License Penalties

In 2004, the State of Georgia revoked or suspended 306,000 Georgia driver’s licenses, a trend that is on the rise, local police officials say. Bad driving, drunk driving, driving without a license and driving without valid vehicle registration or insurance are all ways a person can have their driving privileges suspended in Georgia.

Decatur County Sheriff Wiley Griffin attributes the increase in suspensions to better enforcement of traffic laws. The most common reason people have their licenses suspended is for committing a serious traffic offense, Griffin said.

People who are living or working in the United States illegally are unable to get a driver’s license in Georgia, Griffin said. A proposed law currently being considered in the Georgia Legislature would require law enforcement agencies to determine the nationality of a person charged with a felony, driving under the influence or driving without a license. The law would also strengthen penalties for driving without a license.

There are three ways persons may lose their driving privileges, according to the Georgia Department of Driver Services: if a person fails to give the required or correct information on a driver’s license application, their license can be canceled; if a person is convicted of one of 13 offenses or accumulates a certain number of points for other offenses, their license may be suspended; if a person has their license suspended three times within five years or is declared unfit to drive for mental, physical or other reasons, their license can be revoked.

Drivers under the age of 21 can have their licenses suspended if they are convicted of any of 11 offenses, including alcohol-related crimes.

Under Georgia’s teen driver’s laws, the licenses of anyone under 18 can be suspended for accumulating four driver’s points within one year or for violating rules related to school attendance and behavior, including dropping out of school or accumulating excessive absences.

Being convicted of any of the following offenses can result in an automatic suspension of a driver’s license: homicide by vehicle; DUI (alcohol or drugs); felony using a car; fleeing/attempting to elude officer; fradulent/fictitious use of or application for license; hit and run; racing; refusal to take a chemical test for intoxication; driving on suspended/canceled/revoked license; canceled or suspended vehicle registration; driving without insurance; failure to appear in court; possession, manufacture, cultivation, sale or transfer of a controlled substance or marijuana; accumulation of 15 points within 24 months (including out-of-state offenses).

Griffin said he believes a significant portion of people caught driving with a suspended license have already broken traffic laws in the past.

“We’re seeing a pattern of bad drivers being arrested for driving with suspended licenses,” Griffin said. “I think your statistics and criminal histories would show that with most of the people we catch, it’s not a case of a person having their license suspended without having a previous traffic offense. People with multiple convictions on driving with a suspended license have a total disregard for traffic laws.”

A person’s driver’s license can be automatically revoked by reaching habitual violator status, which occurs after a person receives three convictions on offenses (first DUI offense) for which a license can be suspended.

Licenses can also be revoked if a person refuses to submit to a driver’s exam after being given notice of reasonable grounds for doing so, or if they are otherwise declared incompetent or unfit to drive.

Under Georgia law, a judge is supposed to give violators of traffic laws at least a few days in jail if they are caught driving with a suspended license more than once. The maximum sentence violators can be given is a year in prison.

The first offense for driving on a suspended license is a misdemeanor. People convicted of a first offense have to stay at least two days in jail and pay a minimum fine of $500. Their license will be suspended for an additional six months on top of their previous suspension. In addition, to meet their reinstatement requirements, offenders will have to pay for two defensive driving classes and two $200 fees, instead of just one of each.

A second or subsequent offense for driving on a suspended license is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. People convicted of a second or subsequent offense have to spend at least 10 days in jail and pay a fine ranging anywhere from $1,000-$2,500, as well as having their license suspended for additional time.

Being convicted of under the influence can carry jail time, too. A person must serve one day in jail after their first DUI conviction, two days after their second and 10 days after their third.

License suspensions start as soon as a person is convicted of violating a traffic law that results in a mandatory suspension. However, licenses can also be suspended at other times, such as when a person fails to appear in court for a traffic law citation or if vehicle insurance lapses. A person does not get credit for a suspension time until they have turned in their license to the Georgia Department of Driver Services.

People convicted of one of the offenses that trigger a mandatory license suspension can obtain a limited driver’s permit, unless they are convicted of driving on a suspended license.

Limited driver’s permits can be obtained for going to work or performing work duties, traveling to receive medical attention or prescription drugs, attending classes at a college or regularly scheduled school, attending a driver’s education class, assessment program or treatment program that is court-ordered or to take a vehicle to be serviced in the event an ignition interlock device is installed by court order.

