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What Happens To My Driver’s License After I Have Been Charged With A DUI?

There are two reasons police can take away your driver's license when you are arrested. One is if you blow over 0.08. The other is if you refuse a breath test or if they have reasonable suspicion or probable cause to ask for a urine sample, and you refuse to give them that. After they take your license, the license is sent to the Department of Motor Vehicles. When you are charged with DUI, police issue you a citation, which is a temporary driver's license that lasts for 10 days. It is an unrestricted driver's license and allows you to drive anywhere, anytime, for any purpose. But only for 10 days.

During that 10 day period, you have to decide whether you are going to challenge your license suspension or to accept your license suspension and apply for a “business purpose only” license (BPO). If you demand a hearing, they will issue a second temporary driver's license, which lasts for six weeks. During that six weeks, the DMV has to hold a hearing to determine whether or not the license was properly snatched by the police.

What Paperwork Do I Have Once I Am Released From Jail In A DUI Case?

When you leave the jail, you should have a citation for DUI, any other citations they might have issued you, a bond receipt, and a personal property inventory. Then, you'll get what's called a notice to appear, a written notice stating when you have to show up for your arraignment. The first thing you should do at this point is call a lawyer. There are some things that need to be done in pretty short order to make sure that you protect your right to drive and that means demanding a hearing or a getting a business purposes only license. 

Why We're Different

Board Certification as a DUI Specialist by the National College for DUI Defense. Formal NHTSA Certification as an Instructor of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests given by police in DUI cases. Formal training as a NHTSA Drug Recognition Evaluator. ("Drug Evaluation & Classification") Formal training to operate the Intoxilyzer 8000, Florida's official breath test instrument. Extensive experience in teaching other attorneys how to handle DUI cases. Hundreds of jury trials both as defense lawyer and as prosecutor.

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