Suspension & Reinstatement
Indiana law gives courts the authority to order the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to suspend a motorist’s driver license when he or she is found to have committed certain traffic violations. In most of these instances a minimum suspension period is required.
Important information on this page:
- Driver record points
- Failure to appear
- Failure to meet insurance requirements
- Operating a vehicle while intoxicated
- Habitual Traffic Violators
- Providing proof of insurance
- Suspension and reinstatement forms
Driver record points
Indiana law assesses a point value for each conviction of a moving violation. The point value relates to the seriousness of the offense in posing a risk to traffic safety. Point values for offenses range from two to eight points, depending on the violation. Points stay active on an individual’s driving record for two years from the conviction date of the citation.
Motorists who accumulate 18 or more active points during a two-year period will be notified and required to attend an administrative hearing conducted by the BMV. At the hearing, the presiding officer will make a determination whether to place the driver on probation; suspend the person’s driving privileges for 30 days to one year; or impose additional requirements beyond the order of probation or suspension such as requiring attendance at a BMV-approved Driver Safety Program.
If a motorist fails to appear for the administrative hearing at the time and place designated, the hearing will be held in his or her absence and the administrative hearing officer will make the decision of the action to be rendered in the case.
Some of the more common point values are listed below.
| 1 – 15 mph over the speed limit | 2 point violation |
| 16 – 25 mph over the speed limit | 4 point violation |
| 26+ mph over the speed limit | 6 point violation |
| Failure to use headlights | 2 point violation |
| No brake or signal lights | 2 point violation |
| Disregard stop/yield sign | 6 point violation |
| Fail to yield to emergency vehicle | 8 point violation |
| Improper U-turn | 4 point violation |
| Following too closely | 6 point violation |
| Unsafe lane movement | 4 point violation |
| Failure to yield | 6 point violation |
| Speed contest on road | 8 point violation |
| Improper motorcycle headgear | 4 point violation |
| Improper motorcycle passenger | 4 point violation |
| Driving while suspended | 8 point violation |
The driving privileges of a person who is ordered by a court to complete a BMV-approved driver improvement program or who is required to complete the program because of committing, within a 12-month period, two or more traffic offenses which result in convictions, will be suspended if he or she does not complete the program in the time required by the BMV.
Failure to appear
Failing to respond to a traffic citation or failing to pay for tickets after a judgment has been entered will lead to the suspension of a motorist’s driving privileges. Upon receipt of a certification from a court that a motorist has not appeared in court or paid for a traffic offense, the BMV is required to suspend that person’s driving privileges.
The suspension is indefinite and ends only when the motorist provides to the BMV proof of either appearing in court or paying for the offense.
Failure to meet insurance requirements
Driving a vehicle without valid liability insurance is against the law. A motorist who operates a vehicle without an automobile liability insurance policy is subject to a 90-day driver license suspension or a one-year suspension if it is a repeat violation within a three-year period. In order to obtain a reinstatement of the license, the motorist must pay a reinstatement fee of $150, $225, or $300 depending on whether it is a first, second, third or subsequent offense, and provide current proof of insurance signed by an agent or representative of the insurance company.
Operating a vehicle without insurance coverage is a Class A infraction. In addition, a motorist appearing in court on a traffic violation may be requested to prove that he or she had insurance coverage on the date of the offense.
All accident information sent to the state police is passed on to the BMV. If the insurance information is not provided by the insurance company to state police, a request for proof of financial responsibility (automobile liability insurance) in the form of a “certificate of compliance” will be sent to the motorist’s address as shown on his or her official driving record. Motorists must also complete a “certificate of compliance” when the BMV receives a court report of a conviction for a moving violation in which points are assessed. When a motorist receives a “certificate of compliance,” he or she must then arrange for an insurance agent to complete the information on the certificate and return the certificate to the BMV within 40 days. Failure to return the “certificate of compliance” as required will result in a license suspension.
Operating a vehicle while intoxicated
If a law enforcement officers suspects that a motorist is driving while intoxicated, the officer may ask the motorist to submit to a chemical test to determine the amount of alcohol in the motorist’s bloodstream. Driving while intoxicated or with a blood-alcohol content in excess of the legal limit is a criminal offense and has immediate consequences.
A motorist who fails a chemical test may have his or her driving privileges suspended for a period of up to 180 days. This suspension occurs upon receipt by the BMV of an affidavit from the law enforcement officer submitted to the court containing the results of the failed test. A motorist who refuses to submit to a chemical test conducted by a law enforcement officer will have his or her license immediately confiscated and will face a license suspension of up to one year.
