DeKalb 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 DDS-1205 form from a DeKalb County DUI arrest is a temporary license good for 45 days, but the number that matters is 30. Within 30 days of the arrest, the driver has to either request an administrative hearing or commit to an ignition interlock. Do neither and the license suspends automatically once the permit lapses, a full year with no work permit at all if the arrest involved a breath test refusal.
Requesting the hearing means a $150 fee and a letter to the Department of Driver Services in Conyers. It pauses the suspension and buys leverage: DeKalb defense attorneys routinely use the hearing to negotiate directly with the arresting officer, trading a guilty plea in the criminal case for the officer dropping the license suspension. The other path is to skip the hearing, install an interlock right away, apply for the limited permit within the same 30 days, and pay a $25 permit fee. That guarantees the ability to drive, restricted to work, school, and medical trips, and avoids the gamble of losing the hearing.
Reinstatement, once DUI school and fines are done, costs about $210 for a first offense and is handled at the DDS center at 2801 Candler Road in Decatur. That office is closed Sundays and Mondays, which catches people off guard. If the stop involved speeds over 75 mph on a two-lane road or 85 on a highway, Georgia adds a separate $200 Super Speeder fee that has to be cleared before reinstatement.
DUI school is a two-part Risk Reduction Program: a 130-question assessment for about $100, then a 20-hour course for about $260. The schools are private and scattered around the county.
An interlock has to be installed and then serviced monthly at a provider's shop. Smart Start operates on Candler Road near the DDS office, and LifeSafer, Intoxalock, and A-1 Interlock all serve DeKalb. One recurring problem: the device pulls a small amount of power even with the car off, and on an older battery or in cold weather that can be enough to prevent a start. Driving the car daily keeps the battery up, and a power-failure lockout can mean paying for a reset code.
Last updated: September 5, 2026
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