Insurance is important for drivers and it would especially be helpful if someone wants to reinstate their license after a DUI (Driving under the Influence) conviction in Nevada. In the form of a document issued by a car insurance company called SR-22, drivers can have their license back after the suspension ends. Read below for further information about Nevada SR-22.
What is a Nevada SR-22?
A Nevada SR-22 is not an insurance, rather it is one of the plans under your existing car insurance that can be put into use once you have committed driving offenses such as a DUI. With this plan, the insurance company is required to issue a certification that shows you have enough financial capabilities to keep the validity of your driver’s license running. The insurance company usually directs this document to the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in the time of license suspension.
The holding period for an SR-22 insurance in Las Vegas and the rest of Nevada is three years. This means you have to keep your license insurance for this long in order to have your driving license continuously binding.
What does an SR-22 do for a DUI license suspension?
You cannot have your license back without a Nevada SR-22 as it is important for DMV and other involved parties to know that you have the financial responsibility to be hitting the roads again after a DUI.
Now, if you want to have your driver’s license reinstated, you must wait for the suspension period to be over before you can get an SR-22 and file for reissuance of your license. A first time DUI conviction warrants 185 days of license suspension while a second and third DUI entails one and three years of suspension, respectively.
To get a Nevada SR-22, you need to get in touch with your car insurance company and simply ask for the very document. There usually is a fee that you need to settle before you can have the SR-22 in your hands. When the fees are paid and the SR-22 is with you, you need to gather all other requirements such as a Certificate of Compliance and head to Nevada DMV to start the reinstatement procedure.
What happens if you do not have a car insurance?
If your SR-22 insurance in Las Vegas had ended during your DUI license suspension, the driver must hurry to get or reactivate one they have lost. While the re-establishment of your insurance is in process, the previous car insurance company must issue an SR-26. This is a document that tells the DMV of your discontinued car insurance. Know that it does not matter if you do not own the car, if you were the driver during the DUI, you must own up to the car insurance or help out the owner. Having a new insurance with a Nevada SR-22 plan caused by DUI can be expensive as you are now seen as a “high-risk driver”.
Now, this would not happen if you are not charged with a DUI case in the first place. Arrest is different from being convicted so as long you are still on trial, you can utilize certain defenses to avoid prison time, fees, and license suspension. Some of the defenses that you can use are faulty field sobriety test, and preliminary and evidentiary breath testing as well as misconduct committed by arresting police officers.
The many requirements needed to reinstate your license only proves that it is not worth to be driving while intoxicated. To get out of these complications, better have a Las Vegas DUI lawyer by your side who can advise you about the processes needed to obtain a Nevada SR-22 or someone who could get you out of DUI charges from the start!