Whitfield 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 the officer gives you when they take your license is good for 45 days, but the deadline that matters is 30. From the date of the arrest, you have 30 calendar days to either request a hearing or take the interlock permit. Do nothing and the license suspends automatically on the 46th day. If the arrest was for refusing the breath or blood test, that suspension is a hard one, a full year with no limited permit at all.
The two options
Request an Administrative License Suspension hearing by filing the form with a $150 fee, postmarked or submitted online before day 30. The request goes to the DDS Regulatory Compliance Division in Conyers, and an administrative law judge hears it, usually within 60 days of the arrest. Filing it keeps you driving until that decision, and it gives your lawyer an early shot at the arresting officer under oath.
Or waive the hearing, install a state-approved ignition interlock, and get an interlock limited permit. You keep driving for certain, but you give up the chance to challenge the stop in the ALS setting.
The Dalton DDS office
It's at 235 Wagner Road, open Tuesday through Friday until 6 p.m. and Saturday morning, closed Sunday and Monday.
After a conviction
Reinstating a license runs $200 by mail or $210 in person, plus an SR-22 filing from an insurer and proof you finished the 20-hour Risk Reduction course. The Risk Reduction program is a fixed $360 and uses the state's Prime for Life curriculum. The assessment portion also screens whether you need further treatment.
School and monitoring
Certified Risk Reduction schools operate in Dalton, and one of them also does the clinical substance abuse evaluation a court or DDS may order. For the interlock, Intoxalock's Dalton installer offers mobile installation, which solves the problem of needing to drive to an installer when your license is already suspended. If a judge orders continuous alcohol monitoring, common in Drug Court or on a strict bond, that runs through a regional monitoring company that coordinates with the circuit's probation officers.
Last updated: September 5, 2026
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