Arizona SR22 Insurance Rate Quotes – Compare & Start Saving Today

There are a variety of reasons for the Arizona Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) to suspend or revoke your driver’s license, requiring you to obtain a SR22 Insurance policy. These reasons can include:

A refusal to submit to a field sobriety test or other chemical tests to determine if a person driving is under the influence of drugs or alcohol

Convicted of DUI (Driving Under the Influence) of drugs or alcohol

If you are involved in an accident that causes a serious injury or even death and you are found to be at fault

Reckless driving

If the state of Arizona considers you to have “A disrespect for traffic laws and a disregard for the safety of other persons” because you violate traffic laws so often

If you are convicted of using a driver’s license illegally

This is not a complete list by any means; if you have any questions about your motor vehicle record and are wondering what other reasons could get your license suspended, please contact the Arizona MVD closest to you.

If you driving privileges have been suspended you have the right to dispute this suspension by applying for a hearing; at which time the Administrative Law Judge will make a decision after all the facts have been presented whether to uphold the suspension, revocation, or reinstate your license, reduce the sentence, or increase the suspension period.

Administrative Hearing or Executive Hearing Information

What is an administrative hearing?

At an administrative hearing you will have the opportunity to present evidence and witnesses (witnesses may need to be subpoenaed to testify on your behalf) in your favor to challenge the evidence being presented against you from the arresting officer. After all the evidence and testimonies have been presented and collected from both sides the Administrative Law Judge will render a final decision on your case in writing.

Who is required to request an administrative hearing?

Not everyone is required to request a hearing. There are some “actions” that the state has classified as” Mandatory” where there is no right to an administrative hearing. You will receive an order or notice indicating if you will be required to request a hearing or not.

What about getting a restricted license at an administrative hearing?

“Whether you are entitled to a restricted license depends upon the particular statute/violation involved and, in most cases, your prior driving history. When authorized by statute, a restricted license will be issued only after your license has been suspended for the mandatory period as required by law.”(Arizona MVD)

Because the information is limited and the requirements vary on getting a restricted license, it would be best to contact an Arizona MVD office for more information on Arizona’s restricted driver’s license requirements.

What steps do I need to take to request an administrative hearing?

First, all administrative hearing requests will be required to be submitted in writing to the main Executive Hearing office within 15 days of the notice/order. Please take note that an additional three (3) days will be added to the filing period if you mailed the hearing request.

To download and print the hearing request form (it is in a PDF format), please follow the link and click on the letter “H”, then on hearing request form to download. Or enter in the form number box the hearing request form number, 40-5008.

Where do I send the hearing form after I’ve completed it?

Personally deliver the form the Executive Hearing Office or Mail the form to:

Executive Hearing Office
3737 North Seventh Street,
Phoenix, AZ. 85014

Fax the request to: 602-241-1624

Email requests to: HearingOffice@azdot.gov

When and where will the administrative hearing be held?

The administrative hearing will be held (scheduled) 30-35 days after the request for a hearing is received. This time frame may get extended an additional 25-30 days if the police officer, attorney, or other party that is necessary to the hearing can’t appear on the initial hearing date.

The hearings are mainly conducted at the Executive Hearing Office in Phoenix or to a lesser degree at the Tucson Office; if your hearing is not conducted at these two office locations the scheduled hearing date is 45-60 days from when the hearing request form is received. If your administrative hearing is DUI related, that hearing should be conducted in the county where the DUI arrest took place.

Once you get you administrative hearing schedule date, double check where you are going, at what time is the hearing, and leave in plenty of time so you are not late. If you cannot make the scheduled hearing date you are going have to ask the Chief Judge for a continuance in writing showing “good cause” as to why you cannot appear on that date. You will also need to mail or fax the request for continuance so that it is received no less than 7 days from the schedule hearing date.

Executive Hearing Office
3737 N. 7th St,
Phoenix, AZ 85014

Or fax the completed form to 602 241-1624

If upon that date you believe you are going to be late you will need to call the Judge immediately and your attorney, if you have one. The Judge can only delay the hearing 15 minutes and if you do not appear even with a phone call to the Judge and your hearing starts without you; you may lose your case by default (failure to appear). So be sure that you make it early to your scheduled hearing.

Telephone numbers for all hearing locations.

