SR-22 insurance in Wyoming

In Wyoming almost any license suspension carries 3 years of proof, counted from the date of the suspension — and the chapter has no clean-record early release.

What Wyoming proof has to cover

Chapter 9 of Wyoming's Title 31 defines the liability policy that can be certified as proof. An owner's policy must carry $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident / $20,000 property damage — 25/50/20. The authority is Wyo. Stat. sec. 31-9-405(b)(ii).

That is $25,000 for injury to or death of one person, $50,000 for two or more people in one accident, and $20,000 for property of others. Proof has to be furnished for each vehicle the person has registered.

The database can count as the filing

One section of the chapter changes what “filing” means. A person “shall be considered to have provided and filed proof of financial responsibility whenever a search of the online insurance verification system or other verification system provides proof.” The certificate, bond and cash deposit remain; the statute adds the system as a way the requirement is met.

Three years, from three different starting points

Any suspension

The licensing chapter says: “Any person whose driver's license or nonresident operating privilege has been suspended shall, for a three (3) year period beginning on the date of suspension, file and maintain proof of financial responsibility.” The only exceptions named are suspensions under three subsections of the same section. For everyone else, the suspension itself starts the three years.

Driving without insurance

On a conviction for failing to maintain liability coverage, the department requires the person to file and maintain proof for three years. The person has thirty days after notification; after that the license is suspended until the proof arrives.

The general rule

The financial responsibility chapter itself says proof “shall be maintained for three (3) years from the date it is required”. Wyo. Stat. sec. 31-9-401(e). When the division mandatorily suspends or revokes a license under any law, it also suspends every registration in the person's name unless proof covers every registered vehicle.

Why the starting point matters

The date of suspension is earlier than the date of reinstatement. A driver suspended for a year who counts from reinstatement will overestimate how long they must keep the filing; one who counts from the conviction may underestimate it. The notice will say which section applies.

No early release for a clean record

Wyoming's cancellation section lists when proof no longer has to be maintained: the person dies or is permanently unable to drive, or surrenders license and registration. The first paragraph of that list is marked “Repealed by Laws 1989”. There is no look-back test to pass because there is no early exit to earn — the three years is the period.

Surrender is not a shortcut either. An application for a license or registration within three years of the date proof was originally required is refused unless proof is re-established for the remainder.

Ten days' notice, including a narrowed renewal

Certified insurance may not be canceled, terminated, or renewed with exclusions until at least ten days after a notice is filed with the division. The middle case is the one people miss: a renewal that excludes a named driver counts, so the division hears about it before it takes effect.

Deposits and bonds

A bond or cash deposit is not released while a damages action is pending, a judgment is unpaid, or if the person was in an injury or damage accident in the preceding year.

Filing without owning a car

An operator's policy insures the named person for “the use by him of any motor vehicle not owned by him”, at the same limits as an owner's policy. An owner may also give proof in place of a driver who works for them or lives in their household, so that person can drive a vehicle the owner has given proof for. The non-owner guide compares the states.

What this page does not cover

Wyoming's DUI penalties, suspension lengths and ignition interlock requirements are in provisions this site has not read, so none of them is described here.

A note on sources

Every Wyoming section on this page was read in the Legislature's own compiled Title 31, and the links go there directly.

Getting a comparable quote in Wyoming

Count from the date of suspension

For most suspensions the three years start then, not at reinstatement.

Check the limits line

25/50/20, for each registered vehicle.

Watch renewals

A renewal that excludes a driver is reported to the division like a cancellation.

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

Common questions about the Wyoming SR-22