Cherokee County License Hearing Guide
How to request your Administrative License Suspension 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
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.
Last updated: September 5, 2026
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