By: Cory Yager, Ex-police officer, DUI attorney Atlanta and Georgia DMV Expert for Driver License Suspension Issues explains why filing an ALS appeal and installing an ignition interlock are the only recourses you have to keep your driver’s license after being arrested for drunk driving.  

In Georgia, a person being arrested for a GA DUI will soon find that he or she no longer has their plastic driver’s license, which the police officer took from the driver. Plus, a pending administrative license suspension of that license (for a violation of code section under OCGA 40-5-55, the main statue controlling the implied consent law) must be challenged within 30 days. In a panic, you go to DDS Georgia gov (the website for GA Dept of Driver Services) to look up your GA drivers license status.

The pending administrative suspension will arise either from your alleged DUI refusal (after being cuffed and asked to submit to a post-arrest breath alcohol test or blood test) which Georgia laws call “chemical tests”) OR by submitting to the required testing and agreeing to a breathalyzer test and blowing over the legal limit. By the way, in your criminal case, Georgia implied consent law allows your REFUSAL to submit, OR your BAC test results to be offered into evidence against you at trial.

The notice advises that you are at risk of suspension of your right to operate a motor vehicle under the provisions of OCGA 40-5-67.1 for a minimum period of 12 months. Our state’s implied consent law. Upon reading the implied consent test law, you learn that Georgia law requires you to submit to whatever testing may be offered by law enforcement.

This DDS 1205 form indicates that an appeal to DDS GA (our state’s Georgia driver services department of GA DMV) must be started, or that an ignition interlock device (IID) must be installed by you on ONE vehicle. This State agency decides who can drive on the highways of Georgia.

Can I Qualify for the GA DDS Interlock Device Limited Driving Permit?

Not all drivers will qualify to have interlock restricted driving privileges. Drivers under age 21 and out-of-state licensees cannot obtain such a permit under OCGA 40-5-64.1, which was enacted July 1, 2017. In addition, no arrested driver involved in a traffic accident resulting in injuries or fatalities is eligible for the IIDLP in Georgia.

DUI specialists in Georgia are thoroughly familiar with the July 2017 change in Georgia DUI Laws. Yet, under due process guarantees within the 5th Amendment of the US Constitution, ALL drivers have the right to appeal to an administrative law judge with the Office of State Administrative Hearings, better known as OSAH.

The universally available option (if not opting for the 12-month ignition interlock limited driving permit) is to request a hearing within 30 days of your arrest by paying the appeal fee of $150 and following a detailed administrative appeal process. Let criminal lawyers near me at our law firm show you how to stop your GA license from getting suspended.

Call DUI defense attorneys Cory Yager, Bubba Head or Larry Kohn now at (404) 567-5515. Save your driver’s license before it is too late. Our law office partners answer the phone 24 hours a day. You will be speaking with an award-winning Georgia DUI lawyer right away.

Important Links, Phone Numbers and Fax Numbers to Georgia Department of Driver Safety, which is the Georgia DMV office, the driver services website provides DDS forms, programs and information on violations, suspensions, fees and terms:

NEW – Follow this link for the Georgia DDS Ignition Interlock Device Limited Permit Customer Information Sheet based upon HB205 (2016) which became effective on July 1, 2017.

Reinstatement requirements: Contact GA DDS Customer Service at 678-413-8400.

Check status of a Georgia driver’s license: Call 404-657-9300 or get online via this DDS Georgia link. Inquiries regarding the receipt of an Implied Consent appeal or ALS hearing requests will be forwarded to the appropriate department for response.

Location of the nearest full service DMV GA office: Georgia Department of Driver Services Near Me

Refund of the filing fee for OSAH hearing of a DDS administrative license suspension appeal that was not held: Fax the form to 678-413-8450.

Implied Consent appeals or ALS Withdrawals of Sworn Report can be faxed: Fax to 678-413-8450.

Reinstatement of license documents should be faxed to 770-918-6255.

GA OSAH Final Decisions: Fax to 678-413-8450.

Court releases (DS-912) for FTAs: Fax to 770-918-6254.

Reschedule an ALS hearing: Contact OSAH at 404-657-2800.

Accountability Court Orders: Fax to 770-918-6261

Ignition interlock waivers: Fax to 770-918-6255.

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