How To Get My License Back After A Dui

Posted on December 8, 2020

Driver's license in wallet — Each drunk driving arrest opens both a criminal case and a DMV case.

Following a DUI conviction in California, drivers can get their license back after serving the entire length of the applicable suspension and successfully reinstating the license. The latter involves completing a DUI program, filing proof of financial responsibility with the DMV (e.g., a Form SR-22), and paying the DMV a license reissue fee.

Initiating reinstatement is not the same thing as challenging a license suspension. Reinstatement comes after a driver has completed his/her period of license suspension (and jail time if applicable) and allows a defendant to once again receive a valid California driver's license.

Challenging a suspension means that a driver requests an administrative hearing with the DMV to dispute the agency's decision to suspend the motorist's driving privileges because of the DUI.

Note that the total length that a motorist's driver's license will be suspended for depends on:

the particular facts of the case,
the number of prior DUI's on the motorist's record, and
the specific crime charged (e.g., DUI vs. DUI causing injury).

How can a driver reinstate his/her license after a California DUI?

There are several steps that a motorist must take to reinstate his/her driver's license following a DUI conviction. These include:

successfully completing the full period of license suspension,
serving any applicable jail sentence,
completing a DUI program (which could range from 90 days to nine months depending on the defendant's BAC),
filing proof of financial responsibility with the DMV, and
paying the DMV a license reissue fee (which typically ranges from $100 to $150).^[i]

As to proof of financial responsibility, a driver typically performs this task by filing a Form SR-22 with the DMV. This is a form that the driver's insurance company sends to the DMV after the motorist informs it of the DUI. The action may result in the insurer increasing the driver's insurance rates.

Is reinstatement the same thing as challenging a Notice of Suspension?

Reinstatement is not the same thing as challenging a Notice of Suspension.

Following a DUI arrest, the arresting officer provides the driver with a "Notice of Suspension." This is a document that notifies the motorist placed under arrest that:

the DMV will initiate the process of suspending the person's driving privileges, and
it will do so because of the DUI charge.[ii]

A motorist does have the right to challenge this suspension by requesting a DMV administrative hearing. The driver, though, must make this request within 10 days from the date of the arrest.[iii]

If a DMV hearing takes place, the meeting is conducted at a DMV office and is run by a "hearing officer." This officer is a DMV employee that typically has no legal background.[iv]

At a DMV hearing, the Department can go ahead and suspend a person's license if it proves that:

the DUI stop and the arrest for the crime were legal, and
the driver operated his/her car with a BAC of .08% or greater, or
the driver refused a blood or breath test.[v]

Unlike at a trial for a DUI, the Department does not have to prove these issues "beyond a reasonable doubt." The standard of proof at these hearings is a lesser standard known as "by a preponderance of the evidence." The DMV satisfies this standard if it shows that the above issues are more likely than not to be true.

Facade of DMV building

DUI arrestees may be able to contest their license suspension at a DMV hearing.

Is a DMV suspension the same thing as a court suspension?

A DMV suspension is a separate matter than a court suspension for a DUI.

As stated above, the DMV can suspend a person's driver's license following a DUI arrest. In addition, a court can order that a motorist's license be suspended following a conviction for DUI. The two types of suspensions involve separate proceedings from one another.

A court suspension can only occur, though, if:

the driver pleads guilty to his/her DUI charge, or
the driver is found guilty of the crime at his/her DUI trial.

A jury will find a defendant guilty of the crime if it finds that:

the motorist was operating a motor vehicle, and
he/she was intoxicated or had a BAC of .08% or greater.[vi]

How long is a DUI license suspension?

The length of a DUI license suspension will depend on:

the particular facts of the case,
the number of prior DUIs on the defendant's record, and
the specific crime charged.

For example, a suspension will be for a period of:

six months for a person's first DUI offense,
one year for a second offense,
two years for a third offense (if the defendant chooses not to get an ignition interlock device (IID), the license suspension period will be 3 years),
six months for a conviction of misdemeanor DUI causing injury, and
up to five years for a felony DUI conviction.

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[i] California Department of Motor Vehicle website, "Licensing Fees."

[ii] California Department of Motor Vehicle website, "Driving Under the Influence (DUI)."

[iii] See same.

[iv] California Department of Motor Vehicle website, "What is an administrative hearing?"

[v] See same.

[vi] See California Vehicle Code 23152a and 23152b VC.

About the Author

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Neil Shouse

A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, Court TV, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.