License After a First Offense Henrico County DUI

After you’re charged for a first offense of driving under the influence in Henrico County, your license will be administratively suspended for seven days. Then, if you are convicted of for DUI, your license will be suspended for 12 months.

In some cases you may be eligible to get a restricted operator’s license that allows you to drive to work or school, however, this requires that you have an ignition interlock device installed on your car for at least six months while your license is restricted. After the six months are up you can petition the court to remove the ignition interlock.

In addition to getting a restricted license there are other alternatives you can take such as challenging a license suspension or, if you are not convicted, getting your full license restored.

Below, a Henrico County DUI lawyer discusses the different things that can happen to your license following a first time DUI charge and what you can go about challenging your suspension. To learn more or discuss the specific facts of your case, schedule a free consultation today.

You can challenge an administrative suspension; however, it is not likely to be overturned. In order to get an administrative suspension overturned, you would have to show that there is an immediate error with the machine or with the stop and this is very hard to prove in such a short period of time.  In addition, Judges are reluctant to overturn administrative suspensions.

Yes, you can. You can apply for a restricted operator’s license after a conviction for a DUI first offense. You can apply to drive to and from work, to and from alcohol counseling, to and from childcare, medical appointments, etc. In order to obtain a restricted license you are required to have an ignition interlock device installed on your vehicle for a minimum of six months during the course of your 12-month suspension.

Yes. If your charge is dismissed you would be able to drive with no restrictions.  If your charge if reduced to a less offense like Reckless Driving, your license may still get suspended for a period of time however there would not be a requirement for installation of the ignition interlock device.