4509.45(D) |
| Clock starts | The date proof of financial responsibility was required |
| Filed with | the Ohio registrar of motor vehicles |
| Effect of a lapse | The insurer notifies the state and the suspension resumes |
No phone proof during the year
Ohio allows proof of insurance to be shown on an electronic wireless communications device — a phone — in general. The same section then carves out this year: proof required to be filed and maintained during the suspension-related period “shall not be given through the use of an electronic wireless communications device.”
In practice that means the proof for this purpose has to travel the formal way — a certificate filed with the registrar — rather than a screenshot shown at a counter or a roadside. It is a small clause, and it is the one most likely to catch somebody who assumes the ordinary rules still apply.
Where the requirement comes from
The section lists, by number, the provisions that trigger it: sections 4509.101, 4509.33, 4509.34, 4509.38, 4509.40, 4509.42 and 4509.44 of the chapter, and section 4510.038 of the next one. This page has not read each of them, so it does not characterise them all — but one was read, and it makes the point: section 4509.40 imposes a suspension for non-payment of a judgment. The requirement reaches well beyond drunk driving.
What this page does not cover
This site has not read Ohio's ignition interlock provisions or its reinstatement fee from a primary source, so neither is described here. No estimate and no figure carried over from another site.
What can be said from the chapter that was read is structural. The one-year filing and any interlock order are separate obligations from separate documents, and satisfying one does nothing for the other. The filing year also starts from a fixed date — the imposition of the suspension — so it does not wait for any other order to finish before it begins counting.
Reinstatement fees are drafted very differently from state to state: Georgia states one flat figure, Virginia builds its fee out of parts, and California sets none at all. The limits table keeps that comparison.
Shopping it in Ohio
Make sure the certificate carries a date that clears the year
Because the statute requires the certificate to state an expiry at least a year out, or none at all, a carrier filing a short-term policy is filing something that does not fit the section. Ask what expiration date the certificate will show before you pay.
Plan to show the certificate, not the app
For this year the phone does not count as proof for this purpose. Keep the carrier's written confirmation that the certificate was filed with the registrar.
The property-damage limit is your call
$25,000 is the floor, and it matches the per-person bodily-injury figure — an unusually even floor among the states read here. Even so, it is a minimum rather than the value of a modern vehicle, and it is the one limit on the page that is genuinely yours to choose.
The clocks in every state read so far are side by side in the filing-period guide.
Common questions about the Ohio SR-22
How long do I need an SR-22 in Ohio?
one year. Ohio Rev. Code sec. 4509.45(D) requires proof to be filed and maintained for one year from the date the registrar imposed the suspension.
Can I show proof of insurance on my phone during that year?
Not for this purpose. The same subsection says proof required during that period shall not be given through an electronic wireless communications device.
What limits does an Ohio SR-22 certify?
25/50/25 — $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident / $25,000 property damage, under Ohio Rev. Code sec. 4509.51(B)(1)-(3).
What ways can I prove financial responsibility in Ohio?
Five, under Ohio Rev. Code section 4509.45(B): a financial responsibility identification card, a certificate of insurance, a bond, a certificate of deposit of money or securities, or a certificate of self-insurance.
When did the current Ohio rule take effect?
The section carrying the period was most recently amended by House Bill 29 of the 135th General Assembly, effective 9 April 2025.
The same thing in another state
Sources cited on this page
Every figure above was read from the source it is attributed to on September 19, 2026. How we check this.