Walton 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 protect your license, and it runs on its own track, separate from the DUI charge in court. The DDS 1205 form the officer leaves you works as a permit for 45 days, but if you do nothing by day 30, the license suspends automatically on day 46. If you refused the breath or blood test, that suspension is a hard 12 months, with no work or hardship permit available at any point in the year.
Two tracks, pick one
Track one is the appeal. File DDS form 1206 with a $150 check or money order, mailed to the DDS hearing-request address in Conyers, and do it by certified mail so you have proof it arrived. That freezes the suspension until an administrative law judge hears the case, and it gives your lawyer a sworn early look at the arresting officer.
Track two is the interlock permit. A first-time offender with no DUI conviction in the past five years can skip the hearing, surrender the license, pay a $25 fee, and run a state-approved ignition interlock for at least 12 months. It keeps you driving but costs you the install, around $70 to $150, plus $60 to $80 a month for the lease and calibration. A commercial driver has to permanently downgrade to a regular license to take this route.
Reinstatement
Walton County residents handle license reinstatement at the DDS office in Between, at 1010 Heritage Parkway, open Tuesday through Friday until 6 p.m. and Saturday morning, closed Sunday and Monday. A first-offense DUI reinstatement is $210 in person, or $200 if you do it by mail or online. You'll also need an SR-22 from an insurer and proof you finished the 20-hour Risk Reduction course.
School and monitoring
The Risk Reduction program is a fixed price statewide, $360, and starts with a 130-question clinical assessment that feeds into the 20-hour class. Monroe has certified schools, and some regional providers run the whole 20 hours in a condensed weekend. For the interlock, Smart Start has a Loganville location and there are more installers around Lawrenceville. If a judge orders continuous alcohol monitoring, usually for a repeat offense or Resource Court, that goes through a regional monitoring company working with the circuit's probation officers.
Last updated: September 5, 2026
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