Administrative License Revocation Hearing

Drivers arrested for drunk driving may have their driver's license suspended through a civil process called an administrative license revocation. State laws vary, but drivers generally will have their license suspended if they refuse to take a chemical test or they take the chemical test and their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is above the legal limit of 0.08% or higher.

Under certain conditions, the driver is allowed to request an administrative license hearing to contest the suspension of their driver's license. If a driver fails to request a hearing or has a hearing and is not able to successfully challenge the suspension, they will have their license suspended through an administrative license revocation.

The Administrative License Revocation program provides an efficient and fair legal process to determine if the license suspension by the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Department of Public Safety should be upheld. Prior to determining if a driver's license should be revoked the judge, who administers the hearing, will decide if the officer had the legal right to stop the driver, if the officer gave the driver the opportunity to take a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) test, whether the driver refused the test, whether the officer had probable cause to stop the driver and whether the officer had cause to suspect the driver's BAC was above the legal limit. At the administrative license revocation hearing if the state does not prove their case the driver's license is reinstated.