People with suspended licenses can also request that their license be reinstated once certain requirements are met.

For more information, people may call the Department of Driver Services toll-free at (866) 754-3687 during weekday business hours or send a letter requesting reinstatement requirements to: Georgia Department of Driver Services, P.O. Box 80447, Conyers, GA 30013.

Mailed requests must contain a person’s name as it appears on their driver’s license, their license number, date of birth, correct mailing address and their signature.

By: William C. Head, Criminal Defense Attorney in Georgia Since 1976 and Board-Certified in DUI Defense and Attorney for DDS GA Legal Questions

The state of Georgia has some of the nation’s strictest DUI laws and has made them even tougher in the past decade. One of those new, painful laws relates to implied consent, and a possible suspended license GA. If you are charged with a DUI in Georgia, you MUST act with 30 days after arrest, to protect your right to drive.

If you refused to take a blood, breath or urine test or you took one of these tests and your result is 0.08 or greater (over the legal limit), you have only 30 days to request a special GA DDS hearing OR to apply for and install an ignition interlock device. The new interlock statute, OCGA 40-5-64.1 was enacted July 1, 2017, authorizing SOME Georgia drivers to use this interlock option, when a DUI refusal threatens to take away all driving privileges for a full year.

If you do not take action against this, your driver’s license will be suspended for one year. Don’t get confused in reading the back of your license suspension DDS 1205 form and seeing 45 days. Thirty DAY time limit is the deadline. Remember that DDS service offices are NOT OPEN every day. Don’t wait until the last minute.

After a DUI arrest, the accused driver has a limited time frame (30 days) during which he or she can request an administrative license hearing (ALS) from the Georgia Department of Drivers. A driver may be subject to this license suspension whether he or she refused to take the test, or the driver took the test and had a blood-alcohol content (BAC level) over the legal limit. If a driver does not request an ALS hearing within 30 days OR opt for the interlock device (when eligible), his or her driving privileges will automatically be suspended.

The 30-Day rule applies to you if:

• You refused to take any of the 3 post-arrest types of forensic tests (breath alcohol test, urine test or blood test) APPLIES TO ALL CLASSIFICATIONS of license holders
• You took one of the three tests and your blood alcohol content was over the legal limit of 0.08
• After you tried to take the tests the police officer stated “you refused”
• You were under age 21 on the day of the arrest and your test result was .02 or higher
• You had a CDL license and were operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV), heavy truck, school bus, or other FMCSA-qualified commercial vehicle, when arrested and your blood alcohol level was .04 or higher
• You do not know what your blood alcohol level was

When an accused driver faces an administrative license hearing, he or she will receive Form DDS 1205 from the arresting officer. This form becomes your Temporary driver license and notifies the arrested citizen of the administrative driver’s license suspension and informs him or her of what must be included in a hearing request.

At this time, the current forms do not address the new $150 fee an accused driver must include to request a hearing; however, failure to include this fee can keep your hearing from being scheduled. Many attorneys who are not a DUI specialist and most other citizens are unaware of this new law. Sadly, this lack of information from an expert DDS GA attorney can hurt you when trying to save your driving privileges.

In addition to the $150 fee, the accused drunk driver must include his or her name, address, license number, date of birth, and phone number on the ALS hearing request. Names and contact information for potential witnesses, the attorneys name and number (if applicable), a statement regarding the facts of the case the driver wishes to contest, and the type of relief sought must also be included.

After successfully requesting a hearing, GA DDS will mail you a response with your hearing date. An administrative hearing for this matter will likely occur about sixty days after your request is processed by DDS GA. The temporary permit given to you by the officer on the night of your arrest will be extended until the time of the hearing.

At the hearing an Administrative Law Judge from the Georgia OSAH (Office of State Administrative Hearings) will decide the issues that are written on the back side of the yellow form provided to you by the officer at the time of your arrest. If the Officer fails to appear at this hearing, then this separate civil request to administratively suspend your license will be dismissed. Also, at the hearing the Officer may be willing to negotiate a plea in the criminal matter in exchange for a withdrawal of this separate civil request to suspend your license.

