When you are arrested for DUI in California you have ten days to request a hearing with the DMV. If you do not, your license is automatically suspended. If you do, you can ask it to be delayed usually until after the criminal charges are resolved. If you are convicted of DUI the court notifies the DMV, who suspends your license. If you lose the DMV hearing, the DMV suspends your license. However, if you win in court and are acquitted of the charges of DUI ( Vehicle Code 23152(a) or (b)) then the DMV suspension may be reversed.
Can I get a restricted license after a DUI?
Yes. Depending upon the circumstances, you may apply for a restricted license to go to work or school. If the court suspends your license you can apply immediately. If the DMV suspends your license, you must wait 30 days to apply for the restricted license, using form SR-22. So in order to get a license immediately, you must win the DMV hearing, which is an uphill battle, considering your license is a privilege, unlike your freedom which is a fundamental right.
13352. (a) The department shall immediately suspend or revoke the privilege of a person to operate a motor vehicle upon the receipt of an abstract of the record of a court showing that the person has been convicted of a violation of Vehicle Code 23152 (a) or (b) or Vehicle Code 23153, subdivision (a) of Section 23109, or Section 23109.1, or upon the receipt of a report of a judge of the juvenile court, a juvenile traffic hearing officer, or a referee of a juvenile court showing that the person has been found to have committed a violation of Section 23152 or 23153 or subdivision (a) of Section 23109 or Section 23109.1. If an offense specified in this section occurs in a vehicle defined in Section 15210, the suspension or revocation specified below shall apply to the noncommercial driving privilege. The commercial driving privilege shall be disqualified as specified in Sections 15300 to 15302, inclusive. For the purposes of this section, suspension or revocation shall be as follows: (1) Except as required under Section 13352.1 or 13352.4, upon a conviction or finding of a violation of Section 23152 punishable under Section 23536, the privilege shall be suspended for a period of six months. The privilege shall not be reinstated until the person gives proof of financial responsibility and gives proof satisfactory to the department of successful completion of a driving-under-the-influence program licensed pursuant to Section 11836 of the Health and Safety Code described in subdivision (b) of Section 23538. If the court, as authorized under paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 23646, elects to order a person to enroll in, participate in, and complete either program described in subdivision (b) of Section 23542, the department shall require that program in lieu of the program described in subdivision (b) of Section 23538. For the purposes of this paragraph, enrollment in, participation in, and completion of an approved program shall be subsequent to the date of the current violation. Credit shall not be given to any program activities completed prior to the date of the current violation.
213353.2. (a) The department shall immediately suspend the privilege of a person to operate a motor vehicle for any one of the following reasons:(1) The person was driving a motor vehicle when the person had 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood. (2) The person was under 21 years of age and had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.01 percent or greater, as measured by a preliminary alcohol screening test, or other chemical test. (3) The person was driving a vehicle that requires a commercial driver’s license when the person had 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood. (4) The person was driving a motor vehicle when both of the following applied: (A) The person was on probation for a violation of Section 23152 or 23153. (B) The person had 0.01 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood, as measured by a preliminary alcohol screening test or other chemical test.
