Moon Insurance Managers, Inc. · TDI license #5595
SR-22 insurance in Houston, Texas
There is no such product, strictly speaking — and knowing that saves you money. An SR-22 is a filing, not a policy. You buy auto liability insurance; the SR-22 is the certificate your carrier sends the Texas DPS to prove it. We write the policy and transmit the filing the same business day you bind, anywhere in Texas.
Certificate of Financial Responsibility
- Authority
- Transp. Code ch. 601
- Term
- 2 years from conviction
- Filed by
- Your carrier, electronically
- DPS processing
- up to 21 business days
- On lapse
- Form SR-26, then suspension
- 41years in Houston
- 20+markets compared
- Same dayDPS filing
- #5595TDI license
Chapter 601
Who actually has to file one
Fewer people than assume they do. Texas names four situations, and a single uninsured-driving ticket is not one of them:
- Your license was suspended after a crash Whether or not you were at fault, if the suspension came out of a collision.
- A second or later conviction for driving uninsured The first one does not trigger a filing. The second one does.
- A civil judgment was filed against you Here the two years run from the date judgment was rendered, not a conviction.
- You put a security deposit with the Department Used to satisfy crash compliance without insurance in force at the time.
A DWI reaches the requirement by a different road: the conviction suspends your license, and the filing is one of the things the DPS wants before it will give it back. An occupational license needs one too, for reasons of its own.
Source: Texas DPS — Financial Responsibility Insurance Certificate (SR-22).
The two-year clock
It starts at your conviction, not your reinstatement
This is the detail most sites get wrong, and getting it wrong costs you months. The two years run from the date of the conviction that caused the requirement — or from the date judgment was rendered, in the case of a crash judgment. Not from the day you file. Not from the day your license comes back.
You will also read that a DWI carries a three-year filing in Texas. The DPS says two years, and names no exception for DWI. If a court order in your hand says something different, the order wins — bring it to us and we will file to match it.
One consequence is genuinely in your favour: because the clock is tied to the conviction, filing late does not extend it. A driver who files four months after conviction owes twenty months, not twenty-four. That is not a reason to wait, since you cannot drive legally until the filing is on record, but it does mean a slow start is not a penalty.
Source: Texas DPS — SR-22 FAQ, section 9, questions 3 and 7.
Form SR-26
What a lapse actually sets off
The two years have to be continuous. If the policy cancels, terminates or lapses, your carrier is required to file a form SR-26 with the DPS telling them so. That is automatic. Nobody reports you, and there is no grace period you can appeal to.
Then, in order:
- Your driving privileges can be suspended again.
- Your vehicle registration can be suspended too — most pages only mention the license, and this one catches people out.
- You need a new SR-22 on file before either comes back.
- You owe the $100 reinstatement fee again, on top of whatever you have already paid.
Almost every lapse we see is a missed payment rather than a decision. If money is going to be tight in a particular month, call us before the draft fails. Moving a due date is a five-minute phone call. Undoing an SR-26 is not.
No vehicle
You still have to file — but it costs less
Having no car does not excuse you. The DPS answers this one directly: yes, you are still required to file and maintain an SR-22. What changes is what the filing rides on. Instead of a policy covering a specific vehicle, you buy non-owner liability, which covers you driving vehicles you do not own, and the certificate attaches to that.
Because there is no car on the policy, it is normally the cheapest route through the two years. It is the right answer if you sold the vehicle, if you are driving a company van, or if you are borrowing a family car. It is the wrong answer the moment you buy something — tell us that day, because a non-owner policy will not cover a car registered to you.
SR-22 vs SR-22A
Same proof, different payment terms
These get used interchangeably and they are not the same. What they certify is identical — that you carry at least the state minimum liability. The difference is how you pay for the policy underneath:
SR-22
Rides on a policy you can pay monthly. This is what most drivers file.
SR-22A
Certifies six months of coverage paid up front. Generally follows repeated financial-responsibility violations or repeated lapses, and a court can order it specifically.
If the paperwork in your hand says SR-22A, say so on the phone. It changes the money you need on day one, and quoting it as an ordinary SR-22 would waste your time and ours.
§ 521.242
Driving on an occupational license
If your license is suspended and you need to drive for work, school, or to keep a household running, Texas has a restricted license for that — an occupational license, up to twelve hours a day. It matters here because of one fact that is easy to miss:
An SR-22 is the only insurance Texas accepts for an occupational license. The court cannot grant the petition without one on file.
So the filing is not an afterthought to the court process, it is an input to it. In Harris County the petition is heard by the same judge who ordered the suspension, and the county sets its own filing fee — currently $227, separate from anything insurance-related and paid to the court, not to us. Once the petition is filed and the SR-22 is confirmed, drivers here typically wait days rather than weeks.
We are an insurance agency, not a law firm, so the petition itself is between you and your attorney. Our part is the piece the court will not proceed without: the policy, and the certificate on record. Tell us an occupational license is what this is for and we will make sure the filing is not the thing holding up your hearing.