The hearing could be very important and in 90 percent of the cases there’s no attorney opposing this if the officer does show up. That gives us a distinct advantage and allows us to get a transcript that can be used later to win your criminal case.

Once arrested for DUI in GA, you will have one of these five “situations” that your DUI lawyer will need to immediately address. A DUI refusal poses the greatest threat to you being NOT able to drive in the future. Such situations call for immediate legal advice about how to protect your right to drive, from a top legal professional. Those who have refused are the ONLY drivers who may have to opt for the State of Georgia IID (ignition interlock device) for a FULL 12 month period.

• Submitted to the state Intoxilyzer 9000 test and had a BAC at or above .08;
• Refused the breathalyzer test or blood test after arrest for DUI and no judicial warrant for forcible blood draw;
• Refused the breathalyzer test or blood test after DUI arrest and arresting police officer obtains a judicial warrant for forcible blood draw;
• Under 21 years of age and tested at .02 or higher; and
• CDL holders who had a .04 or higher while driving a commercial vehicle

Regardless of the circumstances of your case, all 30-day DDS Georgia letters must include:

• Your legal name
• Date of birth
• The date of your arrest
• Your driver’s license number
• Name of the officer who arrested you
• Your mailing address and telephone number
• $150 filing fee, payable to Georgia DDS.

Your defense attorney should be able to guide you through the creation and submission of the letter that applies to your case. It is recommended that you send this letter via certified mail and request a return receipt to ensure that it is received by DDS GA.

Georgia DUI laws don’t mandate that you to send a 30-day letter after a DUI arrest. However, if you choose not to do so, you LOSE the RIGHT TO DRIVE. Upon missing the deadline, your driver’s license will be suspended on the 46th day after the date of your arrest, unless you have followed the complex rules for getting Georgia DDS permission to attach an ignition interlock on ONE vehicle, for a full 12 months.

The suspension will be longer if you refused the chemical test and/or if you have any prior DUI arrests or convictions on your record. If you don’t ACT IN TIME, the refusal to take the post-arrest chemical test can result in a hard 12-month suspension during which you will not be eligible to drive at all.

TWELVE months is a long time to be without a driver’s license. If you have been arrested for DUI in Georgia, it is imperative that you request an administrative hearing to save your driving privileges. The first step is to get advice from an lawyer for DDS GA issues about the timely submission of the 30-day letter OR obtaining the DDS Georgia ignition interlock.

Contact our law group for experienced DUI defense attorneys near me at Kohn & Yager LLC today at (404) 567-5515. Our law firm provides aggressive legal assistance in defending your license.

Remember, our law office has three award-winning DUI lawyers near me that are offering FREE legal advice at the initial appointment. Why not obtain a FREE DDS GA lawyer consultation?

If you are convicted of DUI in Georgia, one penalty you will face is a license suspension for a minimum of 120 days due to administrative license suspension. The suspension period could be longer, depending on the number of prior drunk driving offenses on your record. It is also important to note that the Georgia Department of Driver Services may suspend your license before your case has even made it trial.

Before applying for license reinstatement, you must complete a Risk Reduction Course, sometimes referred to as DUI School. This course consists of two components and costs a total of $335. Once you have completed the Risk Reduction Course and served the required period of suspension, you may apply for reinstatement. The reinstatement fee is $200 if paid by mail or $210 if paid in person.

An administrative license suspension hearing is triggered by sending or delivering a request for hearing, which has to be done within ten (10) business days after your arrest. At this hearing, you may attend with your counsel or you may even represent yourself (usually a VERY bad decision). The law does permit your attorney to proceed without you present, but your legal advisor may want you present, or need to have you testify.

Administrative license suspension hearings can be critical to a client’s DUI “criminal” case. To begin, if the licensee does nothing, his/her license (or privilege to drive in Georgia) will be suspended. By missing the “10 day letter” deadline, the client may lose all ability to drive in GA on the 31st day after arrest. This often hampers our efforts to successfully attack the DUI criminal case. A client without driving privileges often loses the motivation to challenge his or her case.

If your attorney attends for purposes of trying to either win the case or to negotiate a non-DUI settlement with your police officer, you may avoid being suspended prior to the conclusion of the criminal case. This hearing (if it takes place) usually gets scheduled about 60 days after your arrest date, assuming you “appeal” the suspension on time.

