Zero Tolerance at 0.01%: What the Suspension Means for Your Insurance Filing

Reviewed by the licensed brokers at Auto World Insurance Services, California Insurance Broker Licence #6005606 · Updated October 2026

Quick answerDrivers under 21 who test at 0.01% or more face a one-year suspension, and the DMV says a suspended license comes back at the end of the suspension once the reissue fee is paid and proof of financial responsibility (insurance) is filed. A 0.01% Zero Tolerance suspension is an administrative action, separate from the under-21 0.05% offense in Vehicle Code 23140.

Young drivers are often told "it was only a 0.01, it is not a DUI." That is partly right and mostly unhelpful. The Zero Tolerance suspension is an administrative action rather than a conviction, but it still takes the license for a year, and getting the license back still runs through an insurance filing. Here is the sequence, and the parts that catch families out.

Which law applies: three lines under 21

Situation	What it is	What the DMV or statute says
Under 21, 0.01% or more on a screening or chemical test	Zero Tolerance (Vehicle Code 23136), an administrative action	One-year suspension
Under 21, refused or failed to complete the test	Refusal	First offense: one-year suspension. Second within 10 years: two-year revocation. Third: three-year revocation
Under 21, 0.05% or more	Vehicle Code 23140, a court finding	The court clerk sends an abstract to the DMV within 10 days of the finding

Vehicle Code 23136 also says a driver under 21 is deemed to have consented to a screening or chemical test when lawfully detained, and must be told that refusing means a suspension or revocation of one to three years. The 0.01% rule does not prevent a prosecution for adult DUI under Vehicle Code 23152.

The timeline, start to finish

The stop. The officer serves the suspension order. Keep every page of it.
Within 10 days. The DMV's DUI page says you may request a hearing within 10 days of receiving a suspension order. Missing that window is the most common unforced error.
The year. No driving. Under Vehicle Code 14601.1, driving while suspended is its own offense, and knowledge of the suspension is conclusively presumed once the DMV has mailed notice.
Before the year ends. Arrange the policy and the filing so they are in force for reinstatement day.
Reinstatement. The DMV says the license comes back at the end of the suspension once the reissue fee is paid and proof of financial responsibility is filed.

How long the proof must then stay on file is set by your own DMV notice. Ask the DMV to confirm the date and keep the answer in writing.

Whose policy carries the filing

For a driver under 21, the first question is usually whether the filing can sit on a parent's household policy or needs a policy of its own. Whether a carrier will file an SR-22 for a driver on a family policy varies by insurance company, and so does how it rates the household afterwards. Ask before anyone cancels or restructures a policy.

The Good Driver test in Insurance Code 1861.025 looks back ten years for DUI convictions, including under-21 findings under Vehicle Code 23140, and three years for violation points and at-fault injury accidents. How an insurer weighs an administrative 0.01% suspension is a question to put to each insurer directly, in writing.

What goes wrong for young drivers

Treating the 0.01% as minor and skipping the hearing window.
Driving "just to work" during the year. Nothing on the DMV page makes a Zero Tolerance suspension a work restriction.
Dropping the young driver from the family policy with no replacement. Reinstatement then waits for a filing nobody arranged.
Forgetting the provisional rules. Drivers under 18 still face the provisional-license limits once the license returns.

When reinstatement is in sight, get the SR-22 quoted here with the household described accurately, so the filing is ready on the right day.

Where this comes from

Get this quoted for your situation

Free quotes from multiple carriers, prepared by a licensed California agent. Two minutes, no obligation.

Get My Free Quote

More of what callers ask

Is a 0.01% suspension a DUI conviction?

No. It is an administrative suspension under the Zero Tolerance law, Vehicle Code 23136. A 0.05% finding under 23140 or an adult DUI under 23152 is a court matter, and either can happen in addition.

What if the young driver refused the test?

The DMV says a driver under 21 who refuses or fails to complete the test faces a one-year suspension on a first offense, a two-year revocation for a second within 10 years, and a three-year revocation for a third.

Can the SR-22 go on a parent's policy?

Sometimes. Whether a carrier files an SR-22 for a driver on a household policy varies by insurance company, so ask the current carrier before making any change.

Will the suspension appear on the driving record?

The DMV says driver records include convictions, departmental actions and accidents. Request your own record to see exactly how the action is shown.