If you are arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) in California, you typically do not lose your driver’s license immediately. Instead, the arresting officer usually takes your driver’s license and issues a temporary permit. This driving permit has an expiration date. If you do not successfully challenge the suspension, the permit will expire, and your license will be suspended.
When does the license suspension take effect?
Generally, when a California police officer pulls you over and uncovers enough evidence of a DUI to make an arrest, the officer will confiscate your driver’s license. The officer will then provide you with a Notice of Suspension. This Notice acts as a temporary driver’s license that expires in 30 days.1
Sometimes, the officer will not provide you with a temporary license. In these cases, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will send you the temporary license in the mail. This temporary license will still expire in 30 days, but the clock will only begin to count down from when the DMV sent the license, not the date of your arrest.
During this time, you can still drive.
How can I challenge the suspension?
You can fight the looming license suspension by requesting a hearing at the California DMV. This hearing is separate from your criminal DUI charges. It only concerns your driving privileges. However, it is still very helpful to get the legal advice of a DUI lawyer.
Requesting a DMV hearing must be done very soon after the arrest. In California, the request must be made within 10 days. If the hearing is not requested within 10 days, you lose your right to the hearing, and your license will be suspended without a challenge.
In California, you can request a hearing by calling or faxing the California DMV Driver Safety Office. You can also request that your license suspension be stayed. This prevents the suspension from going into effect after 30 days if the DMV hearing has not happened yet.
What happens at the DMV hearing?
At the DMV hearing, also known as a Driver Safety Administrative Per Se (APS) Hearing in California, you can contest your upcoming license suspension.
The DMV hearing is an informal administrative hearing. The hearing officer is just a DMV employee. They will listen to evidence from law enforcement that you were drunk driving. You can then rebut that evidence. This suspension hearing will not take place in a courtroom. Instead, it can happen in person at a DMV Driver Safety branch. The hearing may even take place over the phone.
You have several important rights at these hearings. In California, you are entitled to:
- have a criminal defense attorney represent you at the hearing, at your own expense,
- testify on your own behalf,
- cross-examine witnesses,
- review and challenge evidence, including the police report, and
- subpoena and present witnesses, including the arresting officer.
Some common defenses that you and DUI attorneys can raise at the DMV hearing include:
- the officer did not have probable cause to initiate the traffic stop,
- you did not refuse to submit to a chemical breath or blood test,
- you were not actually driving the car,
- the officer did not properly observe you for 15 minutes before conducting a breath test or breathalyzer,
- the field sobriety tests were not properly performed, and
- the chemical test was not properly calibrated to detect blood alcohol content (BAC) or was not working correctly.
Many of these are the same defenses that can be raised in DUI court.
If the hearing officer finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that you were under the influence, they will sustain the license suspension. Otherwise, the hearing officer will reverse the suspension, also known as “setting aside the action.” This is similar to a not guilty verdict, but only for the administrative hearing. However, getting the DMV hearing officer to set aside the license suspension is a strong indicator that law enforcement’s criminal case is weak.
What are the potential license ramifications of a DUI?
For a first-time DUI offense that is a misdemeanor in California, you face a license suspension period of between 6 and 10 months.2 Even if it was your first offense, if the DUI case involved a car accident that hurt someone or you refused a chemical test, the administrative license suspension can last up to 1 year.3
However, you can often choose to install an ignition interlock device, or IID, in your vehicle in order to continue to drive.
After the first month, you may be able to have your license suspension converted into a restricted license. This allows you to drive to and from work and your California DUI school. Restricted licenses are only available after you have:
- enrolled in a DUI school,
- submitted an SR-22 insurance form, and
- paid a $125 reinstatement fee.
If you refuse a chemical test, it will be a license revocation instead. You will have no chance of getting a restricted license.
Additional Resources
For more information, refer to these articles by the California DMV.
- Administrative Hearings – General information about the process of contesting your driver’s license suspension.
- Driver Safety Administrative Hearing Process – A step-by-step guide to DMV hearings in California.
- Negligent Operator Treatment System Hearings – Information about how to contest your license suspension following a “negligent operator” designation.
- Subpoenas for Hearings – A form you can use to subpoena witnesses to appear at your DMV hearing.
- Driver Safety Offices – A list of addresses and phone numbers of DMV offices throughout California.
Legal References
- California Vehicle Code 13353.3 VC.
- California Vehicle Code 13352 VC.
- California Vehicle Code 13352 VC and 13353 VC.