Georgia DUI 10 Day Rule


Get Your DUI Case Evaluation NowIn being charged with DUI, there are certain circumstances under which the law allows for immediate suspension of your driver’s license for up to one year. It is your responsibility to request a special hearing with the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) within ten days to keep your driver’s license intact. If you do not do so, you can lose your driving privileges for up to one year.

These are the circumstances:
  • Refusal to cooperate with a breath test, blood, or urine test to determine BAC (blood-alcohol content).
  • Refusal to cooperate with a request to perform standardized field sobriety tests.
  • A driver under the age of 21 with a BAC result of .02 or more.
  • Driving with a commercial driver’s license and have a BAC result of .04 or more.
It is important to involve an attorney in your case, because your license can be suspended even if you were not convicted of DUI. Simply refusing to cooperate with the required tests is sufficient for you to lose your license. This is because when you signed the application forms for your driver’s license, you agreed to cooperate with requests by law enforcement officers. Many defense attorneys challenge this law. Their position is that in today’s world a person must have a vehicle in order to lead a normal life, and therefore a person could not refuse to sign the application for a driver’s license, even if they feel the request is unreasonable.

If you refused to cooperate with BAC testing, an officer files a DPS Form 1205 with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). This form initiates the suspension of your driver’s license. It is your responsibility to initiate a hearing to refute this suspension. The hearing with the DMV is separate from the criminal hearing on your DUI.

You have ten business days starting on the day after your arrest to request a hearing for reinstatement of your license. If you miss setting a hearing, you can request that your license be reinstated at your criminal hearing on the DUI; otherwise your license will be automatically suspended for one year.

A CDL (commercial driver’s license) is automatically suspended for one year if you are arrested for DUI and your BAC was .04 or higher or you refused to submit to the chemical tests (either blood, urine, or the Breathalyzer tests). Again, it is your responsibility to set a hearing to have your license reinstated.

Contact DUI Lawyer Frank Gomez today for a free assessment of your case.