Legal ramifications of driving on a suspended or revoked license due to DUI

If you are arrested for DUI, your driver’s license will be suspended on the 46th day following the arrest. The suspension will be for 6 months, 12 months, or 36 months. How long will depend upon your record and whether or not you provided a blood or breath sample.

If you have not had a DUI arrest in the previous 5 years, you will be suspended for 6 months if you submit to testing and 12 months if you refuse. During all but the first 30 days of the suspension, you are entitled to obtain a Monitoring Device Driving Permit (MDDP). The court system, not the Secretary of State, grants these permits.

If you have had a previous DUI arrest in 5 years, you will be suspended for 12 months if you submit to testing and 36 months if you refuse testing. During this 12 or 36-month suspension, you will not be entitled to request an MDDP. The other place to turn to for driving relief would be the Secretary of State, who issues Restricted Driving Permits (RDP) to qualified candidates. However, as someone with a previous DUI in less than 5 years, you qualify for neither an RDP nor MDDP.

If you decide to drive while your driver’s license is suspended due to a DUI, you are guilty of a Class-4 felony. This could result in prison and substantial fines. In addition, the original length of your suspension will be doubled.

Separate from the driver’s license suspension for either refusing or failing a breath or blood test, your driver’s license will be revoked for 1, 5 or 10 years if you are convicted of DUI. Unlike a suspension, which automatically ends once the time is over, a revocation ends only after a successful driver’s license hearing.

Driving during the revocation, if it is a first offense, is not a felony. However, if you are arrested for a new DUI while your driver’s license is suspended or revoked from a previous DUI, you would be committing a felony. Moreover, a conviction for driving on a revoked license adds a year to your revocation period. During any revocation period, you may apply for an RDP, provided your suspension has ended.