After a Missouri DWI arrest with a breath or blood result of 0.08 or more, almost every source gives the same advice: request your Department of Revenue hearing within 15 days. That advice is incomplete. In many cases, requesting the hearing does not help, and it can keep you from getting your full license back sooner.
Whether the hearing is worth it depends on one question: is there something about the arrest that can actually be contested?
Two cases, not one
What is the DOR hearing after a DWI in Missouri?
A DWI arrest starts two separate cases: the criminal charge in court, and an administrative action against your license by the Missouri Department of Revenue.
The 15-day window
Under RSMo 302.530, you have 15 days from receiving the notice of suspension to request a hearing on the administrative suspension. If you request one, the Department issues a temporary permit that lets you keep driving until the hearing is decided.
What the hearing decides
The hearing is narrow. It asks whether the officer had probable cause to arrest you for an alcohol-related offense and whether your blood alcohol was 0.08 or more. It does not decide guilt in the criminal case.
A refusal to take the test at the station is handled differently. That leads to a one-year revocation, and it is challenged by a petition in circuit court, not at a DOR hearing. See refusing a breath test in Missouri.
The tradeoff
Why might requesting a DOR hearing delay getting your license back?
Because the hearing pauses the suspension. It does not erase it.
For a first alcohol-related contact in five years, the administrative penalty under RSMo 302.525 is a 30-day suspension followed by 60 days of restricted driving privilege. If you request a hearing and lose, that 90-day period starts after the decision, which can be weeks or months later. Your full reinstatement moves back by the same amount.
If you do not request a hearing, the suspension starts on schedule and ends on schedule. For many people, getting the suspension behind them is worth more than a hearing they are unlikely to win.
The interlock option
The same statute provides that if you install a certified ignition interlock device on any vehicle you drive, there is no suspension period. Instead you complete 90 days of restricted driving privilege.
Limited driving privileges
If you need a limited driving privilege for work, school, or treatment, expect an ignition interlock to be a condition in most DWI situations. It is required by law for refusal revocations and several others.
When it is worth it
When should you request a DOR hearing?
When the case can actually be contested. In our experience, the strongest issue is usually whether the officer had probable cause to arrest.
- The officer skipped the field sobriety tests and went from an odor of alcohol straight to an arrest.
- The tests were given improperly, or the video does not match what the report describes.
- The reading is close to 0.08, or there are real questions about how the breath or blood test was done.
- You hold a commercial driver’s license. Under RSMo 302.755, an administrative suspension counts as an alcohol-related enforcement contact, which can disqualify a CDL holder for at least a year even if the criminal case goes well. For CDL holders, the hearing is often worth fighting.
If none of those apply, the hearing may only delay the inevitable. That is a decision to make with a lawyer early, because the 15-day window does not wait.
Answers
DOR hearing questions we hear
How long do I have to request a DOR hearing after a DWI in Missouri?
Fifteen days from receiving the notice of suspension, under RSMo 302.530.
Can I keep driving if I request a DOR hearing?
Generally yes. The Department issues a temporary permit valid until the hearing, and it can extend it until the decision. If you lose, the suspension begins after that.
Is it worth requesting a DOR hearing?
Only if there is something to contest, such as a lack of probable cause for the arrest or a problem with the test. Otherwise, requesting a hearing can push back the suspension and delay full reinstatement.
How long is the license suspension for a first DWI in Missouri?
For a first alcohol-related contact in five years, 30 days of suspension followed by 60 days of restricted driving privilege. With a certified ignition interlock installed, there is no suspension period, and you complete 90 days of restricted privilege instead.
Does winning the DOR hearing end the criminal case?
No. The administrative case and the criminal case are separate. Winning one does not decide the other, although the same weaknesses often matter in both.
See our first offense DWI and Missouri DWI defense pages, or call 573-638-8529.
Talk to us
Decide about the hearing before day 15.
Whether to request it is a strategic choice. We can look at the arrest and tell you whether there is something worth contesting.
Attorney advertising. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements. This article is general information about Missouri law, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. License consequences depend on your driving history and the facts of the arrest.
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