This hearing may be the only time we are able to get your officer under oath and get answers to questions that could benefit your criminal case. Don’t pass up the opportunity to put the officer under oath and question him or her because it is the only sworn statement we will be able to have to use to impeach him or her at the later criminal proceeding.

A Georgia DUI charge usually triggers two separate legal proceedings. This means you will have to challenge issues in two different court cases, with two different judges. Aside from the traditional criminal prosecution the administrative license suspension issue of whether you will suffer a pre-trial loss of license for either refusing to take the test, or for submitting to the test at the station and having a result “over the legal limit.”

This is how the two proceedings relate to each other. Driving on the roads in Georgia is a privilege, not a right. By possessing a Georgia driver’s license you agree to submit to chemical testing if a police officer suspects you are intoxicated. The chemical test may be an analysis of blood, breath or urine. Failure to submit may result in an administrative (civil proceeding) license suspension.

You have 10 business days after your arrest date to file an appeal. In counting, Day 1 is the next calendar day. All state holidays and weekend days are NOT counted as “business” days. This must be in written form, raising the applicable legal challenges to your pending administrative suspension. The challenge must be filed by certified mail (U. S. postmark date) or by hand delivery to the Georgia DDS in Conyers. Missing the 10 business day deadline usually is a matter that is not “appealable”. Plus, this failure to request a hearing can cost you the right to drive for one year or longer.

Failing the blood, breath or urine test (resulting in a “per se’ (over the legal limit) reading) will result in a 1-year license suspension for first time offenders. The suspension period is for a 3 year term for second offenders in five years. A third offense in five years can result in a five year revocation (total loss) of license.

This update is written AFTER the change in Georgia DUI laws effective July 1, 2008 (as well as BEFORE) that date. The new D.U.I. law in Georgia changed the CRIMINAL “lookback” term to 10 years, but NOT the GA administrative license suspension laws.

A refusal suspension (or revocation) can be particularly damaging to your right to drive in Georgia, if you do not successfully challenge the legitimacy of the proposed suspension. NO LIMITED (WORK) PERMIT is available for such drivers, so winning or negotiating a “withdrawal” of the proposed suspension is critical.

If you have had another administrative suspension within in the last five years, this will count as a second administrative license offense. Your license can be suspended for three years. No work permit is allowed in such instances, whether you refused testing or took the test and had a breath test reading above the legal limit (0.08% for drivers age 21 who are not operating a commercial motor vehicle). The standard under Georgia law for drivers under age 21 is 0.02% and 0.04% for drivers in commercial motor vehicles.

Three or more DUI arrests within a five-year time frame (date-of-arrest to date-of-arrest) will prompt a 5-year suspension with no limited permit. This assumes that you had convictions or nolo contendere pleas to two D.U.I. offenses in Georgia, and a third arrest for DUI in GA has now been made. A limited driving permit may be available after the first two years. Underage drivers (under 21) are not eligible, for example.

If you are convicted of DUI in Georgia, one penalty you will face is a license suspension for a minimum of 120 days due to administrative license suspension. The suspension period could be longer, depending on the number of prior drunk driving offenses on your record. It is also important to note that the Georgia Department of Driver Services may suspend your license before your case has even made it trial.

Before applying for license reinstatement, you must complete a Risk Reduction Course, sometimes referred to as DUI School. This course consists of two components and costs a total of $335. Once you have completed the Risk Reduction Course and served the required period of suspension, you may apply for reinstatement. The reinstatement fee is $200 if paid by mail or $210 if paid in person.

An administrative license suspension hearing is triggered by sending or delivering a request for hearing, which has to be done within ten (10) business days after your arrest. At this hearing, you may attend with your counsel or you may even represent yourself (usually a VERY bad decision). The law does permit your attorney to proceed without you present, but your legal advisor may want you present, or need to have you testify.

Administrative license suspension hearings can be critical to a client’s DUI “criminal” case. To begin, if the licensee does nothing, his/her license (or privilege to drive in Georgia) will be suspended. By missing the “10 day letter” deadline, the client may lose all ability to drive in GA on the 31st day after arrest. This often hampers our efforts to successfully attack the DUI criminal case. A client without driving privileges often loses the motivation to challenge his or her case.

