2021 Georgia Code
Title 40 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic
Chapter 5 - Drivers' Licenses
Article 3 - Cancellation, Suspension, and Revocation of Licenses
§ 40-5-67.2. Terms and Conditions for Implied Consent License Suspension; Administrative License Suspensions in Relation to Post-Conviction Suspension; Eligibility for Limited Driving Permit or Ignition Interlock Device Limited Driving Permit

1. Any driver's license required to be suspended under subsection (c) of Code Section 40-5-67.1 shall be suspended subject to the following terms and conditions:
   1. Upon the first suspension pursuant to subsection (c) of Code Section 40-5-67.1 within the previous five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which a suspension was obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a suspension is obtained, the period of suspension shall be for one year. Not sooner than 30 days following the effective date of suspension, the person may apply to the department for reinstatement of his or her driver's license. Such license shall be reinstated if such person submits proof of completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program and pays a restoration fee of $210.00 or $200.00 when such reinstatement is processed by mail unless such conviction was a recidivist conviction in which case the restoration fee shall be $510.00 or $500.00 when processed by mail. A driver's license suspended pursuant to Code Section 40-5-67.1 shall not become valid and shall remain suspended until such person submits proof of completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program and pays the prescribed restoration fee.
   2. Upon the second suspension pursuant to subsection (c) of Code Section 40-5-67.1 within five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which suspensions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a suspension is obtained, the period of suspension shall be for three years. The person shall be eligible to apply to the department for license reinstatement not sooner than 18 months following the effective date of suspension. Such license shall be reinstated if such person submits proof of completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program and pays a restoration fee of $210.00 or $200.00 when such reinstatement is processed by mail unless such conviction was a recidivist conviction in which case the restoration fee shall be $510.00 or $500.00 when processed by mail. A driver's license suspended pursuant to Code Section 40-5-67.1 shall not become valid and shall remain suspended until such person submits proof of completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program and pays the prescribed restoration fee.
   3. Upon the third or subsequent suspension pursuant to subsection (c) of Code Section 40-5-67.1 within five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which suspensions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a suspension is obtained, the period of suspension shall be for five years. A driver's license suspended pursuant to Code Section 40-5-67.1 shall not become valid and shall remain suspended until such person submits proof of completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program and pays the prescribed restoration fee. The driver may apply for a probationary license pursuant to Code Section 40-5-58 after the expiration of two years from the effective date of suspension.
2. An administrative license suspension pursuant to Code Section 40-5-67.1 shall be counted toward fulfillment of any period of suspension subsequently imposed as a result of a conviction of violating Code Section 40-6-391 which arises out of the same violation for which the administrative license suspension was imposed.An administrative license suspension pursuant to Code Section 40-5-67.1 shall run concurrently with any revocation of such driver's license pursuant to a subsequent determination that such person is a habitual violator.
3. In all cases in which the department may return a license to a driver prior to the termination of the full period of suspension, the department may require such tests of driving skill and knowledge as it determines to be proper, and the department's discretion shall be guided by the driver's past driving record and performance, and the driver shall pay a restoration fee of $210.00 or $200.00 when processed by mail.
4. Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, a driver with no previous conviction for a violation of Code Section 40-6-391 within the previous five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest, during the period of administrative suspension contemplated under this chapter, shall be entitled to a limited driving permit or an ignition interlock device limited driving permit as provided in Code Sections 40-5-64 and 40-5-64.1.

(Code 1981, §40-5-67.2, enacted by Ga. L. 1992, p. 2564, § 6; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1600, § 7; Ga. L. 2000, p. 951, § 5-33; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1457, § 5; Ga. L. 2001, p. 208, §§ 2-4, 3-4; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 17-15.1/HB 501; Ga. L. 2007, p. 47, § 40/SB 103; Ga. L. 2016, p. 323, § 2-5/HB 205.)

The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, substituted "entitled to a limited driving permit or an ignition interlock device limited driving permit as provided in Code Sections 40-5-64 and 40-5-64.1" for "entitled to a limited driving permit as provided in Code Section 40-5-64" in subsection (d).

- Ga. L. 1994, p. 1600, § 11, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the provisions of the Act shall apply only to cases arising out of arrests occurring on or after January 1, 1995, except that the provisions amending subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-391.1, restricting the acceptance of a plea of nolo contendere to a charge of violating Code Section 40-6-391, and the provisions amending subsection (c) of Code Section 40-6-391, changing the criminal penalties for violations of the Code section, shall become effective July 1, 1994, and except that the provisions amending subsection (g) of Code Section 40-5-67.1, relating to the time for requesting a hearing on an administrative suspension, the stay of a suspension pending such hearing, and the early termination of an administrative suspension under certain conditions shall apply to cases pending on July 1, 1994.

- For note on 1992 enactment of this Code section, see 9 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 298 (1992).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Verification of information prior to traffic stop.

- Since, in most cases, a driver must wait a minimum of 30 days after the driver's license is suspended before applying for reinstatement and, in some cases, up to five years, a police officer was not required to verify that the information the driver had received within the few weeks preceding a stop regarding the suspension of the driver's license was still accurate before making a brief stop of the car. State v. Harris, 236 Ga. App. 525, 513 S.E.2d 1 (1999).

- Suspension of a driver's license at an administrative hearing is not punishment, nor is the hearing a prosecution for the purposes of double jeopardy. Kirkpatrick v. State, 219 Ga. App. 307, 464 S.E.2d 882 (1995).

- Implied consent suspensions run concurrently with any habitual violator revocation of a driver's license. Miles v. Kemp, 233 Ga. App. 850, 506 S.E.2d 141 (1998).

- Credit for implied consent suspensions is to be given only against subsequent suspensions under the DUI statute if both were imposed as a result of the same arrest. Miles v. Kemp, 233 Ga. App. 850, 506 S.E.2d 141 (1998).