A common question that we get is how to request an administrative license suspension hearing for a Georgia DUI. For a lot of people, this can be their first time dealing with the law, having to go through the criminal justice system, and it can be intimidating for them. Our criminal defense attorneys are here to help you understand how to request an administrative license suspension hearing and what needs to be in that request for it to be valid.
If you need specific legal advice for your case, please contact our office to request a consultation. I would caution you against requesting this hearing without knowing if that’s what you need to do in your case. There are some strategic reasons that it can make sense to request this hearing or not to request this hearing, and going through that with counsel is going to be the best way to make that decision.
Now, if you know you need to request an administrative license suspension hearing for your Georgia DUI, there are certain steps that you need to take. You’re probably wanting to request this hearing because you received a DDS-1205 when the officer charged you with DUI. Now, on the back of that form are actually instructions on how to request this hearing, which is what we’re going to go over.
One of the key things to know when you’re requesting an administrative license suspension hearing is that the request has to be postmarked within 30 days of your being charged with the DUI charge. The next thing to be aware of is including a $150 check to pay for that administrative license suspension hearing.
Now, while it’s not a requirement, we always recommend sending off these requests via certified mail. And when you send it via certified mail, you’re going to have documentation that shows that you sent off this request, what date it was sent.
They’re going to have to sign for it to show that they received it, and you’ll be able to track the fact that you made this request, so there can’t be any question of whether you conducted this hearing within that 30-day deadline or not.
When you send off this request, you will send it to the Department of Driver Services at their Records Management Department, which is at P.O. Box 80447 in Conyers, GA 30013. Now, there’s certain information that must be included in this request. You have to include your:
But really, if you have an attorney in this process, they should be assisting you with this. You must also include what you’re challenging about the administrative license suspension hearing and a list of any witnesses you plan to call at that hearing.
If you’re wondering what to use, what type of format, and how to make this look, the Department of Driver Services has created a form you can use to request this hearing which is available on our website.
At the top of the form, you will mark whether you’re doing this for a DUI administrative license suspension or an implied consent suspension.
Now, the DUI administrative suspension is usually when you took a test, and your test results were over the legal limit, while an implied consent suspension is usually when you refused to take a test, or they allege that you refused to take a test. Then, they’ll have all the other information that needs to be filled in on this form. You’ll fill it out, sign it, and send it to the address.
As we’ve outlined, send it via certified mail with the required money or money order. If you do this via money order, make sure that you keep the stub.
When you get the certified mailing put together, when you have the form filled out, and when you have a money order, we recommend taking pictures of it on your phone. That way, you don’t lose it. That way, it’s easier than getting a photocopy. When you take pictures on your phone, email them to yourself or somebody else.
So that way, if your phone breaks or gets lost, something happens to your phone, and you lose your pictures, you still have another copy of it. Because if this is not done properly within the 30 days that are allowed by the law, you lose the opportunity to challenge the administrative license suspension.
If you’re facing a Georgia DUI, and you’re unsure of whether you should be completing an administrative license hearing request, you don’t know what this is, if it applies to you, contact our office to learn how we can help you go through that determination and to help you represent you through the process.
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