New Laws in Effect in Washington State regarding DUI Administrative Hearings

Attention: As of January 1, 2019, new laws are in effect in Washington State regarding DUI Administrative Hearings with the Washington Department of Licensing. The following law changes are effective immediately.

A request for an Administrative DUI Hearing with the Department of Licensing must be postmarked within 7 days of the date of arrest, or within 7 days of the date the notice was given. If your request is not made within this time frame, you will have waived your right to a hearing. Before the new law change went into effect on January 1, 2019, the driver had 20 days to request a DUI Hearing with the Department of Licensing. The old law is now void. 20 days has been greatly reduced to 7 days to request a hearing following notice.

Next, any valid license in your possession is only valid for 30 days from the date of this arrest, the expiration date noted on the license, or until the Department’s action is upheld at a hearing, whichever occurs first. Before the new law change went into effect on January 1, 2019, the license suspension started 60 days from the date of arrest. The old law is now void. As of January 1, 2019, a valid license is now only valid for 30 days from the date of arrest unless a request for a hearing is timely submitted.

If you have been arrested in Washington State for Driving Under the Influence — time is of the essence to speak with an attorney regarding your rights. The timeline to speak with an attorney regarding your rights has been truncated exponentially with these new law changes.