If your attorney attends for purposes of trying to either win the case or to negotiate a non-DUI settlement with your police officer, you may avoid being suspended prior to the conclusion of the criminal case. This hearing (if it takes place) usually gets scheduled about 60 days after your arrest date, assuming you “appeal” the suspension on time.

This hearing may be the only time we are able to get your officer under oath and get answers to questions that could benefit your criminal case. Don’t pass up the opportunity to put the officer under oath and question him or her because it is the only sworn statement we will be able to have to use to impeach him or her at the later criminal proceeding.

A Georgia DUI charge usually triggers two separate legal proceedings. This means you will have to challenge issues in two different court cases, with two different judges. Aside from the traditional criminal prosecution the administrative license suspension issue of whether you will suffer a pre-trial loss of license for either refusing to take the test, or for submitting to the test at the station and having a result “over the legal limit.”

This is how the two proceedings relate to each other. Driving on the roads in Georgia is a privilege, not a right. By possessing a Georgia driver’s license you agree to submit to chemical testing if a police officer suspects you are intoxicated. The chemical test may be an analysis of blood, breath or urine. Failure to submit may result in an administrative (civil proceeding) license suspension.

You have 10 business days after your arrest date to file an appeal. In counting, Day 1 is the next calendar day. All state holidays and weekend days are NOT counted as “business” days. This must be in written form, raising the applicable legal challenges to your pending administrative suspension. The challenge must be filed by certified mail (U. S. postmark date) or by hand delivery to the Georgia DDS in Conyers. Missing the 10 business day deadline usually is a matter that is not “appealable”. Plus, this failure to request a hearing can cost you the right to drive for one year or longer.

Failing the blood, breath or urine test (resulting in a “per se’ (over the legal limit) reading) will result in a 1-year license suspension for first time offenders. The suspension period is for a 3 year term for second offenders in five years. A third offense in five years can result in a five year revocation (total loss) of license.

This update is written AFTER the change in Georgia DUI laws effective July 1, 2008 (as well as BEFORE) that date. The new D.U.I. law in Georgia changed the CRIMINAL “lookback” term to 10 years, but NOT the GA administrative license suspension laws.

A refusal suspension (or revocation) can be particularly damaging to your right to drive in Georgia, if you do not successfully challenge the legitimacy of the proposed suspension. NO LIMITED (WORK) PERMIT is available for such drivers, so winning or negotiating a “withdrawal” of the proposed suspension is critical.

If you have had another administrative suspension within in the last five years, this will count as a second administrative license offense. Your license can be suspended for three years. No work permit is allowed in such instances, whether you refused testing or took the test and had a breath test reading above the legal limit (0.08% for drivers age 21 who are not operating a commercial motor vehicle). The standard under Georgia law for drivers under age 21 is 0.02% and 0.04% for drivers in commercial motor vehicles.

Three or more DUI arrests within a five-year time frame (date-of-arrest to date-of-arrest) will prompt a 5-year suspension with no limited permit. This assumes that you had convictions or nolo contendere pleas to two D.U.I. offenses in Georgia, and a third arrest for DUI in GA has now been made. A limited driving permit may be available after the first two years. Underage drivers (under 21) are not eligible, for example.

By: Atlanta DUI Lawyer and Trial Attorney Larry Kohn, Law Firm Partner Representing Clients in Felony or Misdemeanor DUI Cases and for Other Traffic Tickets

Criminal traffic law violations involving driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs trigger the automatic loss of driving privileges in Georgia. This loss of privileges is true whether the driver is a Georgia resident or not, and applies to those licensed in other states, as well as those who have no driver’s license at all.

Georgia laws call for suspending a person’s driver’s license for a host of reasons. A short list includes not paying child support, failure to have liability insurance on your motor vehicle, having a bad driving record by accumulating too many demerit points for traffic tickets like speeding, and dropping out of high school. While our Georgia attorneys fight all traffic tickets, impaired driving is the No. 1 type of serious misdemeanor that our litigation specialists are asked to challenge for clients.

The Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) will NEVER reinstate you on its records UNTIL you comply with the DUI license reinstatement requirements handed down by the Georgia Legislature. These requirements include completion of a drugs and alcohol “educational” component officially named “the Risk Reduction program.”

