California DUI Defense Attorneys

California Drivers License Suspensions from a First-Time DUI

In a first offense DUI situation, two things can trigger a license suspension: (1) being convicted of the DUI in court, or (2) losing your DMV hearing.

Court-Triggered License Suspensions for First-Offense DUI

A California court conviction for first-time DUI automatically triggers a six-month license suspension. See Vehicle Code 13352(a)(1). This suspension is not imposed by the DUI judge. Rather, when the conviction occurs, the court notifies the DMV and the DMV is responsible for imposing the suspension. If the DUI defendant gets the charge reduced to reckless driving or to an offense other than DUI, there is no court-triggered license suspension.

Administrative License Suspensions for First-Offense DUI

A person arrested for DUI with a BAC of .08 or higher also faces an administrative drivers license suspension. See Vehicle Code 13353.2. This proceeding is through the DMV and is independent of the DUI court proceedings. We know it’s confusing. But suffice it to say that California gets two bites at the apple—that apple being your privilege to drive.

You are entitled to a DMV hearing regarding the administrative suspension and to be represented at the hearing by a DUI defense attorney. If you win your hearing, no administrative license suspension is imposed. If you lose your hearing, the DMV suspends your license for four months. See Vehicle Code 13353.3.

*Note: What if you have the misfortune of getting a DUI conviction in court and an administrative suspension from the DMV? Does that mean a 10-month suspension? No. The total period of both suspensions cannot be longer than the longest individual suspension. So the total license suspension period would be just six months, not ten. See Vehicle Code 13353.3(c)

Getting a Restricted License in a First-Offense DUI Situation

How soon you can get a restricted license depends on which suspension you suffer. With the DUI court-triggered suspension, you can get a restricted license right away. With the administrative suspension, you must wait 30 days from the start of the license suspension. See Vehicle Code 13353.7. If you suffer both suspensions, you still must wait 30 days from the start of the administrative suspension.