DMV Hearings: What you Should Know

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Most people arrested for DUI in California are aware that they face criminal charges in court. What many don't realize is that a DUI arrest triggers a second, entirely separate proceeding — an administrative hearing before the California Department of Motor Vehicles. This hearing has nothing to do with whether you are guilty of a crime. It concerns one thing only: whether the DMV will suspend your driver's license.

These two cases run on parallel tracks, and you can win one while losing the other. That is why it is critical to have an attorney who handles both — and who understands the DMV process as well as the courtroom.

You have only 10 days from the date of your DUI arrest to request a DMV hearing. Miss that deadline and your license is automatically suspended. Call us immediately.

When you are arrested for DUI in California, the arresting officer typically confiscates your physical driver's license and issues you a pink temporary license — a form DS-367. This document serves as your license for 30 days, but it also starts a countdown. You have exactly 10 calendar days from the date of arrest to contact the DMV's Driver Safety Office and request an Administrative Per Se (APS) hearing.

If you do not request a hearing within those 10 days, the DMV will automatically suspend your license at the end of the 30-day period — no hearing, no appeal, no second chance. Requesting the hearing also triggers an automatic stay of the suspension, meaning your temporary license remains valid while the hearing is pending.

For arrests in Los Angeles or Orange County, hearings are handled through the Driver Safety Offices serving those areas. We contact the appropriate office on your behalf, request the hearing and the stay, and simultaneously request discovery — copies of the police report, the officer's sworn statement, and the chemical test results.

The Administrative Per Se hearing is not a criminal proceeding. There is no jury, no prosecutor, and no finding of guilt. It is conducted by a DMV Hearing Officer — a state employee, not a judge — and it focuses on a narrow set of legal issues:

• Whether the law enforcement officer had reasonable cause to believe you were driving under the influence

• Whether you were lawfully arrested

• Whether your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was 0.08% or higher at the time of driving (or 0.04% for commercial drivers, or any measurable amount for drivers under 21)

If the DMV sustains all three findings against you, your license will be suspended. For a first offense with a BAC of 0.08% or higher, the standard suspension is four months. If you refused a chemical test, the suspension is one year — and refusal suspensions cannot be converted to a restricted license.

The DMV hearing is not a formality, and a skilled attorney can win it. There are numerous grounds on which we challenge the suspension:

Lack of Reasonable Suspicion 

We examine whether the officer had a lawful basis to stop your vehicle and whether the observations documented in the report actually supported a reasonable belief that you were impaired.

Improper Arrest

If the arrest itself was not conducted lawfully — including proper advisement of your rights — the suspension may not stand.

Challenges to the Chemical Test

Breathalyzer and blood test results are not infallible. We subpoena the maintenance and calibration records for the breath testing device, the chain of custody records for blood samples, and the credentials of the person who administered the test. Errors in any of these areas can invalidate the result.

Rising Blood Alcohol

Alcohol continues to absorb into the bloodstream after you stop drinking. If your BAC was measured some time after you were driving, it is possible your BAC was below the legal limit while you were actually behind the wheel. We raise this defense where the facts support it.

Officer Unavailability

If the arresting officer fails to appear at the hearing after being properly subpoenaed, we can move to set aside the suspension on that basis alone.

Discovery is one of our most powerful tools at the DMV hearing. We routinely subpoena police agencies for breath machine records, blood test documentation, and officer personnel files. What we find there often determines the outcome.

Even if the DMV sustains the suspension, all may not be lost. In many cases, drivers are eligible for a restricted license that allows them to drive to and from work, school, and DUI programs — or, under California's Ignition Interlock Device (IID) program, to drive without restriction as long as a certified IID is installed in their vehicle.

The specific options available to you depend on whether this is a first or subsequent offense, whether you took or refused the chemical test, and how your criminal case resolves. We advise our clients on all available options so they can keep driving and keep their lives on track while the cases proceed.

The DMV hearing and the criminal DUI case are legally separate, but they are tactically connected. What happens at the DMV hearing — including the testimony of the arresting officer and the documents produced through discovery — can provide valuable intelligence for the criminal defense. Conversely, the outcome of the criminal case can affect the DMV suspension.

Having one attorney handle both proceedings is not just convenient — it is strategically important. We coordinate the two tracks to ensure that nothing done in one proceeding inadvertently damages the other.