If you have had your Florida Driver License permanently revoked after a fourth (4th) DUI, you may be eligible to apply for a hardship business or employment license. Under Florida Statute 322.271, you are eligible for an employment hardship license ten (10) years after your revocation before October, 2011; after October of this year you are eligible for an employment hardship license after only five (5) years.
The process for obtaining a hardship license is as follows:
- You will sit for a formal review hearing. This appointment takes approximately one hour. During this time a hearing officer will have you fill out the appropriate application and then determine the following: have you been drug and alcohol free for the last 5 years? Have you not been arrested for a drug/alcohol charge in the last 5 years? Have you refrained from driving for any reason for the last 5 years? Have you completed a DUI school program approved by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles?
- The Department will evaluate your case and determine your qualification, fitness, and need to drive. This will be based upon your application and formal hearing.
If the Department does decide to issue you a hardship license, the first year will be for employment purposes only. An employment hardship license will allow you to drive to and from a place of gainful employment. After one year, that employment hardship license will be eligible for conversion to a business purposes license, which allows you to drive to places like the doctor’s office or school.
- Once the Department has sent you a formal letter approving your request, you will take that letter to your local DMV office and pay the appropriate fees to have a hardship license issued.
- Finally, you will be supervised by a DUI program which you must report to 4 or more times per year. This supervision includes evaluation, education, referral into treatment, and other activities. You assume all costs of this supervision.
Having a hardship license would allow you the freedom to travel to and from work and eventually to and from your business related appointments. If you are eligible for a hardship license, contact an attorney at Taracks & Associates today. As former prosecutors with over 35 years of trial experience, we have the knowledge and tools necessary to help you prepare for your formal review hearing and application process. We will help guide you through each step of the process and prepare you for the formal review. An expert Tampa DUI lawyer will help you take the steps necessary to show the DHSMV that you are ready and prepared to drive again. Don’t hesitate – call a Tampa DUI Attorney at Taracks & Associates today for a free consultation. Taracks & Associates – The Advocate For You.