Money
Three different charges get called “the cost of an SR-22”
They are not the same thing, and conflating them is why people arrive expecting one number and hear another:
- The filing fee
- A one-time charge for submitting the certificate. Small, and paid once. Ask us on the phone and we will tell you ours before you commit to anything.
- The premium impact
- The big one — and note what causes it. The SR-22 does not rate. The violation behind it rates. A DWI on your record would move your premium whether or not a filing were involved.
- The DPS reinstatement fee
- $100, paid to the state before it will reissue your license. Not ours, and charged again on each re-suspension.
We do not publish premium ranges on this page, and that is deliberate.
A range that ignores your record, your ZIP code and which of our carriers actually fits you is not a price, it is a guess — and you would find out it was wrong at the worst moment. An honest SR-22 number needs your motor vehicle record pulled, because the same driver rates differently at every carrier. That is a phone call, not a web form. What we will promise is that the number you hear from us is one you can actually buy.
The old Texas surcharges, by the way, are gone. The Driver Responsibility Program and every surcharge under it were repealed on September 1, 2019, though plenty of articles still tell drivers to budget for them.
Timing
Two clocks, and everyone confuses them
When agencies advertise same-day SR-22 filing, they are describing one clock and you are probably thinking about the other. Both are real, and the gap between them is where the panic happens.
What we control
the same business day
You bind coverage and the certificate is transmitted to the DPS electronically — about fifteen minutes from the call, most days. You are insured from that moment.
What the DPS controls
up to 21 business days
The state's own stated window to process the certificate onto your driver record. Published by the DPS, not our estimate.
So you can be insured and filed today and still not see it reflected on your record for a while. That is normal and it is not a mistake. If you need something to hand a court or an employer in the meantime, call us and we will send proof of the policy and of the filing date.
Before you call
What we need, and what we will not ask you for
Have these to hand and this takes one call:
- The notice from the court or the DPS, if you were sent one.
- Your conviction date — it sets the clock.
- The VIN, if you own a vehicle. If you do not, just say so.
- Whether the paperwork says SR-22 or SR-22A.
Your driver license number is needed to file, and we take it on the phone or in the carrier's own system — never through this website. The form below asks for five things, none of them sensitive. That is a deliberate decision about where your license number is allowed to live, not an oversight in the form.
No obligation
Get your filing started
Tell us the situation and we will call you back, usually within the hour during office hours. If you are up against a deadline today, the phone is faster than any form: (281) 484-8320.
Monday to Thursday, 9:00 to 5:00; Friday, 9:00 to 4:00. 360 FM 1959, Houston, TX 77034.
SR-22 questions we get every week
How long do I need an SR-22 in Texas?
Two years, counted from the date of the conviction that caused the requirement — or from the date judgment was rendered, if it came from a crash judgment. It is not counted from the day you file or the day your license is reinstated. A great deal of published advice gets this wrong, including sites that say a DWI carries a three-year filing. The Texas DPS states two years from conviction, and makes no DWI exception.
Does filing late make me carry it for longer?
No, and this surprises people. Because the two years run from the conviction, filing later leaves you with less time remaining, not more. It does not push the end date back. That is not a reason to delay — you cannot get your license back until the filing is on record — but it does mean a late start is not a fresh two-year sentence.
Can I get an SR-22 if I do not own a car?
Yes, and you still have to. The DPS is explicit that having no vehicle does not excuse the requirement. The filing rides on a non-owner liability policy instead, which covers you driving vehicles you do not own. It is usually the least expensive way to satisfy the requirement, because you are not insuring a car.
What is the difference between an SR-22 and an SR-22A?
What they prove is identical. How you pay is not: an SR-22A certifies a six-month policy paid in advance, rather than one you pay monthly. It generally follows repeated financial-responsibility violations or repeated lapses, and a court can order it. If your paperwork says SR-22A, tell us — the payment terms change, so the quote changes.
What happens if my insurance lapses while I am filing?
Your carrier is required to notify the DPS with a form SR-26, and that happens automatically — nobody has to report you. Your license and your vehicle registration can both be suspended, you need a new SR-22 to get straight, and there is another hundred-dollar reinstatement fee. This is the single most expensive mistake available to you during the two years, and it is usually caused by a missed payment rather than a decision.
Will the DPS tell me when my two years are up?
No. The DPS does not send a letter when the requirement ends, so people go on paying for a filing they no longer owe. Note your conviction date, add two years, and check with the DPS before you cancel anything. Call us and we will tell you what we filed and when.
Do I have to come into your office?
No. The certificate is transmitted electronically, so we can write the policy and file it over the phone from anywhere in Texas. You are welcome at the office on FM 1959 if you would rather do it across a desk, and some people prefer that when a court deadline is involved.
Are the old Texas surcharges still owed on top of this?
No. The Driver Responsibility Program and every surcharge under it — past, present and future — were repealed effective September 1, 2019. Older articles still tell Texas drivers to budget for them. The hundred-dollar reinstatement fee is a separate thing and does still apply.