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CALIFORNIA DRIVERS HARDSHIP LICENSE LAW
Introduction: The increasingly aggressive enforcement of the laws prohibiting driving while intoxicated has resulted in greatly reduced vehicular deaths due to drunk driving and a primary tool in the enforcement of the laws has been revocation of driver’s license of those found guilty of such conduct. But in many parts of California public transportation is not readily available and in some instances, especially with women or the young, taking public transportation at certain times of day and night can be dangerous. As one judge once told the author, at the very moment one is trying to adjust to a radically different life due to the conviction, one loses what can be a vital tool of earning a living, namely having a driver’s license. The courts do want to protect the public but also do want people to earn their own way and various types of restricted licenses can be granted to persons losing the right to drive so as to allow certain limited driving privileges. This article gives the basic law and procedure for obtaining such restrictions licenses.
What Is a Hardship License? A license that has been revoked as a result of a driving under the influence of an intoxicating substance (drunk driving or “dui” ) conviction or as a result of having refused to take a breath or blood test, or having failed such a test, can be resurrected in part by the granting of a restricted driving license for particular purposes. These restricted licenses are provided by the Drivers License Bureau. If a driver has already been convicted of drunk driving (DUI) by a judge and the license has been suspended or revoked, the driver can request of the judge to be provided with what is commonly called a “green order” (based on the color of the paper). This authorizes the Drivers License Bureau to provide the convicted person with a hardship license if qualified. The reasons for granting such a license generally pertain to business or employment reasons, family reasons, and personal reasons as discussed in more detail below. Note that if the Drivers License Bureau does not believe the driver qualifies for a hardship or business permit they may reject the application even if the judge provides a green order. If a driver has not been convicted of the crime but the license has been taken because of a refusal to take the blood or breath test or failure of the test, the driver may still be eligible for a business purposes-only license. No agency hearing required before a hardship license is issued. A request for a restricted license need not be considered at the DMV hearing. You may apply for a restricted license to drive to and from work at any DMV field office. Prior offenses can prevent obtaining a hardship license Under MVC §13355, dealing with speeding suspensions, if there is a prior speeding offense within the past three years, one may still get a restricted license for job purposes for six months and for one year if there are two speeding convictions in the past five years. MVC §13353.8 provides that the court may review the order and may impose restriction on the person’s privilege to drive based upon a showing of a critical need to drive, if the department of motor vehicles determines that, within seven years of the current violation of Section 23136 (minor w/ alcohol offense), the person has not violated Section 23136. MVC §13353.7 allows a restricted license if the license has not been suspended or revoked pursuant to Section 13353 or 13353.2 for a DUI offense which occurred on a separate occasion within seven years of the occasion in question and, if the person subsequently enrolls in a program described in Section 11837.3 of the Health and Safety Code, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 23538, that person, if twenty one years of age or older at the time the offense occurred, may apply to the department for a restricted driver’s license limited to travel to and from the activities required by the program or to and from and in the course of the person’s employment, or both. A person seeking restricted driving privileges under MVC § 13353.6 for a restricted commercial driver’s license must have no prior reckless driving or DUI offenses.
The Basic Requirements for Getting a Hardship License If you were convicted in court of the DUI charge, you may still obtain a restricted license. If you have a non-commercial driver license and you show proof of enrollment in a DUI treatment program, file proof of financial responsibility and pay (on or after January 1, 2003…increasing over the years) a $125 reissue fee after a mandatory 30-day suspension, you may then request a restricted license to drive to and from the DUI treatment program and/or to, from, and during work. The reissue fee remains at $100 if you were under age 21 and were suspended under the Zero Tolerance Law pursuant to Vehicle Code §§23136, 13353.1, 13388, 13392. Concerning students and hardship, under the law the application for a junior driving permit shall be accompanied by a signed statement from the school principal verifying inadequacy of school transportation to attend school activities, or a signed statement from a physician familiar with the condition, containing a diagnosis and probable date when sufficient recovery will have been made to terminate the family illness emergency. Also, the application may contain a written statement from a parent or guardian verifying the need to drive to a job necessary to the family’s support in writing. Under MVC § 13352 et seq., instead of suspending the person’s driving privilege, the department of motor vehicles shall issue a restricted license upon receipt of an abstract of record from the court certifying that the court has granted probation to the person based on the conditions specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of, and subdivision (b) of, Section 23538. Further, after completion of a certain length of the suspension period, depending on the sentence, the person may apply to the department for a restricted driver’s license, subject to the following conditions: (A) The person has satisfactorily provided, subsequent to the current underlying conviction, either of the following: (i) Proof of enrollment in an 18-month driving-under-the-influence program licensed pursuant to Section 11836 of the Health and Safety Code. (B) The person agrees, as a condition of the restriction, to continue satisfactory particiapation in the program described in subparagraph (A). (C) The person submits the “Verification of Installation” form described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 13386. (D) The person agrees to maintain the ignition interlock device as required under subdivision (g) of Section 23575. (E) The person provides proof of financial responsibility, as defined in Section 16430. (F) The person pays all administrative fees or reissue fees and any restriction fee required by the department. Restricted licenses issued under 13352.5 require a person charged with a DUI offense and granted probation to: (1) Submit proof of enrollment in, or completion of, a driving-under-the-influence program licensed pursuant to Section 11836 of the Health and Safety Code, as described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of Section 23542. Minors can receive restricted driving permits. A person under 21 may seek the issuance of a junior permit pursuant to Section 12513. It even allows limited permits for 14-18 year olds for: (1) school transportation - driver needs to show inadequate school transportation to attend, All the above criteria must be proven as described above.
Conclusion: The Courts do not want people to lose their job or education due to driving restrictions but are strict to ensure that the driving is so restricted. A common error made by people with restricted driving rights is to push the envelope more and more until suddenly stopped for a violation that may be minor but with a license that could not possibly justify the use of the vehicle as demonstrated. One client’s son was seeking to claim that a drive to the school Prom was an educational exception to the restriction and found himself not only facing a massive fine, but losing even those restricted rights for the next three years. His entire educational life was interrupted since he abused the last chance given by the Court. Nevertheless, for good cause and with some effort, one can save a job or education or help a family with illness even with the license revoked and the process, while complex, is not impossible to utilize with success.
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