Newton County License Hearing Guide
How to request your Administrative License 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
Thirty calendar days from the arrest. That's the window to request a hearing on your license suspension, and it's separate from the criminal case entirely. Miss it and the suspension goes through automatically. If you refused the breath or blood test, that default is a flat one-year suspension with no permit of any kind, no work permit, no hardship permit, nothing, for the full year. If you took the test and failed, you'll likely be able to get a limited permit, usually with an interlock.
To stop the suspension you file DDS form 1206 with a $150 fee that you don't get back. You can mail it to the DDS box in Conyers, drop it at the Regulatory Compliance Division on Eastview Parkway, or hand it in at the Covington Customer Service Center on Geiger Street. Lawyers usually fax it, to 678-413-8450, so there's a timestamp. Whichever way, it has to be in within 30 days. The case then goes to an administrative judge who looks at whether the stop was legal, whether there was probable cause, and whether the officer read the implied consent warning correctly. If the officer doesn't show or got the warning wrong, the suspension can be called off.
One thing about the Covington DDS office: it doesn't take personal checks. Bring cash or a card for any fee.
After a conviction
Getting the license back means a $200 fee by mail or $210 in person, an SR-22 filing from an insurer, and proof you finished the 20-hour Risk Reduction course. If you had an interlock, taking the restriction off the permit is another $100, or $90 by mail, and that's on top of the reinstatement fee.
DUI school and evaluations
The Risk Reduction program is a fixed $360: $100 for the 130-question assessment, $260 for the 20-hour class. It has to be in person, and you can't split it, the class has to be at the same place you took the assessment. Covington has a certified provider. If the court or DDS also orders a clinical evaluation, which is a deeper interview than the assessment, a provider approved by the state behavioral health agency in Covington can do it.
For the interlock itself, Intoxalock has a Covington installer on Washington Street. Smart Start routes through an 800 number that sends you to the nearest shop; watch out for online listings that point to Covington, Louisiana instead of Georgia.
Last updated: September 5, 2026
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