California DMV Hearing Attorneys

Will I Lose My California Drivers License Because of a DUI?

If you were arrested for DUI in California, and your BAC was measured at .08 or higher, the DMV will seek to suspend you drivers license. Driving on a suspended license in California is a misdemeanor that carries penalties that may include fines and jail time. But you are entitled to a DMV hearing-called an administrative per se or APS hearing-to contest the drivers license suspension. The drunk driving attorneys of Southern California DUI Defense can represent you at this hearing.

The DMV Hearing-A Brief Overview

When the police officer places you under arrest for DUI, he or she takes your California drivers license and provides you a pink document. The pink document serves as a temporary drivers license that expires in 30 days-at which time your license goes into suspension. You have 10 days from the date of the DUI arrest to contact the DMV and request a hearing to fight the suspension. Once you request the DMV hearing, the drivers license suspension is postponed pending the outcome of the hearing. The hearing is held before a DMV hearing officer at one of the DMV's regional drivers safety offices. Typically, if you've hired a drunk driving attorney to handle the criminal charges, the drunk driving attorney will handle the DMV hearing as well. In a DUI case, the DMV hearing officer has to decide three issues:

1. Were you driving?
2. Were you lawfully arrested?
3. Was your BAC of .08 or higher at the time of driving?

If the DMV finds in your favor, it will "set aside" any license suspension. If the DMV finds against you, it will impose a four month suspension on a first offense, a two-year suspension on a second offense, and a three-year suspension on a third offense. The four month suspension can be converted into a restriction (to and from work and an alcohol program) after the first 30 days; the two-year suspension can be converted to a restriction after the first year (assuming certain conditions are met).