A: Sure. An SR22 auto insurance certificate is a costly type of car insurance, and adding a teen to your policy is bound to make your rates rise yet again, which is why you need to keep your eye on available discounts when choosing a car insurance company. There are two discounts which will save you the most with a teenager, and here they are.

First of all, you should have your teenager be part of a general driver’s education course. You can usually find a class like this at your child’s school. If they take a course in order to get their driver’s license, then once they have the course finished they will be able to get a discount. Don’t forget that your teen needs to be on your SR22 auto insurance certificate while they have their learner’s permit as well.

Second of all, you should keep an eye on your teen’s grades. What does this have to do with your SR22 auto insurance certificate? If your teen makes Bs or higher in his/her classes, then you can save good money on your auto insurance with a good student discount.

I recently moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania and I have a Delaware license. I am planning to buy a vehicle. Do I have to switch to a PA license before I can obtain vehicle insurance in Scranton?

Jake

Scranton, PA

You should be able to insure a vehicle in PA with your DE driver’s license but it would be advisable to change over your Delaware license to a Pennsylvania license before purchasing, registering and insuring a vehicle just to make the whole process easier. You will need to go to the PA Bureau of Motor Vehicles to get a Pennsylvania driver’s license and register and title a car in this state.

The PA Department of Transportation (PennDOT) states that all new residents with out-of-state non-commercial driver’s licenses must get a Pennsylvania Driver’s License within sixty days of establishing PA residency.

If you do buy and insure a vehicle in Scranton Pennsylvania before you exchange your DE driver’s license for a PA license then once you do obtain your PA license, during the sixty day period you have after you becoming a resident of PA, you need to tell the insurance provider of your new license.

Can I get my driver’s permit before I turn sixteen in Pennsylvania?

Mary

Levittown, Pennsylvania (PA)

No, to the best of my knowledge you cannot get a learner’s permit in Pennsylvania before the age of sixteen. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Driver and Vehicles services as well as the PA driver’s manual, you must be sixteen years of age or older in order to apply for a learner’s permit.

Young drivers will also receive a Parent/Guardian Certification Form when they are issued a learner’s permit. This form is documents of the 50 hours of behind-the-wheel practice. Young drivers must bring the completed certification form with them when they return to take the road portion of the driver licensing exam (6 months or more after getting their permit).

In Pennsylvania the earliest age that young drivers can qualify for a full unrestricted driver’s license in is 17 ½. These young drivers must have held a junior driver’s license for at least 1 full year, completed a state-approved driver’s education course, remained crash- and conviction-free, and to qualify for an unrestricted license before the age of eighteen.

If I got involved in a car accident without insurance and driver’s license in Pennsylvania however it is not my fault. Could I be charged with a crime if someone got killed in the accident?

Fred

Pittsburgh, PA

Operating a vehicle without insurance and without a valid license are both against the law in the state of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania laws states that every car that is required to be registered should be covered by financial responsibility (FR). Most motorists choose to get Financial Responsibility in the way of auto insurance.

The penalties for not having auto insurance, or another form of FR, can include:

1. A three month suspension of your driver’s license
2. A minimum of $300 fine
3. $50 reinstatement fee to restore your driver’s license
4. A three month suspension of your vehicle registration
5. $50 reinstatement fee to restore your vehicle registration
6. That the car may not be driven by anyone while the registration is revoked or suspended.

Since you were driving without the required state insurance and without a valid license you will likely received some of the penalties above if you were convicted by the responding law enforcement officer. There might be other penalties too if you get involved in an accident and if a death occurred.

A: The Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles is the department which handles all of your sr22 business, since it is also the department which handles your driver’s license. When your license is suspended, it is suspended through them, and so when it is restored it has to be restored through them.

You are able to restore your driver’s license with your sr22 in two separate ways. In one way, you have to present the SR22 form in person. Your car insurance company will send it to you, and after putting your signature on it, you will take it up to the Department of Motor Vehicles, present your form, pay the fee and anything else required in order to receive your license back, and then you’re good to go. Remember that you cannot actually drive until your physical license comes in the mail, but not with your temporary license.

One more common way for your SR22 filing is that you will go to a car insurance company and sign up to get insurance done through them, they will fill out an SR2 form and either mail it to you or allow you to print it out from their website, and then you will sign it and send it back and they will send it to the DMV themselves.