Alabama Suspended License: Reinstatement Guide

Reasons for Your Alabama Suspended License

Some of the reasons that necessitate license suspension are straightforward, while others may surprise you. They include:

• Driving a vehicle when your blood alcohol level has exceeded the legal limit (0.8% in most states),
• Being convicted of a DUI,
• Refusing to take a DUI chemical test when pulled over by the police on suspicion of drunk driving,
• Taking a car out on the road without a valid insurance cover,
• Driving a car without the authorization to do so (grand theft auto or joyriding),
• Controlling a car involved in a collision that results in injuries, death, or property damage amounting to more than $500,
• Being convicted of vehicular manslaughter,
• Driving a car used to facilitate a felony,
• Violating traffic rules amounting to 12 or more traffic violation license points within two years,
• Being guilty of not stopping after colliding with another vehicle or injuring someone on the road (hit and run),
• Providing the Department of Public Safety with false information to enable you to take a car out on the road,
• Driving recklessly, e.g., violating speeding rules.

If found guilty of any of these traffic offenses or convictions, you could have your license suspended or revoked.

Did you also know that you can also have your license suspended over non-driving-related offenses?

These include medical conditions and unpaid judgments.

Ignition Interlock Restricted Licenses

Being arrested for driving under the influence often results in suspension, even if you don’t get convicted in criminal court. In addition to this, you must install an interlock ignition device in your vehicle. This device records your alcohol blood levels and only allows you to start the car when the level is below the state’s legal limit. You could have it in the car for anything between 6 months and 6 years, depending on the judgment.

Occupational Restricted Licenses in Alabama

Some states allow you to drive your car even after you lose your license privileges. Alabama is one such state where you can apply for what’s known as a ‘restricted’ or ‘hardship’ license. To get one, you must prove that you do not have other means to get to essential facilities like school, work, and community service. It’s not often that people secure these licenses as they are mostly available to people who participate in work release programs. It’s worth a try if your circumstances meet the requirements.

Conditions for License Reinstatement

If you are found guilty of traffic violations or non-driving-related offenses requiring license suspension, you’ll go into a suspension period. The length of this period depends on the severity of the offense. Once you’ve held up your end of the bargain and successfully come to the end of this period, you can now petition the Director of Public Safety for a reinstatement. You must accompany the request with a fee, based on the severity of the suspension, as follows:

• $275 for DUI offenses,
• $175 for revocations unrelated to DUI offenses,
• $100 for cancellations and suspensions unrelated to DUI offenses.

What about people whose licenses were suspended due to medical reasons?

They are not liable to pay a fee.

If they have the all-clear from their medical doctors, they can move straight to securing their license privileges.

Alabama Point System

We earlier mentioned that violating traffic rules results in points on your AL driving records. The more you flout the rules, the more points you accumulate and the closer you inch to a suspension. Also, the speed at which you accumulate the points could lead to a license suspension or revocation. Let’s look at the license suspension periods meted out based on the point system:

• 12 to 14 points: 60 days
• 15 to 17 points: 90 days
• 18 to 20 points: 120 days
• 21 to 23 points: 180 days
• 24+ points: 1 year

Please note that this applies if you’ve accumulated the points within two years. For example, if you rack up 15 points within two years, you lose your license for 90 days.

Alabama Suspended License Due to DUI

DUI offenses are among the most common reasons for license suspension, even if you don’t get convicted in a criminal court. They apply to people caught:

• Driving vehicles with blood alcohol levels exceeding the state’s legal limit,
• Unlawfully refusing to take part in blood alcohol level tests, including chemical tests.

In both these cases, you lose your driving privileges (license revocation). If the matter proceeds to court and you get convicted, you are subject to license revocation or suspension based on previous charges.

• A 1^st conviction results in a 90-day suspension,
• A 2^nd conviction results in a 1-year revocation,
• A 3^rd conviction results in a 3-year revocation
• A 4^th conviction results in a 5-year revocation

Luckily, you can reinstate your suspended license after completing the court’s requirements and waiting out the suspension period.

Reinstating Your Alabama Suspended License

Are you ready to get back on the road? To do so, you’ll need to:

• Complete the court’s requirements, be it be jail time or waiting out the suspension period,
• Finish DUI school with satisfactory results,
• Submit a Request for Reinstatement Requirements to the Department of Public Safety at the following address:

Driver License Division,

P.O. Box 1471,

Montgomery, AL 36102-1471

• Receive a list of requirements necessary in reinstating your license,
• Apply for SR-22 insurance (driver responsibility insurance) and provide proof of the same,
• Secure an ignition interlock if required to do so by the law and have it installed,
• Visit Alabama’s Drivers’ License Office (having completed all the requirements) and pay the fee in cash (no checks).
• Take a driving test if you’ve not been driving for at least a year.

To find a drivers’ license office near you that handles reinstatements, please check here or call the office on 334-242-4400. The Alabama Department of Public Safety can also provide you with these details.

Alabama Suspended License Fees

The reinstatement fees will depend on the severity of your violation. Arm yourself with:

• $275 for DUI-related offenses (revocations or suspensions),
• $175 for non-DUI-related revocations, and
• $100 for non-DUI-related cancellations and suspensions.

Please note that you may be subject to extra charges, including:

• $50 for unpaid child support,
• $50 if you failed to surrender your license within 30 days of revocation or suspension,
• $25 if you are found guilty of any drug-related offenses, and
• $50 if you are required by law to install an ignition interlock device.