Richmond 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
Georgia DMV Office
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Guides
A Richmond County DUI arrest starts a case against the license that the criminal court judge does not control. The officer takes the physical license and issues a DDS Form 1205, a paper permit good for 45 days. But the driver has 30 calendar days from the arrest to either request a hearing or apply for an ignition interlock permit. Miss that and the suspension goes hard, which for a test refusal means a full year with no permit of any kind.
The hearing request can't be filed at the Augusta DDS office. It has to be mailed to the Department of Driver Services headquarters in Conyers with a $150 fee paid by check or money order. Sending the form without the payment gets it rejected automatically, and by the time that's sorted out the deadline has usually passed. Send it certified mail with a return receipt, because a form that gets lost is the same as one never filed.
Reinstatement and other in-person license work run through the Augusta DDS Customer Service Center at 3423 Mike Padgett Highway, which is closed Sundays and Mondays. That closure makes Tuesdays the busiest day of the week there.
The interlock permit is the other path: waive the hearing, install an approved device, pay a $25 permit fee, and keep driving. Two companies dominate the Augusta market, Intoxalock and SmartStart, and Intoxalock in particular installs through local mechanic shops rather than its own centers, so a device problem can leave the shop pointing at the software and the call center pointing at the install. The devices draw power even when the car is off, and a car that sits more than two or three days, especially in cold weather, can end up with a battery too dead to start, which the device logs as a tamper. Clearing that lockout costs $50 to $75 plus a tow.
Court-ordered SCRAM alcohol monitoring, if imposed, is administered through the circuit's misdemeanor probation contractor and runs about $10 to $12 a day, roughly $300 to $360 a month, plus an installation fee. It can't be submerged, and alcohol-based lotions or cleaning products can trigger a reading the defendant then has to explain.
Last updated: September 5, 2026
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