How Long Will My License Be Suspended if I Get a DUI?

Hi, I’m Roger Priest with VanWa Legal PLLC, and I am a local DUI attorney in Vancouver, WA. Today I’m going to answer a question for you that I often receive from my clients, which is, “How long will my license be suspended for my DUI?” The question has many answers, so depending on your circumstances, the best answer I can give is it depends.

For a first-time offense in Washington for a DUI charge, you can face a license suspension from anywhere between 90 days and two years. For your average run-of-the-mill first offense DUI where you’ve got a breath test just above a .08, something like that, you’re likely looking at a 90-day license suspension. However, Washington has an aggravated DUI for any breath test above a 0.15. If you’re convicted of that aggravated DUI, you could be looking at a license suspension of one year and then even worse. In Washington, if you are convicted of refusing a breath test and convicted of a DUI in the same case, you can ultimately lose your license for two years. In addition, Washington state treats a second offense or a third offense much more heavily than a first offense. Washington looks at offenses in seven-year blocks. So if you’ve had a DUI in the last seven years and you pick up a new DUI, that will be treated as a second within seven. In such an instance, you’ll be looking at a minimum of a two-year license suspension, and if your breath test is above a .15, you’ll be facing a 900-day suspension. And then, if you refuse the breath test, you’ll be facing a three-year license suspension. If you’ve had a prior DUI in your lifetime and get charged with another DUI outside of seven, understand that your new DUI will be treated as a first in seven. You’ll only be looking at the heightened license suspension if your DUI happened within seven years of a prior DUI. And if you have the misfortune of being charged with your third DUI within seven years, you’ll be looking at a license suspension of at least three years and up to four years if either the breath test is above 0.15 or you refuse a breath test. So depending on the circumstances of your particular DUI, you may be looking at a license suspension anywhere between 90 days and four years. If you have specific questions about your DUI and how long of a suspension you may be facing, or if you need the help of an experienced DUI attorney to help you with your DUI case, feel free to give me a call here at VanWa Legal. I’ll be happy to discuss your case and see if I can help. Have a great day.