License Suspension

Losing your license can be mildly inconvenient at best and life-burdensome at worst: If you rely on your vehicle to travel to work, get your kids to school, or otherwise manage your day-to-day tasks, a license suspension or revocation can seriously disrupt your life.

A license suspension becomes a part of your permanent driving record, which can affect factors like your insurance premiums, employment opportunities, and the results of any background checks. As such, it’s worth investigating ways to reinstate your license as soon as possible: even if some of the stain of the suspension remains on your record, you can at least eliminate some of the inconvenience involved in losing your driving privileges.

The Reinstatement Process

If your license was suspended by the DMV, you’ll receive a written notice spelling out the terms of your suspension (or revocation) as well as the reason for your suspension. You will also receive instructions on how to have your license reinstated. Some of these steps include:

• Paying a “restoration fee”
• Applying for a new license (This may involve repeating your driving test.)

If a court or other agency suspended your license, you will need to meet additional requirements. These will generally be imposed by the party or agency that suspended your driving privileges.

Appealing Your Suspension

In some cases, once you receive a DMV notification that your license has been suspended or revoked, you can request an administrative hearing for reinstatement. If you request a hearing, you will generally be able to retain your license and your driving privileges until the hearing date. You may also be able to appeal any administrative decision to the Superior Court within thirty days.

There are several steps you need to take to reinstate your license once your suspension period is over.

• First, head to the closest North Carolina DMV office.
• Next, you will need to pay restoration fees. Restoration is generally $65 unless your restoration follows a DMV conviction, in which case you will pay $130. There are also service fees of $50 unless you surrendered your license to the DMV before the effective date of your suspension.
• Finally, depending on the reason for your suspension or revocation, you may need to apply for a new driver’s license.

Need Assistance? Call Us.

If you’ve been charged with a crime that’s led to license suspension or revocation, give Cotten Law Firm a call to discuss your options. Our offices serve clients in central North Carolina including Wake, Johnston, Harnett, Orange, Sampson, Lee and Chatham counties, and Jeremy has represented tens of thousands of clients charged with offenses such as yours. Give our office a call at 984-600-3090 or click over to our main page to chat live with an assistant 24 hours a day.