Work Permit After Georgia DUI

After a DUI arrest, your license will be automatically suspended unless you successfully challenged the suspension during an ALS hearing. Or if you plead guilty or were convicted of a Georgia DUI, your license will be suspended. A suspended license means that you are not permitted to drive at all. If you are caught for driving on a suspended license, you will not only have violated your probation, but you may face additional penalties, including additional fines and restrictions on your driving privileges.

In some cases, you may apply for a permit to drive to work or other places, known as a “limited driving permit.” This will not restore all of your driving privileges, but will allow you to driver to some locations and for certain purposes.

No Limited Driving Permit

However, even for your first DUI, if you refused to submit to a chemical test of your blood, breath or urine after a DUI arrest, you may not be able to apply for a limited driving permit, and will have to wait out the entire suspension period before you can apply to have your license reinstated. This may mean no driving at all for a year after your DUI arrest.

Additionally, if you were convicted of a DUI while under the age of 21, you may not be eligible for a driving permit, and will have to wait until the end of your license suspension period before you can apply to have your driver license reinstated.

Limited Driving Permit

If you had your first DUI in 5 years, you may be eligible for a limited driving permit. Unless the DUI conviction is already reflected on your driving record, you will need to submit a DDS form 1126, or First DUI Conviction Court Affidavit. This basically says that it is your first DUI conviction in 5 years. A Limited Driving Permit requires a $25.00 fee.

DDS should issue a limited driving permit if the application indicates that refusal to issue the permit would cause extreme hardship to the applicant. However, even if have a limited driving permit, you are only allowed limited driving privileges. This includes:

• To or from your place of employment, or performing normal duties of the job;
• Scheduled medical care or obtaining prescription medication;
• To or from school;
• Attending regularly scheduled substance abuse meetings; or
• Attending court ordered driver education or DUI school.

Additionally, the limited driving permit can restrict the places you can go, times you can drive, and what kinds of vehicles can be operated.

DUI Legal Defense

If you have been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Atlanta, you need the knowledge and courtroom experience of a qualified Atlanta DUI lawyer. It may be better to fight your initial license suspension and criminal charges before you get convicted, that way you may never have to worry about a limited driving permit. Remember, just because the police arrested you does not have to mean you will be convicted. Call me anytime day or night, and I will fight for you to keep your license.