More Good News for You If This Is Your First DUI

If you were arrested for DUI and your breath-alcohol level was over .08, the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles ("DMV") will suspend your driver's license for 6 months. If you refused to blow into the breath-testing machine, DMV will suspend your driver's license for 1 year. Also, until recently, if you fell into the first category, you could not drive at all for 30 days (sometimes called a "hard suspension"). If you fell into the second category, you could not drive at all for 90 days. Of course, that could be financially devastating for you if your only way of getting to work is to drive your own car. But now things have changed for the better.

If this is your first DUI, you can avoid a hard suspension of 30 or 90 days by doing the following:

1. Within 10 days of being arrested for DUI, go to the Bureau of Administrative Review and sign a waiver of your right to have a review hearing.

2. Pay $25.00.

3. Provide proof of enrollment in DUI school.

4. Provide a copy of your DUI citation.

If you qualify, you will not have a hard suspension, and DMV will immediately give you a work permit so that you can continue driving for such necessities as work, groceries, and doctor appointments.