In the State of Florida, a person has a maximum of 10 days after a DUI arrest to save their driving privileges. When you are arrested for DUI, you are given a citation which acts as your driver’s license for the next 10 days and allows you to drive without any restrictions. However, if you want to keep your driving privileges, you must act immediately.
Within those 10 days of your arrest, a Formal Review Hearing must be requested at the Bureau of Administrative Reviews for the county in which you were arrested. If you miss this 10 day deadline, your driving privileges can be suspended for 6 – 18 months, depending on the facts of your case.
Once a Formal Review Hearing has been requested, you will then be issued a Temporary Driving Permit which restricts your driving privileges to driving to work, school, and necessities like grocery shopping and attending religious services. This permit is valid for 37 days and your Formal Review Hearing will be held within this time frame.
If you win your Formal Review Hearing, your driver’s licence will be awarded to you, however, if you lose your hearing, your privileges can be suspended for 6 – 18 months, depending on the facts of your case. If a breath test was taken, a 30-day period of no driving will be invoked, followed by the balance of a 6-month suspension on a hardship licence that allows you to drive for the same purposes as the Temporary Driving Permit.
If you refused a breath test at the time the law enforcement pulled you over, your driving privileges will be suspended for one year based on a first-time refusal, and 18 months based on a second or subsequent refusal. A 90-day period of no driving will be invoked, followed by the balance of your suspension on a hardship licence. For a second or subsequent DUI conviction, you will not be allowed to drive for the entire length of your suspension for up to one year.
While this entire process may seem intimidating and overwhelming, our attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A.can do all of this work for you for just one flat rate, including requesting your Formal Review Hearing, getting your Temporary Driving Permit, and fighting to save your driving privileges.
Your future is important, so don’t waste another moment! Contact an Orlando DUI attorney at our office so that we can start fighting for your rights today!
