A driver’s license revocation is different from a driver’s license suspension.
A driver’s license suspension occurs after all Michigan DUI/OWI charges. You can apply for limited driving privileges and will be issued a temporary driver’s license that allows you to drive to and from work or school, and to medical appointments.
A driver’s license revocation is much more serious and means that your driving privileges have been terminated and your driver’s license will not automatically be reinstated once a certain period of time has passed. Instead, you will need to re-apply for your driver’s license and re-take the driving exam.
If you have been designated a habitual drug or alcohol offender in Michigan, the law requires that the Michigan Secretary of State revoke your driver’s license.
Fortunately, you can appeal a driver’s license revocation. But the process is complicated and should not be attempted without the assistance of an experienced DUI/OWI defense lawyer.
Michigan Driver’s License Revocation
Your Michigan driver’s license will be revoked if you were classified as a habitual DUI offender or have a felony conviction that involves a motor vehicle. Your driver’s license is subject to revocation in any of the following scenarios:
- Two or more instances of OWI for involving drugs or alcohol within 7 years
- Three or more OWI offenses within 10 years
- A conviction for OWI that caused a serious personal injury
- A conviction for OWI that resulted in someone else’s death
- A felony conviction that results in a license revocation
Eligibility to Appeal a Michigan Driver’s License Revocation
If your driver’s license was revoked, you need to wait until you are eligible to apply for reinstatement of your driver’s license.
- If your license was revoked for 2 OWIs within 7 years, you must wait at least 1 full year from the date of your last conviction to be eligible to apply.
- If your license was revoked for 3 OWIs within 10 years, you must wait at least 5 years from the date of your last conviction to be eligible to apply.
You can file for your hearing up to 6 weeks before your actual eligibility date.
Evidence Required to Appeal a Revoked Michigan Driver’s License
If your Michigan driver’s license was revoked, you can appeal the revocation to the Office of Hearings and Administrative Oversight (OHAO), which was formerly known as the Driver License Appeal Division (DLAD).
If you wish to appeal the revocation of your Michigan driver’s license, there is a long list of evidence that must be submitted before you can request a hearing. Your application to appeal the revocation of your driver’s license must include:
- Form 258, a current substance use evaluation
- Form 257, the petitioner’s background
- A 12-panel drug screen with at least two integrity variables
- Between 3 and 6 community support letters from a cross-section of individuals such as family, co-workers, friends, and neighbors
- A doctor’s letter (depending upon your medical history and current use of certain prescribed drugs)
- A DI4P Physician’s Statement if a medical condition has caused impairment, loss of consciousness, or could affect safe driving
You may also wish to include evidence of your attendance at support meetings, counseling, or AA, and other documentation such as your completion of probation, sobriety court, etc.
The evidence you present must be consistent and must demonstrate that you are likely to remain sober, that you understand that you have a duty to protect the public and that you will never operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
During the hearing, the OHAO officer will ask questions about your history of substance abuse.
Restoring Your Michigan Driver’s License
If the appeal of your driver’s license revocation was successful, you will be allowed to drive, subject to certain restrictions and requirements. The OHAO will require the installation of a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID), and you will only be permitted to drive for certain designated purposes and during certain designated hours, such as to and from school or work and to medical appointments.
Circuit Court Appeals
If your driver’s license restoration appeal was unsuccessful, you may still be able to appeal the decision to the Circuit Court. When you file a circuit court appeal, you will be allowed to present additional evidence to correct any deficiencies that were present in your original restoration appeal.
In a circuit court appeal, the judge has the power to issue a restricted driver’s license, remand your case to the OHAO, or reinstate your full driving privileges.
If you wish to appeal an OHAO denial of your driver’s license restoration, you must file the appeal within 63 days from the final determination issued by the Secretary of State. Upon a showing of good cause, you may be eligible to receive an extension of up to 182 days from the final determination by the Secretary of State.
Most circuit court appeals come after the loss of a license restoration hearing when people want to restore their driver’s license without waiting another year for their second license restoration hearing. But you can also petition the circuit court for reinstatement of your driver’s license if you have a second refusal to submit to a chemical test and have waited at least a year or if you:
- Suffer from a physical or mental disability or disease that prevents you from exercising reasonable and ordinary control over a motor vehicle
- Were involved in an accident that resulted in the death of a person
- Have 12 or more points on your license
- Violated the terms of a restricted driver’s license
- Are serving an “additional like term” of suspension or revocation for driving while your license was suspended or revoked
Contact Elmen Legal for Qualified, Compassionate Representation
Appealing the revocation of your driver’s license is complicated and should not be attempted without the assistance of an experienced and qualified attorney. Elmen Legal can help. During our initial consultation, I will ask questions to help me prepare a comprehensive strategy that will maximize the likelihood of a successful appeal of your driver’s license revocation. I will then work to prepare and present the evidence necessary to appeal the revocation of your driver’s license.
Contact me today by calling (734) 707-8915, emailing robert@elmenlegal.com, or completing the online form. I proudly represent people in and around Ann Arbor and throughout Michigan and look forward to discussing how I can help you.