The Web's Premiere Guide To Handling A California DUI.

California DMV Hearings After a DUI Arrest

Juvenile Drivers

It's important to understand that California DUI arrests result in two separate processes: one with the court and another with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

The overwhelming majority of California DUI arrests include an allegation that the driver's blood alcohol content (BAC) was at or above the "legal limit" of .08%. If your arrest includes this allegation, the DMV will automatically suspend your driver's license 30 days later unless two very important things happen.

First, you must contact the DMV and reserve a California DMV Hearing to preserve your license within 10 days of your DUI arrest. Second, you must prevail at the hearing. Here, our Los Angeles DUI Lawyers provide a brief review of both.

When the police arrest you for DUI, they take away your driver's license. Upon release, they replace it with a temporary license on a pink piece of paper. At the same time, the temporary license provides you with several important notifications:

  1. the suspension goes into effect 30 days from the date of arrest;
  2. you have a right to contest the suspension at a hearing; and
  3. you have only 10 days from the date of arrest to reserve this hearing.

This can be achieved simply by calling the DMV directly or retaining the services of an attorney in time for him or her to do it for you. Once the request is made, the suspension is postponed until your California DMV Hearing produces an outcome... regardless of whether this exceeds the original 30 day period.

California DMV Hearings are held before a DMV hearing officer at one of the DMV's regional drivers safety offices. Typically, if you've hired an attorney to handle the criminal DUI charge, he or she will handle the hearing as well.

At your California DMV Hearing, the hearing officer has three issues to decide:

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

Proving that the answer to any of these questions is "no" will result in a favorable decision. That is, the hearing officer will "set aside" any license suspension. On the other hand, if the hearing officer finds against you, a suspension will go into effect soon after. DMV imposes 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.

Our Los Angeles DUI Lawyers emphasize that there is more to understand regarding California DMV Hearings as well as how to respond to a suspension. Should you find yourself in this situation, we encourage you to act quickly to protect your driver's license by contacting the DMV and consulting with an experienced attorney.