Kershaw 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
Winning a criminal DUI case doesn't automatically protect a license, a mistake defendants make constantly. The Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings runs a completely separate civil process, and it needs its own filing within exactly 30 calendar days of the arrest, not whenever the criminal case gets resolved.
Refusing the breath test, or blowing 0.15% BAC or higher, suspends a license immediately at the scene under South Carolina's implied consent law. The $200 filing fee is non-refundable, and missing the 30-day window locks in a permanent, unappealable suspension. Since August 1, 2025, attorneys must file exclusively through the OMVH's E-Filing system; a self-represented defendant can still mail the request, though the process favors those with an attorney's registered portal access. Walk-in payments at the Columbia headquarters have accepted credit cards since November 2024.
Filing the request doesn't restore driving privileges on its own. The receipt has to be taken physically to the Camden DMV branch on Ehrenclou Drive, along with an additional $100, to apply for a Temporary Alcohol Restricted License, which then covers driving while the hearing, sometimes months away, gets scheduled.
South Carolina's May 2024 Emma's Law expansion eliminated the old fallback options entirely: there's no more route-restricted license and no more simply waiting out a suspension. Every DUI, DUAC, and felony DUI conviction now requires ignition interlock installation to clear the suspension, regardless of BAC or offense number. Local installation runs through Intoxalock at Elgin Quick Lube in the Lugoff/Elgin corridor, a real convenience that spares Kershaw County residents from towing a malfunctioning device all the way to Columbia, along with Sens-O-Lock and Smart Start through their regional dispatch networks.
Last updated: September 5, 2026
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When facing a DUI charge in Kershaw County, finding local, experienced representation is critical. Below is our curated list of verified DUI defense attorneys serving Kershaw County, SC.