What happens after a DUI arrest: the license paperwork, read first

This guide takes up license paperwork before the court case. It draws only on passages from statutes and agency guidance in Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico and Pennsylvania, and it names the state behind the rule it describes. Nothing here is a rule for any other state. Nothing here calculates a deadline for a particular person.

The passages used here do not address release conditions, bail, arraignment or court scheduling, so this guide does not discuss them. The court process is covered in separate guides, including a step-by-step overview of the DUI court process. Where a passage is agency guidance rather than a statute, the guide says so.

Arkansas's statute, A.C.A. § 5-65-402, provides that if a license, permit, or other evidence of driving privilege seized by the arresting officer has not expired and otherwise appears valid to the officer, the officer issues the arrested person a dated receipt on a form prescribed by the Office of Driver Services. That receipt form contains and constitutes a notice of suspension, disqualification, or revocation of driving privileges by the Office of Driver Services. It also contains the office's phone numbers and address and informs the driver of the procedure for requesting a hearing.

In Nebraska, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-498.01 provides that an arresting peace officer who submits a sworn report under the statute serves notice of the revocation on the arrested person on behalf of the director. The notice of revocation contains a statement explaining the operation of the administrative license revocation procedure. The officer also provides information prepared and approved by the director describing how to request an administrative license revocation hearing or apply for certain permits that the statute names.

New Mexico's statute, N.M. Stat. Ann. § 66-8-112, identifies one date of notice of revocation as the date the law enforcement officer serves written notice of revocation and of right to a hearing.

Michigan's statute, MCL 257.625e, provides that if a person refuses to submit to a chemical test under the section it references, the peace officer shall immediately notify the person in writing that the person may request a hearing within a period measured from the date of the notice. The form of that notice is prescribed and furnished by Michigan's secretary of state.

Idaho Code § 18-8002A provides that a person who has been served with a notice of suspension and notice of the requirement to install the ignition interlock system after submitting to an evidentiary test may request an administrative hearing on the suspension before a hearing officer designated by the department.

The District of Columbia DMV, on its Virtual Hearings page, says that drivers who have been served with a Notice of Proposed Revocation should request a hearing by the deadline listed on the form to avoid revocation of their DC driver license or privilege to drive in the District of Columbia. That page is agency guidance, not a statute.

PennDOT's online Driver's Manual, which is also agency guidance, says that if a driving privilege is going to be suspended, revoked, and/or disqualified, a written notice will be mailed listing the date when the sanction will begin. In both passages, the deadline or date in question appears on the notice or form itself rather than in the guidance text described here.

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-498.01 addresses a situation with three conditions: the results of a chemical test indicate the presence of alcohol in a concentration specified in another section of Nebraska law, the results are not available to the arresting officer while the arrested person is in custody, and the notice of revocation has not been served at the arrest. In that situation, the officer forwards a sworn report to the director within a period the statute sets. Upon receipt of the report, the director serves the notice of revocation on the arrested person by mail to the address appearing on the director's records, along with a statement explaining the administrative license revocation procedure and information describing how to request a hearing.

N.M. Stat. Ann. § 66-8-112 provides that, in the event the results of a chemical test cannot be obtained immediately, the date of notice of revocation is the date notice of revocation is served by mail by the department. That notice of revocation and of right to a hearing is sent by certified mail.

Under A.C.A. § 5-65-402, when the license, permit, or other evidence of driving privilege seized by the arresting officer has not expired and otherwise appears valid to the officer, the officer issues the arrested person a dated receipt for it on a form prescribed by the Office of Driver Services.

Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-498.01, if the person has an operator's license, the arresting peace officer takes possession of the license and issues a temporary operator's license valid for a period the statute sets. The officer forwards the operator's license to the department along with the sworn report.

PennDOT's guidance, which is not a statute, says the driver's license and/or learner's permit or camera card must be returned to the Bureau of Driver Licensing by the effective date of the sanction listed on the notice, or the state police and local police will be notified to pick up the license. The same guidance says suspensions, revocations, and disqualifications start on the effective date listed in the notice of sanction regardless of when a license or acknowledgment form is surrendered, and that surrendering either item before that date will not start the sanction early.

A.C.A. § 5-65-402 provides that a notice from the Office of Driver Services that is not personally delivered is sent by "first class mail" to the last known address on file with the office and is deemed delivered on the date when postmarked. Refusal of the addressee to accept delivery, or attempted delivery of the notice at the address obtained by the arresting officer or on file with the office, does not constitute nonreceipt of notice. For a notice that is personally delivered, the person is asked to sign a receipt acknowledging receipt of the notice.

Under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 66-8-112, when chemical test results cannot be obtained immediately, the department serves notice of revocation by certified mail. That notice is deemed served on the date borne by the return receipt showing delivery, refusal of the addressee to accept delivery, or attempted delivery at the address obtained by the arresting officer or on file with the department.

Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-498.01, when chemical test results indicate alcohol in a concentration specified in another section of Nebraska law, the results are not available to the arresting officer while the person is in custody, and the notice of revocation was not served at the arrest, the director mails the notice to the address on the director's records upon receiving the officer's sworn report. If that address differs from the officer's report address, the notice is sent to both.

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.