Most clients refer to this “re-education” component as DUI school or DUI classes. The Georgia DDS-approved course runs for 20 hours. For drivers now out of state, the GA DDS is willing to permit certificates from other states, so long as the course is on this GA DMV “approved” list of DUI schools that utilize comparable rehabilitative-type courses.

Simply stated, to get a driver’s license reinstated in GA, you will have to show proof of taking a “re-education” course that reminds you of the risks of driving under the influence (DUI-DWI). This proof alone is not enough. The person MUST pay the applicable reinstatement license fee associated with your drunk driving offense (1st DUI, 2nd DUI, etc.)

This question is one of our most common questions, which is probably true of most DUI law offices with attorneys near me. Of critical importance in answering the question is HOW your DUI case is resolved, at BOTH the ADMINISTRATIVE stage and the CRIMINAL stage, after a DUI conviction.

The starting point for deciding WHEN you are eligible is determining whether you submitted to the post-arrest “chemical test” of blood, breath, or urine. Next, is this a first offense DUI in five years, based on dates of arrest, or not?

One reason our criminal lawyers strongly recommend only hiring DUI experts is that a DUI refusal being lost at the administrative license hearing can BLOCK you getting a limited driving permit after the criminal case is concluded.

Our law firm has four different metro Atlanta Georgia office locations, to give you a FREE DUI attorney consultation near me. Three locations are in Fulton County (Atlanta, Sandy Springs, and Alpharetta), and one is in Marietta, Cobb County GA. Check out the many BOTTOM LINKS about our criminal attorneys near me.

Our law partners (Cory Yager, an ex-cop, Board-Certified DUI Lawyer Bubba Head, and Larry Kohn) offer all citizens facing traffic tickets a FREE lawyer consultation near me since our criminal defense attorneys in Atlanta know how confusing a DUI in Georgia criminal charge can be. All three partners are have publications in national legal books on drunk driving.

If your pending case is in South Georgia, even though we defend clients statewide, our Atlanta law office can suggest DUI lawyers near me, regardless of where you live. Call us at (404) 567-5515 for initial FREE legal advice.

GA DDS Phone Number

All seven locations shown below offer EXTENDED HOURS of operation:

ALL OFFICES ARE CLOSED ON MONDAYS

Tuesday – Friday: 7:30 AM – 6:30 PM

Saturday: 7:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Caution: If a State holiday occurs on a Monday or a Friday, be certain to check online for SPECIAL HOURS of operation.

Fulton County DDS Offices

DDS/DMV Atlanta GA Downtown Location

400 Whitehall Street SW
Atlanta, GA 30303

North Fulton/DMV Alpharetta

11575 Maxwell Road
Alpharetta, GA 30009

Cobb County DMV/DDS Offices

West and Central/Marietta Location

1605 County Services Pkwy
Marietta, GA 30008

North Cobb/Kennesaw Location

3690 Old 41 Hwy NW
Kennesaw, GA 30144

Gwinnett County DMV Offices

Lawrenceville DDS Office

310 Hurricane Shoals Rd NE
Lawrenceville, GA 30046

Norcross DDS/DMV Office

2211 Beaver Ruin Rd
Norcross, GA 30071

DeKalb County DMV-DDS Office Location

2801 Candler Road
Suite 82
Decatur, GA 30034

William C (Bubba) Head Named 16 Straight Years to Super Lawyers and one of Georgia’s four Board-Certified attorneys for DUI in GA

Super Lawyers Rising Star Cory Yager

Atlanta Super Lawyer Larry Kohn

Helpful Links About Our Award-Winning Georgia DUI Attorneys

William C (Bubba) Head Named 16 Straight Years to Super Lawyers and one of Georgia’s four Board-Certified attorneys for DUI in GA

Super Lawyers Rising Star Cory Yager

Atlanta Super Lawyer Larry Kohn

Important Georgia DUI Laws That May Be of Interest

Main DUI statute: O.C.G.A. 40-6-391

Georgia DUI Schools for Risk Reduction DUI Classes

Alcohol and Drug Substance Abuse Counselor Link

Links Related to Administrative License Suspension in GA

Implied Consent Statute: O.C.G.A. 40-5-55

Implied Consent Notice: O.C.G.A. 40-5-67.1 relating to driver’s license suspension or revocation

The new 2017 law on the Ignition Interlock Option for drivers who refused to take the post-arrest Implied Consent Test