More or less everyone could qualify for the restricted license, and the main reason someone may not qualify would be if they had previously been suspected and/or convicted of a DUI. People would not be eligible for a restricted license if they were suspected of DUI the second time, although they would ultimately be eligible for a restricted license if they ended up being convicted and ended up getting a one year license revocation for being convicted of a second DUI.
Out Of State Visitors Cannot Get A Restricted License
The other group of people who might not be eligible for a restricted license are people with an out of state license. If someone with a license from California came to Arizona and got a DUI, then their privilege to drive in the state of Arizona would be suspended for 90 days, and because they had a California license or another state’s license, they would not be eligible for a restricted license in this state so they would have to go through the full 90 days with their privilege to drive suspended.
Someone with a Californian license would still be able to drive in California or anywhere else in the United States on that Californian license, unless California or the issuing state decided to do something because the person was suspected of DUI in Arizona.
If someone from another state was suspected for DUI in Arizona, then Arizona would contact their home state and contact all of the other states through an interstate contact and tell them that one of their residents came to Arizona and was arrested for DUI, so they might want to do something to their license. The home state would most likely take action on the license due to a DUI charge out of Arizona.
Other Conditions Of Getting A Restricted License
Everyone suspected of a DUI should be able to qualify for a restricted license, but they would have to do an alcohol screening for counseling, which would usually be a half hour interview with a private facility. They would not actually have to do all the counseling in order to get a restricted license on an admin per say 90 day suspension, but they would have to do a screening.
Once they did the screening, they should be eligible for the restricted license as long as they had an Arizona driver’s license and as long as they had not been previously arrested and/or convicted of a DUI. Arizona does not have a hardship license, so there is no chance to simply get out of having a license suspended at all, because that exception does not exist.
Some states do have this option, so they may have something like medical exceptions. More or less everyone suspected of DUI would have to deal with their license or privilege to drive being suspended for at least 30 days, if not 90 days.
How Restricted Is The Restricted License?
The restricted license would only allow the person to drive in the state of Arizona and it would only allow them to drive to and from home to work and school and counseling, so it would technically not allow the person to drive anywhere else, and it would technically not even allow the person to drive to court, or to the grocery store. In theory, it would not even allow the person to drive to the gas station to get gas to put in the car to drive to work, or home, or school, or counseling.
I handled this kind of situation once in court and I was successful on the theory that the court could not say the person was allowed to drive somewhere but then say the person was not allowed to get the gas to drive somewhere.
There are certain restrictions, but it is not an ignition interlock device restriction and it is not necessarily a time restriction, it is more like a place restriction that the person could only drive to and from work and home and school and counseling.
Sometimes officers randomly run license plates at 11 o clock at night and pull people over simply because they know that the driver, the registered owner of the vehicle and suspected driver of the vehicle has a restricted license. The officer would assume the person was probably not going to and from work and home and school and counseling at 11 o clock at night
I think this is unconstitutional, and it is pure speculation because the officer would obviously not know where the person worked, which could become an issue of an illegal traffic stop, although that would not mean the person would not have to go through the system and try to argue that.
Costs Associated With Obtaining A Restricted License
The person would not have to pay to get the restricted license, although there would be some rules regarding receiving a restricted license. In order to get a restricted license, the person would firstly have to go through the first 30 days of no driving at all.
There Are Two Ways To Receive Your Restricted License
They would then have to do an alcohol screening for counseling from a court and Motor Vehicle Division approved counseling center. The counseling center would have to notify the Motor Vehicle Division that the person had done the screening for counseling.
Then either the Motor Vehicle Division would mail out the person’s restricted license back to them, or the person would have to go in the Motor Vehicle Division on the 31st day or after, and pick up their restricted license. People need to understand that the restricted license would not count as a form of identification, so it would not be something they would have to pay for.
Realistically, it would be as much as 60 days, not absolutely 60 days, because someone may go into the Motor Vehicle Division after they had stopped driving for 40 days. In that case they would have a 50 day restricted license.
After the restricted license ended, they would go back to full suspension. It would not continue being restricted, and it would not fully revert to a fully valid driver’s license. People should remember the first 30 days would typically mean no driving at all, and then for 60 days, they could get a restricted license and then after the full 90 days were up, they would have to go back into the Motor Vehicle Division and pay to reinstate their license to drive.
An Attorney Can Help With The Process Of Getting A Restricted License
I generally help clients just by advising them about steps they need to take, but I do not go down to the Motor Vehicle Division and pick it up for them. I tell clients how they could go about possibly getting their restricted license sent in the mail, because there is not a lot of involvement needed when actually picking up or receiving the restricted license.
I can let a client know if I felt they would not be eligible, because this would not be a motion I had to follow or a request I had to make for them to get it. They would either be eligible for it or not, and they would either have to go pick it up or get it in the mail.
An attorney would be able to assist the client by knowing what is in their best interest and what would be better for them overall when looking at the grand scheme of things, like whether or not they should ask for a hearing, how the Motor Vehicle Division aspect should be handled to put that in the best position concerning their life, concerning their tastes and considering the SR-22 high risk insurance.
For more information on Restricted License, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling 480-900-0384 today.
