Bartow County License Hearing Guide
How to request your Administrative License Hearing and protect your driving privileges after a DUI arrest.
Last verified: September 5, 2026
30-Day Deadline
You have exactly 30 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
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Guides
You have 30 calendar days from a Bartow County DUI arrest to act on your license, and the criminal case has nothing to do with it. The yellow DDS 1205 form the officer leaves you is a temporary permit, but treating its expiration as your deadline is the mistake that costs people their license. The real clock is 30 days from the arrest.
Two options, and you can only pick one. File for an Administrative License Suspension hearing with a $150 fee, which sends the matter to the state Office of State Administrative Hearings, a separate agency from the Bartow courts, where your lawyer can challenge the stop and the testing. Or waive that hearing, install a state-approved ignition interlock device, and get a limited permit that keeps you driving. Do neither within 30 days and the license goes into a hard suspension for up to a year, no matter how the DUI case ends.
The Cartersville DDS office
It's at 1304 Joe Frank Harris Parkway, open Tuesday through Friday until 6 p.m. and Saturday mornings, closed Sunday and Monday. Anything beyond a basic renewal, restricted permits, interlock verification, ALS paperwork, needs a scheduled appointment booked through the DDS online portal, and those appointments can be weeks out. Book yours well before your temporary permit runs out. The office lets you bring only one other person inside, which matters if your license is already suspended and you need someone to drive you.
You can pay fees in cash at the counter, but it slows everything down. Paying online through a DDS account is faster and lets you watch your license status in real time.
After a conviction
Reinstatement is $200 by mail or $210 in person, plus an SR-22 filing from an insurer and proof you finished the 20-hour Risk Reduction course. Expect the SR-22 to raise your premium by anywhere from 100 to 300 percent over the three years you have to carry it.
School and monitoring
The Risk Reduction course is a fixed $360 statewide and includes the assessment that screens for whether you need further treatment. Several certified schools operate in Cartersville, and two of them sit within a block of the DDS office on Joe Frank Harris Parkway, so you can walk your completion certificate straight to the license counter. For the interlock, Intoxalock has an installer on North Tennessee Street in Cartersville, by appointment only, and the nearest Smart Start is in Acworth just over the county line. The device needs calibration every month.
If a judge orders continuous alcohol monitoring, common for a repeat offense or Drug Court, that's arranged through the probation office, with the actual SCRAM hardware run by regional monitoring companies out of Canton and Cumming.
Last updated: September 5, 2026
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