The SR20 was certified by the FAA on 23 October 1998. Hundreds of SR20s have been sold since the first was delivered in 1999. As of December 2006 over 2000 Cirrus aircraft had been delivered.

One of the major selling points for the SR20 is that it has a fully digital avionics suite with one 10-inch Avidyne FlightMax primary flight display and one multi-function display. A pair of Garmin GNS430s provides GPS navigation, conventional radio navigation, and radio communications.

The SR20, like the faster SR22, is equipped with the Ballistic Recovery Systems Cirrus Aircraft Parachute System, a large parachute which can be deployed in an emergency to lower the entire aircraft to the ground safely.

The SR22, by Cirrus Design, is a high-performance single-engine, four-seat, composite aircraft. It is a more powerful version of the Cirrus SR20, with a larger wing, higher fuel capacity, and a 310 horsepower (231 kW) engine. It is extremely popular among purchasers of new aircraft and has been the world's best-selling single-engine, four-seat aircraft for several years. Like the Cessna 400, but unlike most other high-performance aircraft, the SR22 has fixed (non-retractable) landing gear.