You’ve just been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, or for refusing to submit to a blood or breath alcohol test. You’ve been given a “notice of revocation”, saying that your driver’s license is about to be revoked. What do you do?
This post discusses what to do if your license is about to revoked for driving under the influence, or refusing to take an alcohol test. To find out how to obtain a reinstatement of a license that has been suspended for other reasons, click here.
First, your license will not be revoked until 30 days after you receive the notice. So, you have some time to decide what you want to do.
Note: The Oklahoma State Legislature has recently passed laws changing the procedure for revoking driver’s licenses. These changes go into effect November 1, 2019. This post will discuss what you can do under the current law, and what you can do when the new law goes into effect after November 1. To see what you can do under the new law effective November 1, scroll to the bottom of this post.
Current law:
Under the current law, you have two options:
You may request an administrative hearing with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS), or
You may request a modified driver’s license, which will allow you to drive only if your automobile is equipped with an ignition interlock device. This device prevents a vehicle from starting when the driver’s breath alcohol concentration exceeds a certain level.
Requesting an administrative hearing
If you request an administrative hearing, you must mail, or hand-deliver, your request, to DPS, within 15 days after you receive the notice of revocation. Click here to see the form that you would send to DPS, to request an administrative hearing.
After you send your request, it may take several weeks or months for DPS to schedule you a hearing. However, if you timely file your request, DPS will send you a temporary driver’s license, which will allow you to drive until your hearing.
At your hearing, you will have the right to present evidence, and the State will have the right to present evidence. Then, the hearing officer (who is similar to a judge) will decide either to 1) reinstate your driver’s license, or 2) revoke your license. If the hearing officer revokes your license, you may appeal to the district court in the county where you were arrested. If you lose in district court, you may appeal to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Click here to see the Oklahoma appellate process.
If DPS revokes your license at the administrative hearing, and you appeal, you may post a bond when you file your appeal. If you post a bond, then, while your appeal is pending, you may have a modified driver’s license (which means you’ll be able to drive only if your vehicle has an ignition interlock device.)
On appeal, the courts will hear your case. The courts can decide to either 1) revoke your driver’s license, 2) reinstate your driver’s license, or 3) allow you to drive with a modified license, under which you will only be allowed to drive if your vehicle has an ignition interlock device.
Requesting a modified driver’s license
This may be a safer choice. If you request an administrative hearing, and you lose at the hearing, you will lose your driver’s license. However, if you request a modified driver’s license, and DPS grants your request, you will still be allowed to drive, with an ignition interlock device.
To request a modified driver’s license, you must mail, or hand-deliver, your request, to DPS, within 15 days after you receive the notice of revocation. Click here to see the form that you would send to DPS, to request a modified license.
It may take several months for DPS to process your case and decide whether to grant you a modified driver’s license. However, if you timely file your request, DPS will send you a temporary license, which will allow you to drive until DPS makes a decision on granting you a modified driver’s license. (You may file your request for a modified driver’s license, later than 15 days after you receive the notice of revocation. However, if you file your request late, you will not be able to have a temporary driver’s license while you are waiting for DPS to act on your case.)
After DPS reviews your request (which may take several months), DPS will ask you to fill out an “Information for Modified Driver’s License”. You must fill out this form, and send the form to DPS, along with a $175.00 fee.
After you send this form to DPS, DPS has “discretion” to grant you a modified driver’s license – that is, DPS does not have to grant you a modified license, and they can revoke your license altogether if they so choose.
If DPS grants you a modified license, you will have to obtain an ignition interlock device, from an approved vendor. You may have this device installed on any vehicle you drive. You must have the ignition interlock device on this vehicle, whenever you drive, for a period of time determined by DPS. This modified license will allow you only to driver a “Class D” motor vehicle (that is, you will not be allowed to drive any vehicle which requires a commercial driver’s license.)
New law effective November 1, 2019:
The new law removes the provision for having administrative hearings before DPS to determine whether to revoke your driver’s license. Under the new law, if you receive a notice of revocation, you have two options:
You may participate in the Impaired Driver Accountability Program (IDAP), or
You may appeal a DPS revocation to the district court in the county where you were arrested.
If you do not do either of these things, the State will revoke your driver’s license.
The Impaired Driver Accountability Program (IDAP)
To participate in IDAP, you must send a request to DPS, asking to participate in IDAP. You must send this request within 30 days after you receive notice of revocation. You must pay a $200.00 participation fee to DPS, within 45 days of receiving notice of revocation. Also, within 45 days of receiving the notice, you must install an ignition interlock device on your vehicle. DPS must receive proof of installation within 45 days after you receive the notice of revocation.
You must maintain the ignition interlock device on your vehicle for as long as you are participating in the program. The length of the program will be:
A minimum of six months, if it is the first revocation. At the end of the six months, you may remove the ignition interlock device, if you can show that you have had no reportable violations within the past 60 days. If you have had a reportable violation within the past 60 days, then, your program period will be extended for another 60 days.
A minimum of twelve months, if it is the second revocation. At the end of the twelve months, you may remove the ignition interlock device, if you can show that you have had no reportable violations within the past 120 days. If you have had a reportable violation within the past 120 days, then, your program period will be extended for another 120 days.
A minimum of 36 months, if it is the third or later revocation. At the end of the 36 months, you may remove the ignition interlock device, if you can show that you have had no reportable violations within the past year. If you have had a reportable violation within the past year, then, your program period will be extended for another year.
Before DPS extends your time period for participating in the program, DPS must give you the opportunity to challenge the extension in an “informal hearing” before DPS.
Appealing to district court
Instead of immediately requesting to participate in IDAP, you may appeal to district court, in the county where you were arrested. However, under the new law, you will no longer have to post a bond in order to appeal.
On appeal, the district court will hear your case. The court can decide to either 1) revoke your driver’s license, 2) reinstate your driver’s license, or 3) allow you to drive with a modified license, under which you will only be allowed to drive if your vehicle has an ignition interlock device. If you lose in district court, you may appeal to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
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