DMV Hearing

*NOTICE: You or your attorney must request a DMV hearing within 10 days of your arrest. If you fail to do so, you will be denied a hearing and your driver’s license will be suspended. If you request a hearing yourself, be sure to request a “stay” on the suspension pending the outcome of your hearing.

At the time of your arrest, you should have been given a pink piece of paper. This is your temporary license. If you review it, you will see that it describes the DMV administrative hearing process.

In Orange County, your hearing will be held at:

Irvine Driver Safety Office
16735 Von Karman #110
Irvine, California
(949) 440-4416

The DMV hearing is completely separate from your criminal case. Far and away the majority of DMV hearings are lost, whether you represent yourself or retain an attorney to represent you. This is because a DMV hearing is a civil proceeding where the standard of proof is much lower that in a criminal case. The standard of proof at a DMV hearing is basically, “more likely than not.” This is a relatively low threshold to meet.

The following is a list of issues that must be established at a DMV hearing:

1. You were driving a motor vehicle.
2. Your blood alcohol level was .08% or greater at the time of driving.
3. The officer had reasonable cause to believe that you were driving a vehicle with a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit.
4. You were lawfully arrested.

The person who decides whether or not to suspend your license is not a judge. Hearing officers are not even lawyers. They are simply employees of the DMV who have been assigned to do DMV hearings. Many times the hearing officers do not understand the law and make erroneous rulings. While there is a review process, it is almost always futile, as the person who reviews the evidence is an employee of the DMV. Appeals are available, but are costly.

Hearing officers do not take into consideration your personal issues. The fact that you need your license to drive to work or take your kids to school is “irrelevant” and will not be admissible at the hearing. Most “set asides” (wins) are granted due to technical issues such as flaws on the DS 367 form submitted by the police officer.

Most DMV hearings do not involve actual testimony. The hearing officer simply introduces the documents supplied by the agency that arrested you.

After the hearing is over, the Hearing officer has 30 days to render its decision. If you lose, your license will be affected in the following manner:

* After 30 days, you can apply for a “restricted license.” In order to obtain this, you must show proof of enrollment in a first offender alcohol education program, submit an SR22 from your insurance company and pay a fee. The restriction lasts five months, but allows you to drive to and from your job and to and from your program.

NOTICE: Please be aware that in many cases a “set aside” is merely a “postponement” of your suspension. This is because if you are ultimately convicted of DUI, which at least 95% of you will be, your license will be suspended by the mandatory actions division of the DMV.