Bedford County License Hearing Guide
How to request your Administrative License Hearing and protect your driving privileges after a DUI arrest.
Last verified: September 4, 2026
20-Day Deadline
You have exactly 20 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
Tennessee DMV Office
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Guides
Refusing the breath or blood test carries its own penalty, separate from the DUI. Under Tennessee's implied consent law, a refusal triggers an automatic one-year license suspension whether or not you were actually impaired and whether or not the DUI charge is later dropped. In a county where sober drivers have been arrested and had charges dismissed, that is a real trap: refusing out of protest against what feels like a wrongful arrest still costs you the license for a year.
Either way, you have 10 business days from the arrest or the notice date to request an administrative hearing in writing to contest the suspension. A phone call does not count. Miss the deadline and the license is suspended automatically until the criminal charge is dismissed or you are acquitted.
Local courts have no electronic link to the state licensing system, so do not try to handle any of this at the Bedford County courthouse. Send the hearing request and any reinstatement documents straight to the Department of Safety in Nashville. Fax is fastest, at (615) 242-3480, and keep the confirmation page; allow 48 hours for processing. You can also mail to Reinstatements, P.O. Box 945, Nashville, TN 37202-0945, but transit time eats into the 10-day window.
If you lose the hearing or skip it, the state mails a suspension notice, and you then have 20 days to physically surrender your license card. Failing to hand it over on time is a separate criminal charge.
A restricted license requires an ignition interlock, and the device needs an in-person recalibration and data download every month, so pick a shop you can keep getting to. Two Shelbyville shops install Intoxalock: Garrett's Automotive and Wrecker Service at 2678 Highway 41A N, (931) 223-0752, which opens at 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, and Cassady Auto Works at 334 Cannon Blvd, (931) 266-0716. Smart Start has no confirmed installer inside the county; its statewide dispatch line is (800) 831-3299. You can also find a licensed installer through this site's directory.
You also need an SR-22, which is not a policy but a certificate your high-risk insurer files electronically with the state. There is no way to hand-file it locally.
If the court orders continuous alcohol monitoring, usually on a repeat offense, there is no SCRAM provider based in Bedford County. Installation is coordinated through the probation office or a multi-county provider dispatched from Murfreesboro or Nashville.
Last updated: September 4, 2026
Top Rated Bedford County DUI Attorneys
When facing a DUI charge in Bedford County, finding local, experienced representation is critical. Below is our curated list of verified DUI defense attorneys serving Bedford County, TN.