Work Driver's License Information - OUI Lawyer in Portland, Maine

Whether or not you are eligible for a work license while under suspension for an OUI offense, is somewhat complicated. Call me and we can talk about your specific situation. The general rule is that you are immediately eligible for a work-restricted license on a First Offense OUI administrative suspension. This is the suspension imposed by the Secretary of State.

You will need to submit a petition to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles indicating details about your employment. At the time you submit this petition, you will also send to the BMV your license and a Thirty-Five Dollar ($35.00) reinstatement fee. If you are convicted of the crime of OUI in Court, you are not eligible for a work-restricted license until you have served 60 days of suspension.

The last 30 days of the 90-day Court imposed suspension allows for work related driving only. The problem here is that if you have been driving on work-restricted status during the administrative suspension, those days will not count towards the 60 days of "hard" suspension you will have to serve if you are convicted of the OUI in Court. These rules apply if you submitted to a chemical test, and a test result was below .20 BAC. If above .20, then you will need to complete the DEEP requirement prior to being issued a work-restricted license.

If the BMV suspends your license for refusing to submit to a chemical test, then you must serve 180 of the 275 day administrative suspension before you are eligible for a work-restricted license. Also, if you are convicted of the OUI in Court, then you must serve an additional 60 days of the 90 day Court Ordered suspension. This means that if you are convicted of a First Offense "Refusal" OUI, then you must serve 8 months of suspension time before you are eligible for a work-restricted license.

A suspension based on a violation of the "zero tolerance" law for drivers under 21 triggers a one-year administrative suspension. These young drivers are eligible for work-restricted status during the entire one-year suspension, as long as, they are not convicted of the OUI in Court. If an OUI conviction occurs, then they must serve 6 months of suspension prior to being eligible for work-restricted status.

There is no eligibility for a work license if the administrative suspension or Court Ordered suspension is for a Second or Third Offense OUI. These cases are especially frustrating because a person could be found not guilty of the OUI, and still lose their license through the BMV for 18 months or more with no possibility of work-restricted status.

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