2022 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 47. Motor Vehicles
§47-6-211v2. Right of appeal to district court.

A. Any person denied driving privileges, or whose driving privilege has been canceled, denied, suspended or revoked by the Department, except where such cancellation, denial, suspension or revocation is mandatory, under the provisions of Section 6-205 of this title, or disqualified by the Department, under the provisions of Section 6-205.2 or 761 of this title, shall have the right of appeal to the district court as hereinafter provided. Proceedings before the district court shall be exempt from the provisions of the Oklahoma Pleading and Discovery codes, except that the appeal shall be by petition, without responsive pleadings. The district court is hereby vested with original jurisdiction to hear the petition.

B. A person whose driving privilege is denied, canceled, revoked or suspended due to inability to meet standards prescribed by law, or due to an out-of-state conviction or violation, or due to an excessive point accumulation on the traffic record, or for an unlawful license issued, may appeal in the county in which the person resides.

C. Any person whose driving privilege is canceled, denied, suspended or revoked may appeal to the district court in the county in which the offense was committed upon which the Department based its order.

D. A person whose driving privilege is subject to revocation pursuant to Section 753 or 754 of this title may appeal to the district court in the county in which the arrest occurred relating to the test refusal or test result, as shown by the records of the Department.

E. The petition shall be filed within thirty (30) days after the notice of revocation, pursuant to Section 753 or 754 of this title, has been served upon the person by the Department of Public Safety. The petition shall contain a description of the facts and circumstances of the underlying incident sufficient to determine the arresting law enforcement agency and the date of the incident. It shall be the duty of the district court to enter an order setting the matter for hearing not less than thirty (30) days and not more than sixty (60) days from the date the petition is filed. A certified copy of petition and order for hearing shall be served forthwith by the petitioner upon the Commissioner of Public Safety by certified mail at the Department of Public Safety, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

F. Upon a hearing relating to a revocation or disqualification pursuant to a conviction for an offense enumerated in Section 6-205, 6-205.2 or 761 of this title, the court shall not consider the propriety or merits of the revocation or disqualification action, except to correct the identity of the person convicted as shown by records of the Department.

G. When the records of the Department do not reflect receipt of a sworn report of a law enforcement officer stating that the officer had reasonable grounds to believe the petitioner had been driving or was in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon the public roads, highways, streets, turnpikes, or other public place of this state while under the influence of alcohol, any other intoxicating substance, or the combined influence of alcohol and any other intoxicating substance, the court shall, upon application by the Department, stay the appeal for one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of the arrest as alleged in the petition, or until the sworn report is received by the Department. If the records of the Department do not reflect receipt of the sworn report described in this subsection at the expiration of the stay, the court shall enter an order directing the Department to take no action upon receipt of the sworn report related to the arrest as described in the petition. In no event shall a court award costs or fees, including attorney fees, based upon the records of the Department that do not reflect the receipt of the sworn report as described in this subsection.

H. The court shall take testimony and examine the facts and circumstances, including all of the records on file in the office of the Department of Public Safety relative to the offense committed and the driving record of the person, and determine from the facts, circumstances, and records whether or not the petitioner is entitled to driving privileges or shall be subject to the order of denial, cancellation, suspension or revocation issued by the Department. In case the court finds that the order was not justified, the court may sustain the appeal, vacate the order of the Department and direct that driving privileges be restored to the petitioner, if otherwise eligible.

I. The testimony of any hearing pursuant to this section shall be taken by the court stenographer and preserved for the purpose of appeal and, in case the Department files notice of appeal from the order of the court as provided herein, the court shall order and direct the court clerk to prepare and furnish a complete transcript of all pleadings and proceedings, together with a complete transcript taken at the hearing at no cost to the Department, except the cost of transcribing.

J. Upon the Department's receipt of a petition challenging the Department's action against the driving privileges of any person under this title, the Department shall withhold taking the action which is the subject of the appeal or stay the order which is the subject of the appeal. During the pendency of the appeal, the Department shall grant or restore driving privileges to the person if the person is otherwise eligible.

K. An appeal may be taken by the person or by the Department from the order or judgment of the district court to the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma as otherwise provided by law.

Added by Laws 1961, p. 349, § 6-211, eff. Sept. 1, 1961. Amended by Laws 1969, c. 88, § 1, emerg. eff. March 24, 1969; Laws 1988, c. 242, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 1988; Laws 1990, c. 219, § 38, eff. Jan. 1, 1991; Laws 1994, c. 243, § 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Laws 1997, c. 420, § 3, emerg. eff. June 13, 1997; Laws 1999, c. 139, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 1999; Laws 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., c. 8, § 19, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2003, c. 392, § 17, eff. July 1, 2003; Laws 2006, c. 311, § 21, emerg. eff. June 8, 2006; Laws 2011, c. 373, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 2011; Laws 2019, c. 400, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2019; Laws 2022, c. 376, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2022.