How a request for a license hearing works

The request goes to the licensing authority that the state's law names, and the name of that authority varies among the example states. Missouri's statute, for example, lets a person who has received a notice of suspension or revocation request a review of the department's determination at a hearing. Idaho's statute requires the request to be received by the department, and Nebraska's statute requires the petition to be delivered to the department or postmarked. Arkansas's statute ties the hearing to a request received by the Office of Driver Services, and South Dakota's rule requires a written request to the department.

In the District of Columbia, DC DMV guidance describes scheduling a permit hearing by mail or in person. In Georgia, Department of Driver Services guidance describes the channels licensed drivers can use to submit an Administrative License Suspension hearing request. Both of those sources are agency web pages, not statutes, and they describe the agency's own process.

South Dakota, New Mexico, Idaho and Arkansas each require a written request. South Dakota's rule provides that the person "shall submit a written request to the department." New Mexico's statute provides that the hearing request "shall be made in writing," and Idaho's statute provides that the request "shall be in writing." Arkansas's statute grants the opportunity to be heard "upon the written request" of the person whose driving privilege is affected or who received the officer's notice.

Georgia's DDS guidance describes online, mail and in-person channels for licensed drivers: the Online Services account, the postal service, or a visit to a Customer Service Center. It also states that a mailed form must be sent to the correct address based on the reason for appeal, with different addresses for different reasons. DC DMV guidance describes scheduling a permit hearing in person at DC DMV Adjudication Services or by mail, with notice of the hearing date sent back by return mail.

Georgia's DDS guidance states that the ALS hearing request must be submitted and the appropriate fees paid within the required appeal period, and that the form must be fully completed. Georgia's appeals rule also requires the request to be signed by the party requesting the hearing or by the party's counsel, if represented by counsel.

New Mexico's statute requires the written request to be accompanied by a payment or by a sworn statement of indigency on a form provided by the department, and it allows the person or the person's agent to request the hearing. Idaho's statute requires the request to include the issue or issues that will be raised at the hearing.

DC DMV guidance asks the driver to present or include a copy of the driver license, the Order of Proposed Revocation, the court disposition and other relevant court documents. Nebraska's statute, in the branch where the director mails the notice of revocation, requires the person to return the operator's license with the petition requesting the hearing, and the director must deny a petition that does not include it.

The example jurisdictions do not use the same test for timeliness. Idaho's statute requires that the request "must be received by the department" within the stated period, and Arkansas's statute applies if the request "is received by the Office of Driver Services" within its period. DC DMV guidance likewise says the request must be received. Those sources tie timeliness to receipt by the agency.

South Dakota's rule draws a line by method: a mailed request must be postmarked within the period, while a faxed request must be received within it. Nebraska's statute accepts a petition that is completed and delivered to the department or postmarked within the period. Georgia's appeals rule treats an administrative license suspension appeal as timely if received or postmarked within the period, and it states that the hearings unit will not accept hearing requests by fax.

These distinctions come from the wording of each source. A lawyer licensed in the state can explain how that state's test applies to a particular notice and a particular method of filing.

The event that starts the filing period is defined by each source, and the example jurisdictions use different events. Nebraska's statute measures the period from the arrest when the arresting officer served the notice of revocation, and from the mailing of the notice when the director served it by mail. New Mexico's statute measures the period from receipt of the notice of revocation, and it defines the notice date as the date the officer served written notice or, when chemical test results cannot be obtained immediately, the date the department's certified-mail notice is deemed served under the statute.

Idaho's statute measures the period from service of the notice of suspension and the notice of the requirement to install an ignition interlock system, and the hearing it describes may address only the suspension, not the interlock requirement. South Dakota's rule measures the period from the date of the department's notice of intent to withdraw driving privileges, and it applies only to the department notices it names. Missouri's statute measures the period from receipt of the notice. DC DMV guidance measures it from service of the Official Notice of Proposed Revocation, with different periods for DC residents and non-DC residents.

This guide does not state the length of any period or calculate any date.

In several of the example sources, a request that misses the period or the form requirements can cost the hearing itself. New Mexico's statute provides that failure to request a hearing in time "shall result in forfeiture of the person's right to a hearing." Nebraska's statute provides that, without a timely petition, the person's right to an administrative license revocation hearing to contest the revocation "will be foreclosed."

Georgia's DDS guidance states that if the form is not fully completed and submitted within the required appeal period, the request for hearing will be rejected and the right to appeal will be waived. Georgia's appeals rule adds a route for a request that has been deemed untimely: the licensee may request reconsideration by mail, in writing, with the reasons for the late request and supporting documentation. The rule makes the decision on that request a final decision of the Department.

The Nebraska requirement to return the license with the petition, in the mailed-notice branch, is another point where an incomplete request leads to denial.

This depends on the specific statute, and the example sources describe particular documents with particular conditions. Arkansas's statute provides that the officer's dated receipt for a seized license "shall be recognized as a license" for a limited period, that a hearing request does not stay the suspension, revocation, disqualification or denial until the hearing is decided, and that a temporary permit issues if the Office of Driver Services cannot hold the hearing within its period.

Missouri's statute provides that, at the time the request is made, the department issues a temporary permit if the record shows the person holds a valid Missouri license and the license has been surrendered; the statute says that permit is valid until the scheduled hearing date. Nebraska's statute has the arresting officer take possession of the operator's license and issue a temporary operator's license for a limited period. New Mexico's statute provides that upon a continuance, the department extends the validity of the temporary license for the period of the postponement. Idaho's statute provides that an extension of the hearing date does not operate as a stay of the suspension.

None of these provisions is a general statement that a person may drive. Whether any document applies to a particular person is a question for a lawyer licensed in that state.

The filing period, any fee and the length of any temporary document come from each state's own law, which may be a statute, a regulation or agency guidance. Those details are kept on the state pages rather than in this guide.

A lawyer licensed in the state can answer questions such as which notice started the period, what the licensing authority counts as filed, what the request must contain, and what document, if any, applies while the request is pending.

• Arkansas license-suspension information
• District of Columbia license-suspension information
• Georgia license-suspension information
• Idaho license-suspension information
• Missouri license-suspension information
• Nebraska license-suspension information
• New Mexico license-suspension information
• South Dakota license-suspension information

Deadlines, limits and penalty ranges are set by each state’s statutes, so this page does not state them. Each state page shows them with the official source and the date they were verified — or says plainly that a figure has not been confirmed yet.