Camden County License Hearing Guide

Do not fax your license appeal. Old attorney pages and well-meaning advice still tell people to fax the 30-day hearing request to the DDS, sometimes to a number that was disconnected years ago. Georgia's administrative code, Rule 375-1-1-.06, says it plainly: the hearings unit will not accept requests by fax. Fax it and nothing was filed, and your license suspends automatically.

This is a civil case run by the Department of Driver Services, separate from the criminal charge in Probate or municipal court, and it moves fast.

The 30-day clock

If your breath or blood came back at 0.08 or higher, or the officer says you refused the state's test, they took your license and gave you a DDS Form 1205. That paper is a 45-day permit and the start of a countdown.

You have 30 calendar days from the arrest to either request an ALS hearing or install an ignition interlock device for a 12-month limited permit. The deadline used to be 10 business days; since July 2017 it's 30 calendar days, and it's close to absolute.

The hearing request goes in by mail, through the DDS online portal, or hand-delivered to a Customer Service Center like the one in Kingsland. Send it certified with return receipt. The $150 fee is due with the request, and it's not refundable. Mail to: Georgia Department of Driver Services, RM-Hearing Requests, P.O. Box 80447, Conyers, GA 30013. If the request is timely and paid, the case is docketed with the Office of State Administrative Hearings and you get a hearing date by mail.

The interlock choice is permanent

Waiving the hearing to take the interlock permit gives up your right to challenge the suspension for good. That doesn't come back even if the prosecutor later dismisses or reduces the criminal DUI. And if the arrest involved a refusal and you file nothing, it's a 12-month hard suspension: no work permit, no medical permit, nothing.

The Kingsland DDS at 333 South Ashley Street is closed Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, open Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

DUI school, interlock, and monitoring

A conviction requires the 20-hour Risk Reduction program, fixed at $360 statewide, before the DDS will reinstate you. St. Marys has a certified provider; the class directory on this site lists options.

For the interlock, Smart Start has a Kingsland location and LifeSafer is in Brunswick. Watch the advertised daily rate. A quote of a couple dollars a day leaves out the enrollment fee, installation labor, monthly calibration, and removal, and a push-to-start or hybrid vehicle costs more to wire. A failed rolling retest, even from mouthwash, locks the device and costs a fee to clear.

Misdemeanor probation and any court-ordered alcohol monitoring in this region run through a private probation company with a Kingsland office. It handles SCRAM ankle monitors, remote breath devices, and GPS, and collects supervision fees through an online portal with an unforgiving late policy.

A conviction also requires an SR-22 certificate, filed with the state by your insurer. No local step, but the premium goes up sharply and stays there for the required period.