Lumpkin County License Hearing Guide
How to request your Administrative License Hearing and protect your driving privileges after a DUI arrest.
Last verified: September 6, 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
To get an ignition interlock permit, the device has to be in the car, but there's no certified installer in Dahlonega and your license is already suspended, so you can't drive the car to one. Lumpkin County residents install in Dawsonville, Buford, or Gainesville, which means asking a licensed friend or family member to drive the vehicle to the appointment in another county. Plan that logistics before your 30-day window runs out.
A DUI arrest starts a civil case against your license, run by the Department of Driver Services, separate from the criminal case in Probate or Superior Court. There's no full-service DDS office in the county; reinstatement, a Form 1205 hearing, or picking up a permit means driving to Gainesville or Cumming.
The 30-day deadline
If you refused the state's test, or blew 0.08 or higher (0.02 under 21, 0.04 with a CDL), the officer took your license and gave you a DDS Form 1205, a temporary permit and the notice of a pending one-year suspension. You have 30 days from the arrest to do one of two things:
Request an ALS hearing by mailing a $150 fee to the Georgia Department of Driver Services, Records Management, P.O. Box 80447, Conyers, GA 30013. This pauses the suspension until a hearing, which decides only whether the officer had grounds to arrest and read the implied consent notice correctly, not guilt.
Or, if you're a first offender with no prior DUI in five years, waive the hearing, install an interlock, take the certificate of installation to a DDS Customer Service Center, and pay a $25 permit fee for an interlock limited permit.
Do neither within 30 days and the one-year suspension takes effect. If the case involved a refusal, there's no limited permit during that year unless you install the interlock.
DUI school and evaluation
A conviction requires the Prime for Life Risk Reduction program: a 130-question assessment, then a 20-hour class. The fee is set by law at $355, which breaks down to a $100 assessment, a $235 class, and a $20 workbook. Class availability in Dahlonega is thin, so most residents attend in Gainesville, Cumming, or Dawsonville. The class directory on this site lists options.
Separately, a clinical evaluation by a state-approved provider assesses whether treatment is needed. If it recommends Level 1 treatment, that's roughly 17 weeks of structured counseling, and you can't reinstate your license until it's done. That can run $1,000 to $2,000.
Georgia's approved interlock brands include Intoxalock, Smart Start, and LifeSafer. Continuous alcohol monitoring, when ordered, is coordinated through the circuit's probation and accountability courts. A DUI conviction also requires an SR-22 certificate, filed with the state electronically by your insurer.
Last updated: September 6, 2026
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When facing a DUI charge in Lumpkin County, finding local, experienced representation is critical. Below is our curated list of verified DUI defense attorneys serving Lumpkin County, GA.