After a DUI arrest in Nevada, you can request a DMV hearing to fight to keep your driver’s license. The DMV hearing is separate from the criminal court case, and you must win both cases to avoid a license revocation.
Once the DMV notifies you that your license is being revoked, you must contact the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles within seven days to request a hearing to challenge the revocation. Failure to do so within this seven-day window will result in the automatic revocation of your license.
In this article, our Las Vegas DUI attorneys will answer the following questions re. DMV hearings in Nevada:
- 1. What are DMV hearings?
- 2. How are they different from criminal trials?
- 3. Can I keep driving before the DMV hearing?
- 4. When can I request a DMV hearing?
- 5. How do I request one?
- 6. Where do they take place?
- 7. How long will my license be suspended if I lose?
- 8. Can I get DMV hearings in non-DUI cases?
- 9. How much do DMV hearings cost?
- 10. Are they worth doing?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Additional Reading
1. What are DMV hearings?
DMV hearings are mini-trials that you are entitled to before the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles can revoke your license for DUI and/or for refusing to take a breath test or blood test after your DUI arrest.1
DMV hearings are not mandatory. However, waiving a DMV hearing virtually eliminates any chance you can keep your license.
DMV hearings are usually open to the public, and the entire proceeding gets audio recorded. An administrative law judge presides and places all witnesses under oath. You or your criminal defense attorneys may question and cross-examine witnesses and present physical evidence, statutes, and case law.
At the end of the proceeding, the judge may issue a ruling immediately or may decide to delay an opinion for 30 days. Like in any courtroom, you are expected to dress appropriately and not be disruptive.
If you avoid a DUI conviction but lose your DMV administrative hearing, you will still get your license suspended.
2. How are they different from criminal trials?
Every DUI arrest in Nevada opens two separate cases:
- The criminal court case, which can impose jail time and fines; and
- The administrative DMV case, which can only revoke your driving privileges.
Criminal trials are actually easier to win than DMV hearings. Prosecutors in criminal trials have the high burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In contrast, the DMV just has to find some evidence that you drove drunk or high or had an excessive blood alcohol content (BAC) of at least:
- 0.08% if you are 21 or older,
- 0.04% if you have a commercial driver’s license; or
- 0.02% if you are under 21.2
Excessive BAC is not the only issue adjudicated at DMV hearings. If you allegedly refused to take a breath- or blood test following your DUI arrest, the DMV hearing is where you would contest that you refused the test.
3. Can I keep driving before the DMV hearing?
In Nevada, you are allowed to drive pending the results of the DMV hearing as long as you request the hearing within seven days of being notified about the revocation.3
DMV hearings usually occur four to seven months after the initial arrest.
4. When can I request a DMV hearing?
If you elect to take a breath test instead of a blood test – or if you refuse to take a test – the police officer will confiscate your license right away and issue you a temporary permit. You then have seven days to request a DMV hearing and a temporary license.
If you elect to take a blood test, you get to keep your license until the BAC results come back above the lawful limit (which can take several weeks). The DMV will mail you the results, a notice of license revocation, and temporary permit, giving you seven days to request a DMV hearing.4
5. How do I request one?
You can request a Nevada DMV hearing by submitting DMV form IVP-005.
Note that when you elect to take a breath test, the police will provide you instructions on how to request a DMV hearing. If you take a blood test, the DMV will mail you instructions along with the test results.
See our related article, How to request a DMV hearing in Nevada.
Most DMV hearings can now occur telephonically without you or your attorney having to appear in a DMV office.
6. Where do they take place?
DMV hearings take place at the Office of Administrative Hearings. There are three locations in Nevada:
LAS VEGAS
2701 E. Sahara Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89104
(702) 486-4940
CARSON CITY
555 Wright Way
Carson City, NV 89711
(775) 684-4790
ELKO
3920 E. Idaho St.
Elko, NV 89801
(755) 753-1239
However, you and your attorneys can usually attend these hearings by telephone.
7. How long will my license be suspended if I lose?
If you lose your DMV hearing in a Nevada DUI case, your driver’s license will be revoked. The revocation period increases with each successive case:
| DUI Offense | Length of Nevada Driver’s License Revocation |
| First-time offense (within 7 years) | 185 days, though it may be possible to drive immediately with an ignition interlock device. |
| Second-time offense (within 7 years) | 1 year, though it may be possible to drive immediately with an ignition interlock device. |
| Third-time offense (within 7 years) or any other felony DUI | 3 years, though it may be possible to drive immediately with an ignition interlock device.5 |
Also, refusing to take a breath- or blood test triggers a one-year license revocation. This is true even if the DMV finds that you did not commit DUI.
Remember that if you win your DMV hearing but lose your criminal case, you still face the above revocation periods.
If you live out-of-state, your home state’s DMV may revoke your license if you lose your criminal case.
8. Can I get DMV hearings in non-DUI cases?
Yes. DMV hearings are available to anyone who faces a license suspension or revocation in Nevada. For instance, accruing 12 or more demerit points from moving violations in a single year triggers a six-month license suspension.6
9. How much do DMV hearings cost?
There is no charge to have a Nevada DMV hearing. If you hire a defense attorney, you will then just have to pay attorney’s fees.
10. Are they worth doing?
Yes. Even though DMV hearings are difficult to win in Nevada, they are useful for two reasons:
- If the police officer from the case does not show up to the hearing, you will generally win by default. Then the judge will immediately dismiss the DMV case.
- DMV hearings are a valuable opportunity to cross-examine the arresting officers on the record. We take full advantage of this by trying to get the officers to admit mistakes in the investigations and any factors pointing toward your sobriety. We would then get a transcript of this testimony and later use it as leverage in litigating your criminal court case.
Having an attorney represent you increases your odds of winning a DMV hearing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to request a DMV hearing after a DUI arrest?
You have 7 days from when you are notified about the license revocation to request a DMV hearing. If you took a breath test, this starts when the officer confiscates your license. For blood tests, the 7-day window begins when you receive the test results and revocation notice in the mail.
Can I still drive while waiting for my DMV hearing?
Yes, you can continue driving while waiting for your DMV hearing as long as you request the hearing within the 7-day window. Most hearings occur 4 to 7 months after the arrest.
What happens if I lose my DMV hearing?
If you lose your DMV hearing, your license will be revoked for: 185 days for a first offense, 1 year for a second offense, or 3 years for a third offense (all within 7 years). However, you may be able to drive immediately with an ignition interlock device installed.
Additional Resources
For more information, refer to these articles by the Nevada DMV.
- Office of Administrative Hearings – The Division of the DMV that holds DUI hearings.
- Nevada Live Hearing Request – Request an administrative hearing online.
- Hearings Before the Hearing Officer – Discussion of what administrative hearings are like.
- Appeals Officer Hearings – Guide for how to appeal a hearing officer’s ruling.
- Driver’s License DUI Revocation Hearings – Information about DUI hearings specifically.
- DMV Administrative Office locations – Street addresses of Nevada’s DMV administrative offices.
Learn more in our articles about first-time DUI license revocations, second-time DUI license revocations, and third-time DUI license revocations.
Legal References
- NRS 484C.230; NRS 483.460.
- See Beavers v. Department of Motor Vehicles & Pub. Safety (1993) 109 Nev. 435; see Wright v. State DMV (2005) 121 Nev. 122, 110 P.3d 1066; NAC 483.8485; NRS 484C.220. See also Nev. DMV v. Christopherson (Nev.App. 2021) 480 P.3d 880.
- NRS 484C.230; NAC 483.8485.
- See NRS 484C.180; NRS 484C.220.
- NRS 483.460.
- NRS 483.448.