When your driver’s license has been suspended or revoked, there are certain things you must do in order to get it back (restored/reinstated). The first step is to obtain a copy of your driving record to determine your eligibility for reinstatement of your driver’s license. You can order your driving record by going to the SOS’s website and requesting an online copy or you can request a copy in person at a branch. The cost for your driving record is about $16. (To note, if you retain our office we will order the driving record for you at no cost to you.)
Once you have your driving record you can review it to determine your eligibility date for a driver’s license restoration. You can look at everything below “End of Record History” to determine any and all current barriers that you need to address to have your license restored. This section will include information such as dates, locations and specific offenses. It may also include suspension or revocation dates. Suspensions can be definite or indefinite, or you could have multiple/both definite and indefinite suspensions on your driving record.
Definite suspensions will list a specific period, “from” and through” dates on your driving record. Once the through date has passed, you can go to your local SOS branch and pay a $125 reinstatement fee to restore your license.
Indefinite suspensions have no through date. This means these suspensions don’t have a pre-decided reinstatement date. Some common reasons why a driver may have an indefinite license suspension are:
Alcohol and drug related driving offenses
Failure to appear at court for a misdemeanor traffic violation
Failure to comply with a judgment
No proof of car insurance
Drug and Alcohol Related Offenses
If your driver’s license was revoked for Operating While Intoxicated (OWI, the penalties are more severe than many other traffic related offenses. OWI can refer to operating under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or both.
If you had an OWI, your driving record may say “Administrative Denied and Revoked.” If it does, look to see if there is an “eligible for review” date. That is the date that you will be able to petition the SOS to reinstate your driver’s license. You cannot petition the SOS to restore your license until that “Eligible for Review” date.
In order to restore your driver’s license after an OWI related revocation, you must have a hearing with the Office of Hearings and Administrative Oversight (OHAO). In order to have a hearing with OHAO, you must submit a petition/packet with all of the required documentation.
The OHAO requires:
A minimum of three letters in support. These letters must have very specific information, including your sobriety date(s), how often they see you, how they know you, etc.
A Request for Hearing (257) form. Completed, filled out, and signed.
A Substance Use Evaluation (258) form. Completed by a licensed substance use evaluator.
A 12 panel drug test with at least two integrity variables.
Your evidence must support that you are sober and going to stay sober in the future. The SOS requires that you have at least 12 months of complete sobriety.
Once you submit all of those documents to the SOS they will schedule a hearing date for you with a specific hearing officer. It is random assignment, you do not get to choose your hearing officer nor date/time of your hearing. The hearing will be held via Microsoft Teams (video).
During the hearing, the hearing officer will listen to your testimony and review all of your documentation before deciding whether to issue you a license and if so, what type (restricted/full). It is extremely important that all of your evidence and testimony remains consistent throughout your paperwork and hearing itself.
If you are looking for an attorney to assist with getting your driver’s license restored we have a streamlined process to make this monumental task easy and straightforward!
Contact our office today for a free confidential consultation to discs your options today!