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If you have ever caused a serious car accident, have driven under the influence and adversely affected others in the process or have been convicted of a major moving violation, then it is likely that you are familiar with the SR-22 form. There are a few ways of looking at it. Some consider an SR-22 to be a law enforcement "mechanism," while others understand it to be the document that supports its role as a mechanism.

From the documentary point of view, this auto insurance coverage is an important piece of paper that courts and other authorities require of a person who has been convicted of a substantial vehicular violation. It shows that they are legally insured. All SR-22 documents have to be submitted by the violator's insurance company, and when this information is filed with the court system it indicates that the insurance company has issued the required liability insurance.

As a legal mechanism, as seen by the authorities, the SR-22 enables the Secretary of State's office to oversee any problematic automobile driver's insurance. It also permits the Secretary of State's office to suspend a driver's license when the insurance has expired or is cancelled for any reason at all.

In some states this kind of policy or Financial Responsibility Insurance, is mandatory for people who have had licenses revoked or suspended because of gross safety violations, as well as for those who have multiple convictions for insurance violations, get too many tickets within a certain period of time or several other reasons.

When the traffic violator's insurance company submits an SR-22 to the office of the Secretary of State, they issue it in several formats. This first is an owner's certificate. As implied in the name of this certificate, it covers the owners and all their vehicles that are covered by the insurance company. On the actual SR coverage form, it may state "all vehicles owned" or similar information.

The second form  is usually called an operator's certificate. This applies to someone who, of course, does not own a vehicle but has a legal right to drive and use certain vehicles. This would apply to a driver who works for a trucking company and uses a company vehicle, or for a spouse who uses another spouse's car for a work commute. The insurance covers the driver.

The third type of SR-22 is essentially a combination of the preceding two forms, known as an operator-owner certificate. Again as implied in the name, it covers cars or other vehicles that are owned or driven by an operator.

All of these types of auto insurance policies are typically filed with the driver's insurance company and are not usually held by the driver like a registration card, which must be presented to a police officer for, say, a traffic violation. Police can usually call in a driver's license, insurance and registration. When a driver's record is called up, the SR-22 information is usually present there. Almost always, the local DMV enforces the necessity of an SR-22 instead of law enforcement personnel.

Once traffic-violating drivers have contacted their auto insurance companies to make a request for an SR policy and have paid the premiums, the certificate is processed through the Secretary of State's office. This is usually done in 30 days or so. As soon as this has been completed, the Secretary of State's office will send a copy of the SR-22, along with a letter, to the insurance company, which will send copies of these to the driver. At this time, it is expected that a driver will continue to pay the insurance company the required minimums to support the SR-22 (for three years or more in most states). If for some reason the SR-22 lapses - typically, for lack of payment - the insurance company must notify the Secretary of State's office in the form of an SR-26, which will, in turn, suspend the driver's license of the person involved.

In most states in the U.S., SR-22s are absolutely required for problematic drivers. However, states like New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Delaware do not require SR-22s. If, for some reason, you were issued an SR-22 from another state and moved to one of these states and have already begun an SR-22 period, you must continue that period until its conclusion. You must also fulfill other related obligations to the issuing state. The new state that you move to must also have the same or better liability limits than the state where your SR-22 was initially issued.

Ultimately, problem drivers must secure an SR-22 if they have major traffic violations that need to be resolved. If they pay their premiums to their insurance companies and fulfill their obligation to the state, they will keep on driving. If they don't, they won't - simple as that.