Chatham County License Hearing Guide

The 30-day deadline is the one that ends most Chatham County license losses, and it runs on a separate track from the criminal case. When an officer seizes the license at a DUI arrest, they hand over a yellow DDS-1205 form that works as a permit for 45 days. But the request to fight the suspension has to be postmarked within 30 calendar days of the arrest, mailed with a $150 fee to the Department of Driver Services in Conyers. Miss it and the license suspends on day 46. The alternative, available since 2017, is to skip the hearing, install an ignition interlock right away, and take a limited permit instead.

Handling anything in person means dealing with the Savannah DDS office at 1117 Eisenhower Drive, Suite B, which is closed on Mondays. It's open Tuesday through Friday until 6:30 p.m. and Saturday mornings. A defendant released on a Monday can't touch a license issue there until Tuesday.

Reinstating a license takes three things lined up together: a Risk Reduction Program certificate showing DUI school is done, a reinstatement fee of about $210, and a certified copy of the court disposition. DUI school is a fixed $360 for the standard 20-hour course, usually run Friday evening through Sunday, and showing up even a minute late generally means dismissal and losing the fee. Georgia law also requires a clinical evaluation for nearly every DUI offender, a 60-to-90-minute interview costing $150 to $255 whose recommendation becomes a court order.

Two companies install interlocks in Savannah. Smart Start installs through Sight and Sound Technologies at 7602 Waters Avenue, 912-235-6867. Intoxalock installs at 2313 Abercorn Street, 912-228-4414. Installation runs $70 to $150, then $70 to $100 a month, with a calibration visit every 30 to 60 days and a $50 to $75 fee for a lockout code. Savannah's humidity is hard on the devices, and a recurring complaint is the unit drawing enough power with the car off to kill the battery and trigger a lockout.

For DUI Court participants and high-BAC defendants on bond, the court can also order a SCRAM ankle monitor that samples sweat for alcohol every 30 minutes. It's entirely defendant-funded, about $10 to $15 a day, which comes to $300 to $450 a month.