You have 30 days to reinstate after a New Hampshire DUI, but most of what determines your insurance cost and filing timeline happens in the first week. Here's what to handle now.
Day 1: Document your arrest details and secure temporary representation
Write down your arrest date, the arresting agency, your BAC if disclosed, and whether you refused testing. New Hampshire is an implied consent state — refusal triggers an automatic 180-day administrative license suspension separate from any criminal penalty, and that suspension clock starts immediately.
Call a DUI attorney within 24 hours if possible. New Hampshire allows a 30-day window to request an administrative license suspension hearing, but earlier requests improve your chances of securing a hearing date before your license suspends. The administrative suspension (triggered by refusal or BAC ≥0.08) runs concurrently with any criminal suspension only if the timelines align — missing the hearing request deadline means they stack.
Do not assume you can drive until your court date. If you refused testing or recorded a BAC at or above 0.08, your license suspends administratively within 30 days unless you win the administrative hearing. Most drivers lose that hearing.
Day 2–3: Contact your current auto insurance carrier and document their response
Call your insurer and ask directly whether they will continue coverage after a DUI conviction. Do not volunteer details — ask the question, document the answer, and request written confirmation if they say they'll keep you.
Most major carriers (State Farm, Geico, Progressive, Allstate) will maintain existing policies through the current term but non-renew at expiration. Some non-renew immediately upon conviction. New Hampshire does not prohibit mid-term cancellation for DUI, so if your policy term ends within the next six months, you'll need non-standard coverage before your SR-22 filing period even begins.
If your carrier says they'll file SR-22 for you, confirm in writing whether that commitment extends past your current policy term. A carrier that files SR-22 but then non-renews you 90 days later has not solved your problem — it has delayed it.
Find out exactly how long SR-22 is required in your state
Day 4–5: Get baseline quotes from non-standard carriers before conviction
Request quotes now from non-standard carriers that specialize in DUI coverage: The General, Dairyland, Bristol West, Direct Auto, and GAINSCO all write New Hampshire policies for DUI drivers. Quotes requested before conviction give you a pricing baseline — post-conviction quotes typically run 80–140% higher than your pre-DUI rate, and knowing the range now prevents sticker shock later.
Be explicit about your situation: pending DUI, expected conviction date, whether you refused testing, and whether this is your first offense or a repeat conviction. New Hampshire treats second-offense DUI within 10 years as aggravated — that distinction changes both your filing period length and carrier acceptance.
Do not wait until reinstatement to shop. New Hampshire DMV requires continuous SR-22 filing from the date your license reinstates, and lapses restart your filing clock. Starting with coverage already secured means you file SR-22 the same day you reinstate.
Day 6: Confirm your license suspension start date and reinstatement requirements
Call the New Hampshire DMV at 603-227-4000 or check your administrative hearing notice to confirm your exact suspension start date. If you lost your administrative hearing or did not request one, your suspension begins 30 days from your arrest date. If you refused testing, your administrative suspension is 180 days for a first offense, 2 years for a second offense within 10 years.
Ask DMV explicitly what you need to reinstate: SR-22 filing, completion of an Impaired Driver Care Management Program (IDCMP), payment of a $100 reinstatement fee, and proof of insurance are standard. Aggravated DUI (BAC ≥0.16, injury, minor in vehicle) may require ignition interlock as a reinstatement condition even for first offense.
Write down your reinstatement eligibility date. That is the first day you can legally file SR-22 and drive again — but your SR-22 filing period clock in New Hampshire starts at sentencing, not reinstatement, so every day you wait past eligibility is a day you're paying for coverage you've already burned filing time on.
Day 7: Enroll in IDCMP and confirm your sentencing date
New Hampshire requires completion of an Impaired Driver Care Management Program before reinstatement. Enrollment wait times vary by provider and region — some programs seat you within two weeks, others take 60+ days. Enroll now even if your court date is months away. Completing IDCMP before sentencing does not reduce your suspension, but it clears one reinstatement requirement early and signals compliance to the court.
Confirm your arraignment or sentencing date with the court. New Hampshire sets your SR-22 filing period length at sentencing: first offense standard DUI typically requires 3 years of SR-22, aggravated first offense may require 5 years, second offense within 10 years requires 5 years. That filing period starts the day the judge sentences you — not the day you reinstate, not the day you get coverage.
If you're sentenced 90 days before your license reinstates, you've already used 90 days of your filing period while suspended. Waiting to buy SR-22 coverage until reinstatement day does not pause that clock — it just means you're paying for coverage during fewer of the days you're required to file.
