Driving after a DUI in Georgia: the Limited Driving Permit (limited permit)

The first days: the administrative suspension and the hearing deadline

In most states the licensing agency suspends the license at arrest, separately from any court case, and the driver has a short window to request a hearing on that suspension. Missing it lets the suspension take effect without review.

The arresting officer serves the DDS-1205 (notice of Administrative License Suspension). DDS: the driver has 30 calendar days from the serve date to choose one option – request an ALS appeal, request an ignition interlock device limited permit, or do nothing – and the license goes into suspension on the 46th day after the serve date. The ALS hearing request (Form DDS-1206, or the Hearing Request option in DDS Online Services) must be fully completed and submitted within the required appeal period by mail to DDS RM-Hearing Requests, P.O. Box 80447, Conyers, GA 30013, at a Customer Service Center, or online, or the request is rejected and the right to appeal waived; the fee is $150.00, due in full with the request. On receipt of a timely request, fee and a copy of the DDS-1205/1205S, the case is docketed with the Office of State Administrative Hearings (OSAH), which mails the hearing date;

“if you fail to choose an option within 30 calendar days of your serve date (located on the front of the DS-1205 form), your license will go into suspension on the forty-sixth (46th) day after your serve date (located on the front of the DDS-1205 form).”

Who can get it, and how soon

DDS states that when a license is suspended the driver may qualify for a limited driving permit during the suspension period, and answers ‘Possibly’ for a first DUI conviction; a suspension for refusing the state-administered test makes the driver ineligible for a limited driving permit if convicted of a first DUI. After a DUI arrest (DDS-1205 notice), DDS's Ignition Interlock Device Limited Permit Customer Information Sheet gives a driver who is 21 or older (or will be within 30 days), holds a valid or renewable Georgia license, and has not been convicted of DUI within the past five years the option, within 30 calendar days of the serve date, to request an IIDLP instead of an ALS appeal; a person who consented to the test may be eligible for the non-interlock permit. Non-residents and persons never licensed in Georgia are not eligible (DDS Rule 375-3-3-.10(3)); the permit is not valid f

“When a license gets suspended, drivers may qualify for a limited driving permit. The limited permits are available during the suspension period. Permits will restrict where and why you can drive.”

No waiting period is stated. Administrative (ALS) track: the DDS information sheet states that an option (appeal, IIDLP, or do nothing) must be chosen within 30 calendar days of the DDS-1205 serve date, that the license goes into suspension on the 46th day after the serve date, and that DDS cannot issue the IIDLP until the DDS-1205 has been received and the device installed; DDS Fees and Terms state the interlock must be maintained 4 months if the driver consented to the state-administered test or 12 months if not. Only one option may be chosen (an appeal and an IIDLP cannot both be requested). Conviction track: a first DUI in five years is suspended 12 months; DDS states the driver can apply for reinstatement after 120 days with a Risk Reduction Program certificate and the fee, and that a limited permit is ‘Possibly’ available; a refusal suspension bars the limited permit on a first DUI

“The DDS is unable to issue the ignition interlock device limited permit until: - The DDS-1205 has been received by the Department, and - The ignition interlock device has been installed in the vehicle”

Conditions attached to the privilege

IIDLP (ALS period): DDS-1205 received by DDS and an approved ignition interlock device installed in the vehicle; $25 permit fee; interlock maintained 4 months (consented to the state-administered test) or 12 months (did not consent); $100 restrictions-removal fee; age 21 or older, valid or renewable Georgia license, no DUI conviction within five years. Limited driving permit after a DUI conviction (Rule 375-3-3-.10(2)): DDS Form 1126 completed by the convicting court or a certified copy of the conviction unless the conviction is on the record; surrender of the prior license or a lost-license affidavit (Form DS-250A); $32 fee. No Risk Reduction Program certificate is listed for the first-offense permit (the certificate and $200/$210 fee are reinstatement conditions after 120 days); for a second DUI within five years, Rule 375-3-3-.10(6) requires proof of interlock installation, a Risk Red

“If customers DID NOT consent to the state-administered chemical test Required to successfully maintain the ignition interlock for a period of 12 months. $25”

Where and when it allows driving

Driving to the place of employment to perform the normal duties of the occupation; scheduled medical attention or prescriptions; classes at a college or school where enrolled; support organizations for alcohol or drug treatment; a driver education program or alcohol/drug assessment and treatment program; court, community supervision or probation, or community service; transporting unlicensed immediate family members to work, school, medical care or prescriptions; attendance required by an accountability court judge. DDS may also specify the places, routes, times of travel, vehicles and other restrictions. Not valid for a commercial vehicle; revocable for a moving violation, violating a permit condition, or another suspension.

“Driving to your place of employment to perform the normal duties of your occupation. Receiving scheduled medical attention or get prescribed drugs. Attending classes at a college or school that you are enrolled as a student.”

How it is issued

The licensing agency issues the Limited Driving Permit (limited permit).

Official page: dds.georgia.gov

The statute: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 375-3-3-.10 Limited Driving Permits (DDS rule citing O.C.G.A. §§ 40-5-63, 40-5-64, 40-5-64.1)

“Customers applying for a DUI limited driving permit following the suspension of a driver's licenses pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 40-5-63(a)(1) based upon a conviction for driving under the influence (DUI) in violation of O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391 or an equivalent offense”