When a motorist is convicted of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, or with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or more, the court is required to suspend his or her operator license for 90 days or up to two years. The suspension periods are longer for repeat offenders.
If the motorist is not a repeat offender and is otherwise eligible, the court may issue an order for a probationary license granting limited driving privileges. A person must be suspended for at least 30 days before the probationary driving privileges can take effect. The court may require the installation of an ignition interlock device, which mechanically tests the driver’s blood-alcohol level before his or her car can be started, as a condition of the probationary license.
Habitual Traffic Violators
Indiana’s Habitual Traffic Violator law provides serious penalties for persons who have committed repeat traffic offenses over a ten year period. A habitual traffic violator faces a ten-year suspension, and is defined as any person who, within a ten-year period, is convicted of the following offenses:
Two major offenses resulting in injury or death, including:
- Reckless homicide resulting from operating a motor vehicle;
- Voluntary or involuntary manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle;
- A driver involved in an accident which results in death or injury who fails to stop at the scene of the accident and provide the required information and assistance;
- Operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, resulting in death;
- Operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or more resulting in death.
Three major offenses including:
- Driving while intoxicated or with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or more;
- Driving while suspended, when the suspension was the result of a criminal act involving a motor vehicle;
- Operating a motor vehicle without ever having obtained a license to do so;
- Reckless driving;
- Criminal recklessness involving the operation of a motor vehicle;
- Drag racing or engaging in a speed contest in violation of the law;
- Leaving the scene of an accident or failing to make an accident report;
- Any felony under the Indiana motor vehicle statutes or any felony in the commission of which a motor vehicle is used;
- Any of the offenses listed in the first section.
The BMV will suspend a motorist’s operator license for five years if that person accumulates ten moving violations in a ten-year period, one of which is a major offense listed in the first two sections above. For example, a motorist with nine speeding tickets and one reckless driving conviction in a ten-year period will be subject to a five-year suspension as a habitual traffic violator.
Operating a vehicle while suspended as a habitual traffic violator is a felony. Indiana law requires that, upon receiving a conviction for operating a vehicle while suspended as a habitual traffic violator, the BMV must suspend the person’s driving privileges for life or as ordered by the court.
Providing proof of insurance
When a motorist’s operator license is suspended upon conviction of a major offense, that driver must submit proof of insurance to the BMV before being reinstated. This filing provides that the driver has an auto liability policy in effect that cannot be cancelled without prior notice. A valid SR-22 Proof of Insurance form must be filed with the BMV for three years after the end of the suspension. If the BMV receives a cancellation notice or does not have a current SR-22 form on file at any time during the three-year period after reinstatement, the motorist’s driving privileges will become suspended again.
If a motorist is convicted of driving while suspended, the violation carries a mandatory minimum suspension of 90 days served concurrently with any other suspensions.
Suspension and reinstatement forms
Indiana motorists involved in accidents or who have received citations for traffic offenses may be required to submit one or more of the following forms to the BMV. Each form lists the address to which it should be addressed.
- SR16 - A form used by courts to notify the BMV that a driver has been convicted of, failed to appear for, or failed to pay a citation for violating a motor vehicle law. This form also notifies the BMV if any of the above orders have been rescinded.
- SR17 - A form used by courts to notify the BMV that a hardship or probationary license will be issued to the motorist named in the order. This form tells the BMV the duration of the license and any limits on the motorist’s driving privileges.
- SR21 - The SR21 form
must be completed and submitted by any motorist involved in an accident resulting in injury, death or property damage in excess of $1,000. The form should be signed by the motorist’s insurance company verifying insurance coverage, and mailed to the address listed on the form within ten days of the accident. - SR22 – The SR22 form is used for proof of financial responsibility by drivers who have been convicted of an offense which requires the driver to maintain financial responsibility for a three-year period. An SR22 must be filed with the BMV for three years from a date determined by the BMV.
- SR23 – The SR23 form is used for proving financial responsibility for vehicle fleets.
- SR26 – The SR26 form is used by insurance companies to notify the BMV that a policy reported on an SR22 or SR23 form has been canceled. The SR26 form carries the cancellation date.
- SR31 – The SR31 form and an accompanying package are used by motorists who wish to use a method other than an insurance policy to prove financial responsibility.
- SR33 – The SR33 form is used by a court to notify the BMV of the statutes and amount of a financial judgment against the owner or operator of a motor vehicle.
- SR50 – The SR50 form is used by a motorist to provide proof of current insurance to the BMV. The form shows the BMV the beginning and ending dates of the current policy.
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