How prior arrests, administrative hearings, criminal charges, and case outcomes can affect IID, SR-22, suspension, & reinstatement requirements.
The criminal case and the DOL case are separate proceedings.
The court controls the criminal charge, sentence, and conditions of release. DOL separately controls the person’s driving privilege and applies Washington’s licensing statutes to the information in its own records.
A favorable agreement in the criminal case does not necessarily eliminate an administrative suspension arising from the arrest. For example, a breath-test refusal, or a test at or above the statutory alcohol or THC limit can produce DOL action even if the criminal charge is later reduced or dismissed.
For example, if you lost your DOL hearing and you refused the BAC, you will still have a suspension that relates to the refusal even if your criminal resolution contemplates removing that fact.
A prior arrest can matter even without a prior DUI conviction.
An arrest by itself does not automatically count as a prior offense. However, a prior incident may matter if it resulted in administrative action by DOL (or out of state DOL), such as a suspension following a refusal or qualifying alcohol or THC test.
Washington’s implied-consent statute expressly distinguishes between a first incident and a person with a previous incident that resulted in administrative action.
We often see this issue arise from actions out of state that are deemed to have been a “DOL action” on an alcohol-related arrest, which is then considered a “prior incident” by Washington’s DOL. The client will believe the out of state criminal case was dismissed through some type of diversion but, unfortunately, the alcohol-related DOL arrest data is what controls for a prior incident.
DOL may look at the original charge, not merely the final conviction.
Certain convictions for reckless driving, negligent driving, or reckless endangerment may still be treated as alcohol or drug-related when the case was originally filed as DUI, physical control, vehicular assault, or vehicular homicide.
Washington’s definition of a “prior offense” also includes certain reduced charges, deferred sentences (i.e. PDAs or SOCs), deferred prosecutions, comparable out-of-state matters, and other alcohol or drug-related dispositions.
The stated IID period is not always the actual removal date.
Depending on the person’s history, the statutory restriction may be one, five, or ten years, while certain reduced charges can require at least six months.
Additional time can result from a child passenger, an IID-related conviction, or other statutory circumstances.
The clock may also stop when no qualifying IID is installed. This is an issue for many of our military service members who leave on deployment and never install the IID or remove it before they deploy. Their IID-clock never gets ticking, so to speak. Consequently, they are ineligible to remove the IID when they believe their “time is up.”
Before removal, DOL generally must receive vendor certification showing 180 consecutive days without specified violations, missed tests, missed service appointments, unauthorized removal, or tampering. This means a person who was originally told “one year” may lawfully remain restricted beyond the one-year anniversary.
Credit for earlier IID use must be calculated by DOL.
A driver may receive day-for-day credit for qualifying IID use before the final disposition, including time spent driving on an Ignition Interlock License. Whether DOL has received the installation information and how that credit applies to overlapping restrictions can change the projected end date. This must be worked out between the driver, the IID provider, and the DOL.
SR-22 requirements are calculated from DOL dates, not necessarily the plea or sentencing date.
DOL states that SR-22 proof is required, in most cases, for three years from the date the person becomes eligible to reinstate—not necessarily three years from arrest, conviction, or the day the policy is purchased.
A new qualifying event or interruption in required coverage can also affect the person’s licensing status. Therefore, never cancel your SR-22 without obtaining confirmation from DOL that your required period is complete.
DOL’s answer depends on what has actually been reported and entered.
Courts, law enforcement agencies, insurance companies, treatment agencies, and IID vendors submit different information to DOL. Processing delays or missing information can temporarily affect the reinstatement requirements shown in the system.
DOL currently advises that processing commonly takes seven to ten business days after it receives documents. However, there are occasions when the court will fail to send over the Judgment and Sentence or other resolution paperwork for weeks or even months.
On a rare occasion, we have had to “nudge” the court to send documents to DOL so the client can get move on with the DOL requirements. It is tempting to hope that the court forgets and the DOL suspension or other requirements never go into effect. Unfortunately, the mistake is usually caught and then the issue unexpectedly arises several months down the road. The risk in that situation is that the client is driving on a suspended license and receives a new criminal charge. Therefore, if you think your DOL restrictions are not appearing in your License Express account, be sure to reach out to your attorney.
Other licensing problems may be layered onto the current case.
An unresolved ticket, too many tickets within a year, another suspension, insurance cancellation/failure to send SR-22 Certificate, treatment noncompliance, or a different licensing hold may prevent reinstatement even after the requirements associated with the current DUI case appear to have been completed. DOL must evaluate the entire driving record, not merely the pending criminal file.
Hopefully this list sheds light on how convoluted the DOL calculation can become and the reason clients must get final answers from DOL. We can usually predict what should be the required suspension or IID period but it is too risky to offer any certainty to our prediction. DOL is, by far, the most frustrating aspect to our cases and we wish we could offer clearer answers but, unfortunately, the risks are too high to rely on anyone other than the DOL representative.
DOL Suspension For Traffic Tickets
DOL Habitual Traffic Offender Info
DOL Canceled Insurance License Suspension
If you have a Washington license, you can log into your License Express account and select “view reinstatement requirements” or contact the Washington DOL customer service line at 360-902-3900.
DOL How To Check Your Washington License
If you have an out of state license, you will not be able to set up a License Express account and can only receive information over the phone at 360-902-3900. As Washington DOL takes action on your case, you may also want to contact your home state DOL to determine if there will be additional steps you must take in your home state to become eligible to reinstate your license.
If you are facing a DUI or charge and need the counsel of an experienced local defense attorney, reach out to our office 7 days a week. (360) 792-1000. Contact us today.
