El Dorado County DMV Process

Available for free, confidential consultations 24/7 at (530) 410-6474

If you have been arrested for a DUI in El Dorado County, you should have been given a temporary driver’s license from whatever law enforcement agency placed you under arrest.  The normal procedure will be for law enforcement to take your physical driver’s license upon arrest, and issue a temporary driver’s license. This temporary license is a pink piece of paper that explains your rights in contesting the license suspension.

§  You have 10 days from the date of receiving this temporary driver’s license to set up a hearing with the California Department of Motor Vehicles to set up an Administrative Per Se hearing.

o   If you do not, the DMV will normally suspend your driver’s license 30 days from the date of the arrest. However, the DMV will still independently analyze the evidence to ensure that you are liable.

§  The Administrative Per Se Hearing is where you or your DUI Attorney contest the DUI with the DMV.

§  For out-of-state driver licenses holders, normally law enforcement will not confiscate your out of state license. You still have a right to a DMV hearing however, and in my experience, it is wise practice to exercise this right. 

§  In order to set up this hearing you must contact DMV Driver Safety Division, specifically the one located in Sacramento.  Sacramento Driver Safety handles all Administrative Per Se Hearing for El Dorado County cases.

o   In order to set up the hearing, you can simply call Sacramento Driver Safety. The phone number is (916) 227-2970.

o   You have to specifically inform them you will be contesting the DUI through the hearing. You should also request a “stay and discovery.”

o   A “stay” means that any license suspension will be “stayed” pending the outcome of the hearing. Instead of losing your license 30 days from the date of the arrest, they allow you to maintain your license while you are contesting the DMV Hearing.

§  However, if your convicted of a DUI in Court before the DMV hearing has taken place, the DMV will still suspend your driver’s license through a separate action.

§  The DMV will suspend your driver’s license if you lose the DMV Hearing or are convicted in Criminal Court of a DUI. 

§  If the Court case is still open, you are free to drive as long as the DMV hearing has not been decided yet.

o   “Discovery” means the evidence against you. This generally consists of, at least initially, the police report. When you request discovery as you are setting up your hearing, the DMV will mail you a copy of the police report once they receive it themselves. 

o   The hearing itself may be conducted by telephone or at the Sacramento Driver Safety Office, located at 4700 Broadway 2^nd Floor Sacramento, CA 95820.

At the hearing itself, the DMV will have to show by a preponderance of evidence, that

o  The arrest was lawful

o  The officer had reasonable cause to believe a violation of Vehicle Code 23152 (DUI) had occurred; and

o  The driver had a blood alcohol level of a 0.08% or higher while driving.

Each issue in and of itself has to be proven by a preponderance of the evidence.  The DMV hearings can be won. Understanding the proper procedure of conducting the hearings is crucial to success.  El Dorado County DUI Attorney provides representation at the DMV hearings as a part of his representation on all DUI cases.  Contact for a free, consultation at (530) 410- 6474.

El Dorado Legal Resources:

El Dorado Hills Car Accident Lawyer

Stockton Personal Injury Attorney

Redding Auto Accident Lawyers