Updated September 3, 2026
If you were arrested for DUI in California, the officer most likely took your driver's license and handed you a pink piece of paper. That paper is a temporary license and a suspension order at the same time. You have 10 calendar days from the arrest to ask the DMV for a hearing. Ask in time and the suspension is put on hold until the hearing is decided. Miss the window and the suspension takes effect automatically, usually 30 days after the arrest, before a judge has heard a word about the case.
Two cases, two clocks
A DUI arrest starts two separate proceedings. The criminal case runs in court and decides guilt and punishment. The DMV's administrative case, called an administrative per se or APS action, decides only one thing: whether you keep your license while the court case plays out. The two do not wait for each other, and they can end differently. You can win at the DMV and still face the charge in court, or lose at the DMV and later have the charge reduced or dismissed.
The court date on your citation is usually weeks away. The DMV clock is 10 days. That gap is why people lose their license before they have spoken to anyone about their case.
What the hearing decides
The hearing is narrow on purpose. For a standard arrest with a breath or blood result, the DMV hearing officer looks at three questions:
- Did the officer have reasonable cause to believe you were driving under the influence?
- Were you lawfully arrested or detained?
- Was your blood alcohol concentration 0.08 percent or higher at the time of driving?
If you were treated as having refused the chemical test, the questions change: whether you were told that refusing would suspend your license, and whether you actually refused. Our guide on refusing the breath or blood test covers that version.
Because the questions are narrow, the defenses are specific. The stop itself, the arrest, the timing of the test, how the breath machine was maintained, whether the blood sample was handled correctly, and what the officer's own report actually says all matter here. The hearing also lets you see the officer's report and the test records early, which is useful for the court case regardless of the outcome.
How to request it
- Call the DMV Driver Safety Office named on your pink notice, or have your attorney do it. The request can be made by phone. Note the date, the time, and the name of the person you spoke with.
- Ask for a stay of the suspension while the hearing is pending. This is what keeps you driving in the meantime, and it is not automatic unless you ask.
- Choose a phone hearing or an in-person hearing. Most are held by phone. An attorney can appear for you at either.
- Ask for the discovery packet: the officer's sworn statement, the arrest report, and the test results. You are entitled to it before the hearing.
The 10 days count weekends and holidays. If you cannot reach the office before the deadline, keep a record of every attempt. An attorney who handles DMV hearings can usually get the request in the same day you call.
What happens if you lose, or never ask
For a first offense with a result of 0.08 or higher, the APS suspension is four months. Under Vehicle Code section 13353.3, most first-time drivers can apply for a restricted license after the first 30 days, which allows driving to work and to the DUI program, once they enroll in the program and file proof of insurance known as an SR-22. Installing an ignition interlock device can shorten or remove the no-driving period. The details depend on the case, and the DMV's own DUI page lists the current requirements.
A refusal suspension is longer, one year for a first offense, and generally cannot be converted to a restricted license the way a standard suspension can. Prior DUI or wet reckless convictions within 10 years lengthen everything.
None of this replaces the court case. If you are later convicted in court, Vehicle Code section 13352 imposes its own suspension, six months for a first offense, and the DMV credits time already served under the APS action.
The hearing process has changed
In 2024 the California Court of Appeal held, in Knudsen v. Department of Motor Vehicles, that a single DMV employee cannot act as both the DMV's advocate and the decision-maker in the same hearing. The DMV has restructured how hearings are run in response, and drivers whose hearings were held under the old arrangement have raised that issue in court. The practical point is that hearing procedure is in motion, and it helps to have someone who does these regularly and knows the current rules.
Why requesting the hearing is almost always right
There is no penalty for asking. The stay keeps you driving. The discovery shows you the case against you early. Officers who do not appear when subpoenaed, or reports that do not hold together, produce a set-aside of the suspension. And even a lost hearing tells you exactly what the state's evidence looks like before the criminal case is decided.
If the arrest was within the last 10 days, the hearing request is the first thing to handle. A free consultation with a Long Beach DUI defense attorney can get the request in, ask for the stay, and start on both cases at once.
This page is general information for Long Beach residents, not legal advice about any specific situation. Agency fees and procedures change; confirm details with the agency before you rely on them.
