Even if Convicted of DWI, Most People Are Eligible for a Limited Driving Privilege To Drive To Work Or School
A work license or limited driving privilege can be critical if you need to drive for your job, school or just to take care of your family. If you have lost your license already, this is not news to you. The first questions that most people who are charged with DWI ask is whether or not we can help them get a work privilege and whether or not they will be able to drive at all if they are convicted. We routinely secure driving privileges for all of our clients who are eligible.
Limited driving privileges, or LDPs, fall into several categories depending on the circumstances: pre-trial, post-conviction and refusal. It is important to remember that if you are driving on a limited driving privilege as opposed to a regular driver’s license that you are driving on a restricted license. The LDP only allows you to drive for specific purposes such as for work or school. In addition, you should note that a limited driving privilege is frequently referred to as an LDP, work license, or driving privilege and that the terms can be used interchangeably.
Guidelines for limited driving privileges are similar in all categories of restricted license and are discussed below the discussion of requirements for a work privilege.
Pre-Trial Driving Privilege
If you were charged with DWI and you blew 0.08 or above on the EC/IR II (the breath test), you were automatically revoked for 30 days. After the 10th day of revocation, you are likely eligible for limited driving privilege. In general, the requirements for limited driving privilege are:
- At the time you were stopped you must have had a valid license to drive (or, if it is expired, it has to have been expired for less than you).
- You must not have been convicted of driving while impaired within the preceding seven (7) years.
- You cannot have been charged with any additional DWI since receiving the charge for which you are revoked.
- You must have proof of insurance, specifically a form called a DL 123.
- You need proof that you have obtained a substance abuse assessment. We are happy to give you a list of approved assessment providers.
- Pay $100 to the clerk of court.
It is important to keep in mind that a pre-trial privilege is only valid up until the 30th day after you were charged with DWI. After that your restricted license expires and you must pay the $50 restoration fee to have your regular driver’s license reinstated. Once reinstated, you will keep your license unless and or until your license is revoked for conviction, at which time you will again potentially be eligible for a driving privilege.
Post-Trial Driving Privilege
In order to obtain a driving privilege after a conviction for DWI, you must satisfy all of the requirements that exist for the pretrial privilege. However, if you blew 0.15 or above on the breath test you must have an interlock device installed in your car and will lose your license for 45 days, without the possibility of privilege, before you become eligible. If you are convicted of a level I or II DWI, you will not be eligible for any privilege for one full year (see DWI sentencing).
Driving Privileges in Refusal Cases
If you refused to take the breath test, the DMV will notify you that your license is to be revoked for one full year. There will be no opportunity to get a driving privilege for the first six months. After the first six months you will be eligible to apply for a limited driving privilege however it will be up to the Department of Motor Vehicles as to whether or not they grant it.
General Information about Driving Privileges
Standard hours for limited driving privileges are from 6 AM until 8 PM from Monday through Friday. If you need to drive for work or school outside of those hours you will need a letter from your employer or a class schedule from school specifying exactly why you need to drive and when. If you are self-employed, a letter on your own letterhead will typically suffice.
If your license has been suspended as a result of a DWI and you need a driving privilege, we can help. Contact us today to discuss your case further.
Please watch our Limited Driving Privileges video for further information.
Our DWI lawyers help people throughout Wake County, North Carolina. We frequently handle DWI defenses arising out of the following cities: Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Raleigh, Apex, Zebulon, Knightdale, Cary, New Hope, Morrisville, Garner, Wake Forest, Wendell and Rolesville.
