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FAQ

Defending your License from the DMV

Immediately following your arrest for a DUI/DWI, the Department of Motor Vehicles will impose sanctions upon for your arrest. The Department of Motor Vehicles is a administrative agency and is not subject to the authority of the legal system. Therefore, the Department of Motor Vehicles can act upon its own authority.

The main weapon of punishment that the Department of Vehicles will impose upon you following your arrest for Driving under the Influence is to automatically revoke your driving privileges, your driving license.

Understanding how to challenge this license revocation and what defenses are available is critical during the first (10) days following your arrest for driving under the influence. Below, we have provided relevant pieces that you should be aware of regarding action the Department of Motor Vehicles will take following your arrest for drunk driving.

ONE: If you need to save your driver's license or privileges, such as a commercial driver, you or your attorney have only ten (10)days to contact the DMV!

TWO: The ten (10) day time limit is computed from the Issue date of the ORDER OF SUSPENSION/TEMPORARY DRIVER LICENSE ENDORSEMENT. If time is running out or you are late, contact an attorney ASAP.

THREE: ORDER OF SUSPENSION/TEMPORARY DRIVER LICENSE ENDORSEMENT is the white California DMV paper with blue lettering (called a DS 360 form in the lower left-hand corner).

FOUR: If you are under age 21, the DMV paper has green lettering (called a DS 360A form in the lower left-hand corner).

FIVE: Even if you did not receive this DMV paper, the California DMV will probably take action against your driving privileges following your arrest for drunk driving.

SIX: Even if you have a license from another state, and even if the officer did not take your license, that state may also take action against your driving privileges.

SEVEN: If a DMV hearing is requested within ten (10) days, your DMV TEMPORARY will be extended & there will be a stay (delay) of any suspension until the outcome of your DMV hearing is determined.

EIGHT: A TEMPORARY DRIVER LICENSE ENDORSEMENT is valid for only thirty (30) days from the issue date.

NINE: Do not confuse this initial 30 day TEMPORARY DRIVER LICENSE with your court date! The DMV and criminal proceedings are separate and independent. The outcome of one almost never affects the other. Sometimes the officer or the DMV paper confuses or misleads you to believe that the TEMPORARY DRIVER LICENSE is good "until the court date". If there are approximately thirty (30) days from your arrest date to your court date, this may just be a dangerous coincidence. There usually are months before your DMV hearing takes place.

TEN: There are three (3) issues at the hearing if you completed a chemical test. (See reverse side of DMV paper).

A. Whether the officer had probable cause to stop or contact you or whether the chemical test evidence can be challenged.

B. The DMV has the burden of proof to prevail on all three (3) issues. If DMV meets the burden of proof on two (2) issues, you win!

C. All a DMV attorney has to do is knock out one (1) DMV issue to save your license & you avoid any reissue fee and/or Proof of Insurance SR-22 filing!

This information is simply provided to provide with some basic understanding of the administrative process that co-exists with the judicial system but imposes separate and distinct penalties upon you. For additional reading, we recommend that you learn more about your legal rights in our Rules and Rights during a arrest.

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