As per Arizona MVD, “Specific Rules governing hearings in the Executive Hearing Office may be found in the Arizona Administrative Code at A.C.C. R17-1-501, and in Title 28, Arizona Revised Statutes. These sources may be found at any law library and in most public libraries, as well as on the Internet.”

Can I have an attorney at an administrative hearing represent me?

Yes you can. At an administrative hearing you may decide to have an attorney represent you, or you can represent yourself if you’d like. If you decide to have an attorney represent you this cost will be yours to pay for, because an administrative hearing is a civil proceeding therefore the services of a court appointed attorney are not entitled.

What if I disagree with the Judge’s decision, what do I do?

If you disagree with the Administrative Law Judge’s decision at the Executive (Administrative) Hearing you have the right to appeal that decision to the Superior Court. This appeal is not a new hearing, but a review of the administrative hearing record to see if the Judge may or may not have made an error when applying the law to your case.

“The findings of fact made by the administrative law judge cannot be changed by the appellate judge unless such findings are wholly without merit.” (Arizona MVD)

Is the MVD hearing the same as a trial pending in court for a DUI charge?

No. An MVD hearing is a civil administrative proceeding that determines if there will be a suspension or revocation of your driving privileges. Where a trial pending in court will determine if yo-u are guilty of a criminal act, such as DUI (Driving Under the Influence of drugs and/or alcohol).

Now if you have been found “not guilty” of the DUI charge when you went to court you will still need to attend the administrative hearing at an Executive Hearing Office location. These two proceedings are separate of each other and the outcome of one will not affect the other. As mentioned before you will need to appear for this administrative hearing, if you do not appear on time before an Administrative Law Judge you may lose your case be default and you may lose your right to contest the suspension or revocation of your driving privileges.

How do I get my Arizona Driver’s License Reinstated?

To get started you will need your name, D.O.B. (date of birth), and driver’s license number. For those that do not know their driver’s license number you will need your name, D.O.B., SSN, Current Street address with zip code, and eye color. Some may need additional identification requirements, if so, use form 96-0155.

If you are reinstating your license online you will also need to have a valid Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express credit card, as well as a web browser that supports a secure socket layer (SSL) such as Internet Explorer (IE). Firefox and Safari web browsers should work as well but they are not listed on the Service Arizona's website.

What are the procedures if my driver's license was suspended?

If you are reinstating your driver’s license after it was suspended the procedures can vary. It may be as simple as serving the suspension period and paying the reinstatement fee to get your license reinstated. Or on a court ordered suspension you may be required to get clearance from the court before a license reinstatement.

If you had a DUI conviction, an Implied Consent Violation, or a Mandatory Insurance violation you will be required to purchase a SR22 Insurance policy (certificate) and file this policy with the Arizona MVD. After that you will need to pay the reinstatement fees after the suspension period has expired before your license can be reinstated.

How do I reinstate my driver's license after it was revoked?

Getting your driver’s license reinstated after a revocation is more complicated, as your motor vehicle driving record will need to be investigated prior to the MVD permitting you to apply for a new license. You will need to contact an Arizona MVD office by telephone an order an Revocation Investigation Packet to be sent to you. Furthermore some Driver's may need to complete a Substance Abuse Program prior to a revoked license being reinstated.

The mandatory minimum levels of financial responsibility in Arizona are:

$15,000 bodily injury liability for one person

$30,000 for two or more persons

$10,000 property damage liability

If you are required to get a SR22 Insurance policy after the suspension period, you will need to have the insurance provider fax the SR22 policy information to the MVD if you are reinstating your license online; or you can present a copy of the SR22 Insurance policy and the reinstatement fees in person at an MVD office to get your license reinstated.

What happens if I fail to keep continuous SR22 Insurance coverage?

If you fail to keep continuous SR22 Insurance coverage for even 1 day in the required 3-year period, the Insurance provider is required by law to notify the Arizona MVD that there has been a lapse in your SR22 Insurance coverage.

The Arizona MVD could possibly suspend or revoke your vehicle registration and, or your driver’s license. This might lead to a higher SR22 insurance policy premium than the one you let lapse, also cause you to serve jail time, incur more fees because this will be a separate offense, and require you to start the 3-year SR22 period from the beginning again.

The best solution to avoid this extra hassle would be to pay your SR22 Insurance premium as far in advance as you can. For example 3 to 4 months, if possible. If you think you might have any problems paying your premium on time contact your SR22 insurance provider and ask what your options are, It could save you some time and a lot of additional money.