Paulding 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
The DDS-1205 form an officer issues at a Paulding County DUI arrest is a permit for 45 days, but the deadline that matters is 30. Within 30 calendar days of the arrest, the driver has to request an Administrative License Suspension hearing, and the $150 filing fee cannot be waived for financial hardship. Timeliness is judged by the postmark, not the date the letter is written, so certified mail with a return receipt or the DDS online portal is the only reliable way to prove it went in on time. Miss the deadline after a chemical test refusal and the result is a full 12-month suspension with no limited permit of any kind.
The request goes to the Department of Driver Services in Conyers, and the hearing itself is held by an administrative law judge, usually over Zoom or by phone. The alternative, within that same 30-day window, is to waive the hearing, install an ignition interlock, and take a limited permit that keeps a car moving for at least a year regardless of how the criminal case turns out.
Reinstatement and other in-person license work run through the Dallas DDS Customer Service Center at 114 Justice Center Drive, which is closed Sundays and Mondays and open Tuesday through Friday until 6 p.m. plus Saturday mornings.
Interlock installation is concentrated in Hiram. Intoxalock installs through a couple of shops on Hiram Douglasville Highway and Jimmy Lee Smith Parkway, one of which offers mobile installation so the defendant doesn't have to drive the car in illegally, and Smart Start installs at a lab on Hiram Douglasville Highway that offers biweekly payment plans. Calibration comes due every two to four weeks.
For repeat offenders and Accountability Court participants, the court also orders SCRAM ankle monitoring, which reads alcohol through the skin around the clock. That's run by a private monitoring company and billed to the defendant.
Last updated: September 5, 2026
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