LICENSE RESTORATION

    

WE ARE HERE TO HELP

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     Losing your driving license can be devastating in ways beyond simply losing the right to drive. Loss of easily produced identification can affect the most simple of things-- banking, job applications, etc. are all substantially harder without a driver's license.

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The State of Michigan that a person’s driver’s license shall be revoked by the Secretary of State (SOS) for a minimum of 1 year if the person receives 2 DUI within 7 years.

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    If a person receives 3 DUI’s within a 10-years, the Secretary of State is required to revoke his or her license for a minimum of 5 years.

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These are required, there is no way to avoid these revocations.
 

When your Michigan driving license is revoked, the minimum period is 1 year for the first revocation, and 5 years for second and greater if they occur within 7 years of the first. In order to obtain driving privileges again,  the driver whose license was revoked may apply for a hearing before the Administrative Hearings Section (AHS) of the Secretary of State for license restoration. Petitioners are eligible for only one hearing per year.

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The process is complex and can be daunting.

I cannot make it less complex, but I can make it MUCH easier to navigate.

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You must go before a hearing officer and prove by clear and convincing evidence that you have been sober for at least a year, and pose no threat to other drivers, and that you will continue to obey traffic laws.

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Hearing Officers have complete and sole discretion as whether or not to grant you driving privileges again.

Representation before these hearing officers makes all the difference.

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What we do to guide and help you through the process.

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In order to get a hearing before a Secretary of State Hearing Officer, there are a number of requirements that must be met. I guide you through each step in gathering all the correct documents that must be submitted.

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Step 1.   I meet with clients to discuss the process-- at this meeting, we go over everything that will need to be done before we can request a hearing.

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I provide the forms required by the Secretary of State so that you do not have to get them.

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The Secretary of State requires letters of recommendation. I provide a guide to what these letters should look like, and what they need to contain.

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The Secretary of State also requires a 10 panel drug screen and substance abuse evaluation. If you do not have a provider available who can help with this, I can provide help in seeing someone who can do the necessary evaluation and testing.

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Step 2. I meet with clients to review documents.

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We review letters of recommendation, and make sure they have all the required information-- often a small missing piece of information will result in disqualifying the letter, so it is important to have an experienced eye review them.

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We review the Secretary of State forms and make sure all the information is accurate and complete.

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We review the Substance Abuse Evaluation, especially making sure to cross reference the information in it with the Secretary of State information to ensure they are in complete agreement.

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If everything is ready, I file the documents with the Secretary of State for you, and follow up with them about scheduling a hearing.

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Step 3.  Before the hearing, I walk you through the process, and we go over what will be discussed at the hearing.

 

At these hearings, there are specific things the Hearing Officer is looking for in order to grant you your driver's license back.

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I guide you through these items and get you comfortable with what I will be asking you at the hearing, what the Hearing Officer is likely to ask, and how to put you in the best possible light.

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Nerves are inevitable, but careful, experienced preparation is the key to success.

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If you’re currently serving a period of driver’s license revocation, it’s important that you obtain an experienced attorney when you apply to the Administrative Hearings Section.

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I have represented many clients and guided them through this process, from the initial paperwork, to making sure their letters of recommendation offered to the Secretary of State have maximum impact, all the way through to hearing before SOS hearing officers.

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