Lincoln County License Hearing Guide
How to request your Express Consent Hearing and protect your driving privileges after a DUI arrest.
Last verified: September 23, 2026
7-Day Deadline
You have exactly 7 days from your arrest to request a hearing. Miss this deadline and your license is automatically suspended. No exceptions.
Enter your arrest date to see your deadline:
If You Request in Time
- • Temporary permit until hearing
- • Chance to keep your license
- • Gather evidence for defense
If You Miss the Deadline
- • Automatic 90-180 day suspension
- • No hearing, no appeal
- • Starts after waiting period
How to Request Your Hearing
Online Request
Fee: Typically $50-$125
Available: 24/7
Instant confirmation
Phone Request
Fee: Same as online
Hours: Business hours only
Expect hold times
Information You'll Need
From Your Notice:
- • Driver License Number
- • Date of Arrest
- • Arresting Agency
- • Arresting Officer Name
Personal Information:
- • Full Legal Name
- • Current Address
- • Date of Birth
- • Phone Number & Email
After You Request
Temporary Permit
ImmediateDrive legally until your hearing
Hearing Notice
20-40 daysDate, time, and format mailed to you
Prepare Defense
Before hearingGather evidence, hire attorney
Attend Hearing
Scheduled dateUsually phone or video
Decision
Same dayWin: keep license. Lose: suspension starts
Temporary Permit
Immediate
Drive until hearing
Hearing Notice
20-40 days
Date mailed to you
Prepare
Before hearing
Gather evidence
Attend Hearing
Scheduled
Phone or video
Decision
Same day
Win or suspension
What to Expect at the Hearing
Most hearings are by phone or video
You usually don't need to travel. When you receive your hearing notice, it will specify whether it's phone, video, or in-person.
Duration
30-60 minutes typically
Who's There
You, your attorney (optional), state attorney, hearing officer
What They Review
Probable cause for stop, proper arrest procedure, test validity
Evidence That Can Help
- Dashcam or bodycam footage showing procedural errors
- Breathalyzer calibration records (if not current)
- Witness statements about your sobriety
- Medical conditions affecting field sobriety tests
Should You Hire an Attorney?
With an Attorney
- Can subpoena arresting officer
- Knows how to challenge evidence
- Uses hearing to strengthen criminal defense
- Higher success rate at hearings
Without an Attorney
- State has experienced attorney present
- May not know proper objections
- Can't effectively cross-examine officers
- Lower win rate statistically
If You Lose Your Hearing
Losing the hearing isn't the end. You still have options to maintain limited driving privileges:
Ignition Interlock
Drive with device installed
Occupational License
Limited driving for work/essentials
Colorado DMV Office
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Guides
Seven calendar days. That's the entire window a Lincoln County driver gets to request a hearing before an Express Consent license revocation becomes automatic and unappealable. The clock starts on the arrest date for a breath test failure or an outright refusal; for a blood draw, it doesn't start on the mailing date itself — it starts three days after the DMV actually mails the Notice of Revocation, the point Colorado law treats it as received, since lab results can take weeks to come back in the first place and the real deadline lands around 10 days after the letter goes out. A driver keeps full privileges in the meantime, but the address on file with the DMV has to be accurate. "I never got the letter" isn't a valid excuse for missing the deadline once it's mailed.
The hearing isn't requested at the county courthouse in Hugo. It goes straight to the state: by mail to the Department of Revenue's Driver Control Section in Denver, by fax to (303) 205-5960, or by email to dor_hearingrequest@state.co.us. Getting a signed receipt, a fax confirmation page or an email read receipt, is worth the extra step given how little room there is to argue a late filing.
Winning the criminal DUI case in court changes nothing here. The DMV's Express Consent process runs entirely separate from the criminal charge, evaluated under a lower burden of proof, so an acquittal or dismissal doesn't automatically restore driving privileges.
A standard first-offense BAC failure carries a 9-month revocation. A refusal, or a BAC of 0.15 or higher, triggers a "Persistent Drunk Driver" designation instead, which requires an Ignition Interlock Device for a minimum of two years before reinstatement, plus Level II clinical therapy. The nearest certified installer for Lincoln County is inside a dealership in Limon; another provider also dispatches to the area. Calibration is required every 30 to 90 days, which makes the choice of installer matter more here than in a county with several options to pick from.
The county's own driver license office, run through the Lincoln County Clerk and Recorder in Hugo, keeps standard weekday hours but closes for lunch from noon to 1 p.m., and shifts to a 9 a.m. start on the first Thursday of each month.
Last updated: September 23, 2026
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