Cherokee County DDS ALS Hearing Guide
How to appeal your Administrative License Suspension (ALS) and protect your driving privileges after a DUI arrest.
Last verified: September 5, 2026
10-Day Deadline
You have exactly 10 business days from your arrest to appeal your Administrative License Suspension (ALS). Miss this deadline and your license is automatically suspended. No exceptions.
Enter your arrest date to see your deadline:
If You Appeal in Time
- * Hearing scheduled before OSAH
- * Chance to keep your license
- * May get limited permit faster
If You Miss the Deadline
- * Automatic 1-year suspension
- * No hearing, no appeal
- * Starts on 46th day after arrest
How to Appeal Your ALS
In Georgia, you appeal your Administrative License Suspension by filing a request with the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS). The hearing is conducted by the Office of State Administrative Hearings (OSAH). You must file within 10 business days and pay a $150 filing fee.
File Through Attorney
Why: Complex procedures and strict deadlines
Deadline: Within 10 business days of arrest
Handles both ALS appeal and criminal case
File Pro Se (Self)
Where: Georgia DDS online or by mail
What to File: ALS appeal request
Cost: $150 filing fee
Not recommended - legal complexity
What the Hearing Officer Will Consider
Grounds for Appeal:
- * Officer lacked reasonable suspicion for stop
- * Improper administration of chemical test
- * Officer failed to advise of implied consent
- * Testing equipment not properly maintained
Documents to Gather:
- * Citation and ticket copies
- * DDS Form 1205 (if received)
- * Any police reports available
- * Witness information
Georgia ALS Suspension Periods
Failed Chemical Test (0.08+ BAC)
- 1st:1-year suspension (limited permit after 30 days with IID)
- 2nd:3-year suspension (limited permit after 120 days)
- 3rd+:5-year suspension (habitual violator status)
Refused Chemical Test
- 1st:1-year hard suspension (no limited permit)
- 2nd:3-year hard suspension
- 3rd+:5-year hard suspension
Important: 10-Year Lookback
Georgia looks back 10 years for prior DUI offenses. A second offense within 10 years carries significantly harsher penalties under O.C.G.A. 40-6-391.
What to Expect at the Hearing
ALS hearings are conducted by OSAH
The Office of State Administrative Hearings handles Georgia ALS appeals. These are administrative hearings, separate from your criminal court case. They're typically held by phone or video conference.
Duration
30-60 minutes typically
Who's There
You, your attorney, hearing officer, arresting officer
What They Review
Probable cause for stop, implied consent warnings, test procedures
Evidence That Can Help
- Dashcam or bodycam showing procedural errors
- Intoxilyzer 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 challenge stop legality
- Knows how to challenge test procedures
- Can negotiate limited driving permit faster
- Handles both ALS appeal and criminal case
Without an Attorney
- State has trained prosecutors against you
- May not know proper legal arguments
- Harder to get limited permit
- Lower success rate statistically
If You Lose Your Appeal
Losing the ALS appeal isn't the end. You still have options to maintain limited driving privileges:
Ignition Interlock Device
Required for limited permit
Limited Driving Permit
Work, school, medical, treatment
Georgia DDS - Cumming Office
For license reinstatement after suspension ends, or questions about your driving record. This is the nearest DDS Customer Service Center to Cherokee County:
FAQ
Related Guides
The officer takes the physical license at a Cherokee County DUI arrest and hands over a DDS-1205 form that works as a permit for 45 days. But the appeal deadline is 30 days. Request an Administrative License Suspension hearing within 30 calendar days, with a $150 fee, or the suspension goes hard automatically. The request can't be dropped at the Canton DDS branch; it has to be mailed to the Department of Driver Services in Conyers, and leaving out the payment gets it rejected outright.
Reinstatement and other in-person business run through the Canton DDS Customer Service Center at 220 Brown Industrial Parkway, Suite 200. It's closed Mondays, open Tuesday through Friday until 6 p.m. and Saturday mornings. A defendant arrested over a weekend can't reinstate anything on Monday and has to wait for Tuesday.
An interlock is the alternative to fighting the suspension: install the device, take a limited permit, keep driving. Two companies install locally. Smart Start is at 3753 Marietta Highway, Suite 150 in Canton, in the same building as a DUI school. Intoxalock installs through Canton Auto Center at 233 Univeter Court. The devices bring their own headaches. A rolling retest asks the driver to blow into the unit while the car is moving, which on a corridor like I-575 is a genuine distraction, and yeast, energy drinks, or spicy food can trigger a fail that sets off a horn alarm and locks the ignition once the engine is turned off. In cold weather the device's constant power draw can kill the battery; jump-starting the car then can register as tampering, with a reset fee around $75 on top of a tow and a new battery. Removing the device after the court order ends often takes weeks of waiting on the company for removal authorization, which means extra lease payments.
For the person rather than the car, the court can order continuous alcohol monitoring, usually run by a private probation company. A SCRAM ankle bracelet runs $10 to $15 a day, roughly $300 to $450 a month, plus a setup fee, and an extra $2 a day for a cellular base unit if there's no landline at home. It can't be submerged, so showers mean holding the leg out, and it can't come off for an MRI without a court order and a technician.
Sources
Last updated: September 5, 2026
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