California’s DUI laws can be complex and confusing. In this section, our attorneys break down the rules and explain the process.
DUI Laws A to Z
California’s DUI laws can be complex and confusing. In this section, our attorneys break down the rules and explain the process.
DUI Penalties
The impact of a DUI conviction can haunt a person for years to come. But a good attorney can often get penalties reduced…and sometimes even get the case dismissed
DMV & Licenses
A good DUI attorney may be able to get the license suspension reduced, or even avoided altogether
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Following a DUI conviction in California, you can get your license back after serving out the suspension and then reinstating your license with the DMV. Reinstatement will require 3 things:
Initiating reinstatement is not the same thing as challenging a license suspension. Reinstatement comes after you have completed your period of license suspension (and jail time if applicable) and allows you to once again receive a valid California driver’s license.
Challenging a suspension means that you request an APS hearing with the DMV to dispute the agency’s decision to suspend your driving privileges because of the DUI.2
Note that the total length that your driver’s license will be suspended for depends on:
There are several steps that you must take to reinstate your driver’s license following a DUI conviction. These include:
As to proof of financial responsibility, you typically perform this task by filing a Form SR-22 with the DMV. This is a form that your insurance company sends to the DMV after you inform it of the DUI. The action may result in the insurer increasing your insurance rates.
Reinstatement is not the same thing as challenging a Notice of Suspension.
Following a DUI arrest, the arresting officer provides you with a “Notice of Suspension.” This is a document that notifies you that:
You do have the right to challenge this suspension by requesting a DMV administrative hearing. Though you must make this request within 10 days from the date of the arrest.6
If a DMV hearing takes place, the meeting is conducted at a DMV office and is run by a hearing officer. This officer is a DMV employee that typically has no legal background.7
At a DMV hearing, the Department can go ahead and suspend your license if it proves that:
Unlike at a trial for a DUI, the Department does not have to prove these issues beyond a reasonable doubt. The standard of proof at these hearings is a lesser standard known as a preponderance of the evidence. The DMV satisfies this standard if it shows that the above issues are more likely than not to be true.9
A DMV suspension is a separate matter from a court suspension for a DUI.
The DMV can suspend your driver’s license following a DUI arrest. In addition, a court can order that your license be suspended following a conviction for DUI. The two types of suspensions involve separate proceedings from one another.
A court suspension can only occur, though, if:
How long it takes before your license can be reinstated will depend on:
For example, a suspension will be for a period of:
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.