2020 Georgia Code
Title 40 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic
Chapter 5 - Drivers' Licenses
Article 3 - Cancellation, Suspension, and Revocation of Licenses
§ 40-5-62. Periods of Revocation; Time Served Under Such Sentence Credited Toward Fulfillment of Period of Revocation; Conditions to Restoration of License or Issuance of New License

1. Unless the revocation was for a cause which has been removed, any person whose license or privilege to drive a motor vehicle on the public highways has been revoked shall not be eligible to apply for a new license nor restoration of his or her nonresident's operating privilege until the earlier of:
   1. Five years from the date on which the revoked license was surrendered to and received by the department pursuant to a person's having been declared a habitual violator under Code Section 40-5-58;
   2. Five years from the date on which a person is sentenced for the offense that resulted in his or her driver's license or driving privileges being revoked;
   3. Five years from the date on which the department processed the citation or conviction, reduced by a period of time equal to that period of time which elapses between the date the person surrenders his or her driver's license to the court after conviction for the offense for which the person is declared a habitual violator and the date the department receives such license from the court; or
   4. Such time as any cause for revocation under subsection (b) of Code Section 40-5-59 has been removed.
2. When a person serving a sentence has his or her driver's license or driving privileges concurrently revoked with the imposition of his or her sentence, the department shall credit the time served under such sentence toward the fulfillment of the period of revocation.
3. The department shall not issue a new license nor restore a person's suspended license or nonresident's operating privilege unless and until it is satisfied after investigation of the character, habits, and driving ability of such person that it will be safe to grant the privilege of driving a motor vehicle on the public highways. Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Code section or any other provision of this title, the department shall not issue a new license to any person whose license was revoked as a habitual violator for three violations of Code Section 40-6-391 within a five-year period unless and until such person submits proof of completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program. The department may issue rules and regulations providing for reinstatement hearings. In the case of a revocation pursuant to Code Section 40-5-58, the department shall charge a fee of $410.00 or $400.00 if processed by mail in addition to the fee prescribed by Code Section 40-5-25 to issue a new driver's license to a person whose driver's license has been revoked.

(Code 1933, § 68B-310, enacted by Ga. L. 1975, p. 1008, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. 487, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 40; Ga. L. 1985, p. 758, § 8; Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 4; Ga. L. 1992, p. 779, § 19.1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 940, § 4; Ga. L. 2004, p. 471, § 5; Ga. L. 2009, p. 679, § 5/HB 160; Ga. L. 2014, p. 710, § 1-11/SB 298; Ga. L. 2016, p. 443, § 4-4/SB 367.)

The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, in subsection (a), inserted "or her" near the end of the introductory paragraph and in paragraph (a)(3), added "the earlier of" at the end of the introductory paragraph, designated the existing provisions of paragraph (a)(1) as paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(3), substituted "Code Section 40-5-58;" for "Code Section 40-5-58 or" at the end of paragraph (a)(1), added paragraph (a)(2), added "Five years" at the beginning of paragraph (a)(3), and redesignated former paragraph (a)(2) as present paragraph (a)(4); added subsection (b); and redesignated former subsection (b) as present subsection (c).

- Requirement of proof of financial responsibility for the future as prerequisite to restoration of driver's license to person convicted of offense for which license suspension is mandatory, § 40-9-81.

- For article on the effect on receiving government-issued licenses after a conviction based on a nolo contendere plea, see 13 Ga. L. Rev. 723 (1979). For article on the 2016 amendment of this Code section, see 33 Georgia St. U.L. Rev. 139 (2016).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Revocation not criminal sentence.

- Revocation of a license pursuant to former Code 1933, § 68B-308 (see now O.C.G.A. § 40-5-58) was clearly not a criminal sentence. Cofer v. Hawthorne, 154 Ga. App. 875, 270 S.E.2d 84 (1980).

- Under O.C.G.A. § 40-5-53(b), a court of conviction is required to transmit notification of applicable convictions to the Georgia Department of Driver Services within 10 days of the date of conviction, but a trial court's failure to timely transmit the records, which failure results in delayed revocation of an individual's license, does not affect the validity of the revocation or the calculation of the five-year period. Eason v. Dozier, 298 Ga. App. 65, 679 S.E.2d 89 (2009), cert. denied, No. S09C1605, 2009 Ga. LEXIS 794 (Ga. 2009).

- Defendant was properly convicted of causing death while operating a vehicle after having been declared a habitual violator (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-393(c)) although the defendant was eligible to apply for a license under O.C.G.A. § 40-5-62(a)(1), the failure to apply for reinstatement of the license after five years elapsed meant that the revocation remained in effect. Greene v. State, 278 Ga. App. 848, 630 S.E.2d 123 (2006).

Cited in Williams v. State, 162 Ga. App. 415, 291 S.E.2d 732 (1982); Kimbrell v. State, 164 Ga. App. 344, 296 S.E.2d 206 (1982); Goblet v. State, 174 Ga. App. 675, 331 S.E.2d 56 (1985).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Applicability of procedures.

- Procedures of former Code 1933, § 68B-310 (see now O.C.G.A. § 40-5-62), should be used without regard to whether the applicant habitual violator was properly determined to be such by the superior court or by the Department of Public Safety. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-94.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 7A Am. Jur. 2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic, § 116.

- 60 C.J.S., Motor Vehicles, §§ 353 et seq., 359, 459.

- Suspension or revocation of driver's license for refusal to take sobriety test, 88 A.L.R.2d 1064.

Automobiles: validity and construction of legislation authorizing revocation or suspension of operator's license for "habitual," "persistent," or "frequent" violations of traffic regulations, 48 A.L.R.4th 367.