order of suspension of a person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle pursuant to Section 13353.2 shall become effective 30 days after the person is served with the notice pursuant to Section 13382 or 13388, or subdivision (b) of Section 13353.2. (b) The period of suspension of a person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle under Section 13353.2 is as follows:
(1) If the person has not been convicted of a separate violation of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, or Section 23140, 23152, or 23153, or Section 191.5 or subdivision (a) of Section 192.5 of the Penal Code, the person has not been administratively determined to have refused chemical testing pursuant to Section 13353 or 13353.1, or the person has not been administratively determined to have been driving with an excessive concentration of alcohol pursuant to Section 13353.2 on a separate occasion, which offense or occurrence occurred within 10 years of the occasion in question, the person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle shall be suspended for four months. (2) (A) If the person has been convicted of one or more separate violations of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, or Section 23140, 23152, or 23153, or Section 191.5 or subdivision (a) of Section 192.5 of the Penal Code, the person has been administratively determined to have refused chemical testing pursuant to Section 13353 or 13353.1, or the person has been administratively determined to have been driving with an excessive concentration of alcohol pursuant to Section 13353.2 on a separate occasion, which offense or occasion occurred within 10 years of the occasion in question, the person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle shall be suspended for one year, except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C). (B) The one–year suspension pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall terminate if the person has been convicted of a violation arising out of the same occurrence and all of the following conditions are met: (i) The person is eligible for a restricted driver’s license pursuant to Section 13352. (ii) The person installs an ignition interlock device as required in Section 13352 for that restricted driver’s license. (iii) The person complies with all other applicable conditions of Section 13352 for a restricted driver’s license.
13353.7. (a) Subject to subdivision (c), if the person whose driving privilege has been suspended under Section 13353.2 has not been convicted of, or found to have committed, a separate violation of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, or Section 23140, 23152, or 23153 of this code, or Section 191.5 or subdivision (a) of Section 192.5 of the Penal Code, and if the person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle has not been suspended or revoked pursuant to Section 13353 or 13353.2 for an offense that occurred on a separate occasion within 10 years of the occasion in question and, if the person subsequently enrolls in a driving-under-the-influence program licensed under Section 11836 of the Health and Safety Code, as described in subdivision (b) of Section 23538, that person, if 21 years of age or older at the time the offense occurred, may apply to the department for a restricted driver’s license limited to travel to and from the activities required by the program and to and from and in the course of the person’s employment. After receiving proof of enrollment in the program, and if the person has not been arrested subsequent to the offense for which the person’s driving privilege has been suspended under Section 13353.2 for a violation of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, or Section 23140, 23152, or 23153 of this code, or Section 191.5 or subdivision (a) of Section 192.5 of the Penal Code, and if the person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle has not been suspended or revoked pursuant to Section 13353 or 13353.2 for an offense that occurred on a separate occasion, notwithstanding Section 13551, the department shall, after review pursuant to Section 13557, suspend the person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle for 30 days and then issue the person a restricted driver’s license under the following conditions. (1) The program shall report any failure to participate in the program to the department and shall certify successful completion of the program to the department. (2) The person was 21 years of age or older at the time the offense occurred and gives proof of financial responsibility as defined in Section 16430. (3) The restriction shall be imposed for a period of five months.(4) If a person who has been issued a restricted license under this section fails at any time to participate in the program, the department shall suspend the restricted license immediately. The department shall give notice of the suspension under this paragraph in the same manner as prescribed in subdivision (b) of Section 13353.2 for the period specified in Section 13353.3, that is effective upon receipt by the person.
13353.3 (C) The one–year suspension pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall terminate after completion of a 90–day suspension period, and the person shall be eligible for a restricted license if the person has been convicted of a violation of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, arising out of the same occurrence, has no more than two prior alcohol–related convictions within 10 years, as specified pursuant to subparagraph (A). , and all of the following conditions are met:(i) The person satisfactorily provides, subsequent to the underlying violation date, proof satisfactory to the department of enrollment in a nine–month drivingunder–the–influence program licensed pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 11836) of Part 2 of Division 10.5 of the Health and Safety Code that consists of at least 60 hours of program activities, including education, group counseling, and individual interview sessions. (ii) The person agrees, as a condition of the restriction, to continue satisfactory participation in the program described in clause (i)., (iii) The person installs an ignition interlock device and submits the “Verification of Installation” form described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (h) of Section 13386.,(iv) The person agrees to maintain the ignition interlock device as required pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 23575.(v) The person provides proof of financial responsibility, as defined in Section 16430, (vi) The person pays all license fees and any restriction fee required by the department, (vii) The person pays to the department a fee sufficient to cover the costs of administration of this paragraph, as determined by the department.
