State Requirements
Our knowledgeable team will guide you through your state’s process and will help you get driving again as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Ohio has two sets of procedures that you must attend to when you have been charged with an OVI—administrative and judicial. We suggest that you consult with an OVI attorney immediately to make sure you get the best advice for your particular situation as laws are always changing.
Administrative License Suspension (ALS) Procedures Ohio BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles) Ohio is one of 42 states that has implemented ALR which means that your license will be confiscated immediately if your BAC is above .08 OR if you refuse a BAC test. Your license will either be suspended or revoked at that point, even though you have not been officially convicted in a criminal trial.
In fact, you can be charged with an administrative license suspension even if you are not later charged with a driving under the influence offense. This action was designed to be in addition to and separate from the traditional OVI judicial conviction penalties such as license suspension, jail time, community service hours, ignition interlock device (IID), and alcohol and drug rehabilitation.
NOTE: Ohio is quite unique in the fact that the courts also order driver’s license suspensions in addition to the ALS (Administrative License Suspension) ordered by the Ohio BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles).
You can request a hearing to challenge this case. This case will be heard by an administrative law judge. If you do not request a hearing, your license will be automatically remain suspended on the 6th day for 1 to 6 months. After the suspension period, you will have a restricted license allowing you to drive to work or school, health care providers, parole or probation meetings, drug and alcohol counseling, court approved locations and emergencies.
Remember that this is a separate case than the judicial case, with separate authorities and separate rulings. This can be a very important influence upon the judicial procedures, but you must act very quickly if you wish to challenge this.
License Revocation, Fines and Jail
In April of 2017 “Annie’s Law” went into effect.
The law increases the license suspension for first OVI offenders to one year. Great News! Under the law, first offenders can have their 12-month license suspension reduced by half if they use an ignition interlock for at least six months.
