License Suspension, Reinstatement, and Driving Privileges

Without a driver's license it is very hard to hold or look for a job, get your kids to school, take care of basic medical appointments or shop for food. Unfortunately, the process of avoiding the many types of license suspensions, or trying to get your license back once it has been suspended is often confusing and expensive.

Just trying to understand when and how you can get partial privileges can overwhelm someone who doesn't deal with the system on a regular basis. Many people give up and do without, or drive while still suspended, risking jail time, further suspensions, fines and additional reinstatement expenses. If you have a basic guide to the types of suspension, and the procedures involved in modifying or challenging them, you might be able to avoid a lot of these problems. Although your license can be suspended for many different reasons, there are two basic types of suspension--court and administrative.

Court Suspensions

A court may suspend your license if you are convicted of a charge that requires or permits a license suspension as part of the penalty. Some examples would be:

1. Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
2. Leaving the scene of an accident
3. Vehicular assault or vehicular homicide
4. Any drug related offense, whether felony or misdemeanor

The court is required to suspend your license if you fail to show proof that you had liability insurance when you were stopped for any moving violation, and fail to bring proof to court to correct that problem. Your traffic citation should have a check off for proof of insurance when shown to the officer at the time of the stop. If that box isn't checked, you must show proof when you come to court, or the judge will suspend your license.

How to Avoid, Modify or Reinstate a Court Suspension

Many court suspensions are mandatory once you are convicted of certain offenses, or fail to show insurance. The best way to avoid suspension in those cases is to either contest your citation and win, or to negotiate a plea to a charge that doesn't involve a mandatory suspension. It is often possible to plead to a reduced charge and avoid losing your license in court. You will probably want an attorney to help you do this, since an attorney is more likely to be familiar with the policies of a certain judge or prosecutor, and better able to identify and suggest the appropriate charge to seek. If it isn't possible to avoid a suspension altogether, it may be possible to get limited driving privileges from the judge, or to have the suspension terminated early. Generally, only the judge that imposed you suspension can modify or terminate it. You will need to file a motion requesting limited privileges or early termination if you are asking after your case is over. The judge will not grant privileges if you are under any other suspensions, or if you don't have liability insurance. There may also be reinstatement fees or other requirements from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles before any privileges are valid.

Administrative Suspensions

The suspensions are generally imposed by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles that issued your license. The list of reasons for imposing an administrative license suspension keeps getting longer, but here are some of the most common:

1. Too many "points" assessed for moving violations within a certain period of time.
2. Failure to show proof of liability insurance when requested by the Bureau if you have a car registered in your name.
3. Refusing to take a drug or alcohol test when stopped for driving under the influence, or taking a test that show you were over the legal limit.
4. Failure to maintain or keep up payment for a financial responsibility bond (SR-22) if you are required to have one as a result of your record.
5. Failure to show proof of insurance when stopped or after an accident.
6. Failure to pay a ticket or go to court in any state. (Other states will notify the state that issued your license and you will be suspended until you take care of the ticket.)
7. Having an accident without insurance and failing to pay for the damage to another person or vehicle.
8. Falling too far behind on child support payments.

You can be under an administrative suspension without knowing that your license has been suspended. The BMV is supposed to notify you by mail when a suspension is imposed, but they send the notice to the address on your license. If you haven't updated that information after a move, you may never get it.

There are times when you can contest an administrative suspension and keep your license. Sometimes points are not calculated correctly. You may be able to prove you had insurance even though the BMV was told you didn't show it.

If the suspension is properly imposed, you can have it terminated or modified in certain cases. If you owe reinstatement fees and can't pay all at once, you can ask the court to establish a payment plan and give you limited privileges as long as you make payments. The same kind of arrangement can work when you owe for damages from an accident without insurance. Some courts have programs to help fathers with child support arrearages get work and start catching up. They often work with you on the license suspension if you are willing to work on the arrearage. If you are suspended for an out of state ticket, you can arrange to pay the ticket and seek reinstatement.

Dealing with the BMV doesn't have to leave you feeling helpless or confused. With patience it is possible to work out most license problems. If you continue to drive under suspension, you will end up spending far more on fines, court appearances, bond, missed work and aggravation. Discuss your license problems with an experienced attorney and together you can plan the steps to solving those problems.