In California, if you have a suspended license, you have to wait for the suspension duration to end to apply for a reinstatement. A license that has been suspended will not automatically renew when the suspension period ends.
Applying for reinstatement includes paying fees, proving proof of adequate auto insurance (SR22 insurance), and applying in person at the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
Continue reading for answers to ten frequently-asked-questions on how to reinstate your license.
Thirty days into a suspension, you can apply for a restricted license. A restricted license lets you drive:
Applying for a restricted license requires you to
If you had your license suspended for driving under the influence (DUI), you may be able to get a restricted license right away if you
California DMV-approved IID providers can be found here.
The suspension period depends on the reason why the license was suspended. For example, some common suspension periods are:
| Reason for suspension | Length of suspension |
| First DUI offense | 6 months |
| Second DUI offense | 1 year |
| Third DUI offense | 2 years |
| Felony DUI | Up to 5 years |
| Medical conditions make you unsafe | Until you can prove you are no longer a risk on the road |
| Too many driving record points (4 points in 12 months) | 6 months plus 1 year of probation (the suspension takes effect 34 days after the DMV mails you the Order of Probation/Suspension) |
| Failure to pay child support | Until you have paid the arrears or have entered into a payment plan |
| Vehicular manslaughter | 3 years |
| Failure to pay taxes | Until the taxes are paid, an installment plan is arranged, or a current financial hardship is established 1 |
To be eligible for a license reinstatement once your suspension period is over, you must have completed any requirements for reinstatement. These stipulations depend on the offense and will be detailed in your license suspension notice.
Ten common reinstatement requirements include:
Once your driver’s license suspension has expired and you completed all the stipulations for reinstatement, you can apply for a reinstatement. This application has to include:
The reinstatement process also includes paying any additional fees applicable to your case, which usually includes a $14 reinstatement fee. 3 If these are paid online, there may be a processing fee for credit card or debit card transactions.
You then have to file the reinstatement application with the DMV. Some of the fees that have to be paid can be paid before, whether by using the DMV webpage, or by sending a check or money order. Some can be paid when the application is submitted.
California driver’s licenses can be suspended for a variety of reasons. Nine of the most common include:
The reason for the suspension will determine how long the suspension will last. It will also determine what you have to do to get your license reinstated.
For example, reinstating a license that was suspended for DUI generally requires DUI school. Reinstating a license suspended for medical reasons requires proof that the medical condition can be managed or has been resolved.
In California, a driver’s license revocation – sometimes called a cancellation – means that your driving privileges have been terminated. 4 They have not been suspended.
If you had your license revoked, you cannot reinstate or restore the license. Instead, you have to apply for a new license.
Your driver’s license can be revoked for several reasons, including if you:
Like a license suspension, a revocation lasts for a specific period of time. The duration of the revocation will be included in the notice of revocation and depends on the reason for the revocation. In severe cases, the revocation can be indeterminate.
Once the revocation period has passed, you can apply for a new license. This involves passing a:
You may be required to take additional steps to get a new license, like:
If you have a suspended license in California and do not reinstate it, you cannot legally drive. If you do drive, you can get pulled over and charged with the crime of driving on a suspended license. This is true even if the suspension period has expired.
To prove that you were driving on a suspended license, the prosecutor has to show that:
The duration of a license suspension is the minimum amount of time that has to pass before you can apply for a reinstatement. If you never apply for a reinstatement, then the suspension continues until the license is restored. 6
Driving on a suspended license is a misdemeanor in California. The penalties for a conviction are:
The potential jail time for an offense will depend on why the license was suspended in the first place:
If the license was suspended for any other reason, the jail time can be up to six months. 7
Note that if you do not wish to drive but still need government identification, you can apply for a non-driver ID card with the DMV.
If your license is suspended for DUI, you may be able to drive with an ignition interlock device.
A REAL ID is a California driver’s license that is also a federally accepted identification card. It can be used to board airplanes for flights within the United States.
If you are looking to reinstate your license after a driver’s license suspension, you can also pursue a REAL ID. To get one, though, you have to visit a California DMV in person. The DMV’s online services cannot be used to get a REAL ID card. 8
You will have to provide your:
You no longer have to provide your Social Security Card or a W-2 form. 9
Once you satisfy all the conditions for reinstatement, the process should be essentially immediate.
After your suspension period ends, you need to go to a California DMV field office in order to get your driver’s license reinstated. The DMV should be able to reinstate your license the same day.
Yes. When you receive by mail an Order of Probation/Suspension from the California DMV notifying you that it intends to suspend or revoke your driver’s license, you have 10 days to request an administrative hearing at the DMV to contest the decision.
An administrative hearing is like a trial, and you can submit evidence to show why you should retain your driving privilege.
Example: The DMV notifies Jack that his license is being suspended for too many traffic violation points. So Jack requests a hearing, where he shows that he completed a traffic safety course that should have caused three points to fall off his license. When the hearing officer sees that DMV made an error by not erasing the three points, he “sets aside” (dismisses) the suspension.
Note that if you lose the DMV hearing, you can always appeal it to the local Superior Court.
If your license was suspended due to a DUI, refer to the following California DMV articles:
