License Suspension

Operating while intoxicated charges also result in stiff license suspension penalties imposed by the Department of Transportation.  These are above and beyond anything that happens in the criminal case and in fact, are not dependent upon the result of the criminal charge.  The license suspension occurs the night of the arrest depending upon whether a person refuses testing or submits to testing and the test result indicates a presence of alcohol or controlled substance above the legal limit.

In Iowa driving is considered a “privilege” as opposed to a legal right.  Thus, the procedures for disqualifying a person’s driving privileges are not as strict as we normally see in a criminal prosecution.  All that is needed for the Department of Transportation to suspend a person’s driving privileges for operating while intoxicated is a certification from the arresting officer that:

1. He had reason to believe the driver was committing the offense of operating while intoxicated; and
2. The driver either refused to consent to testing or consented to testing and the result indicated a level of alcohol or drugs over the legal limit. 

The same day or night that the result is obtained or the person refuses testing, their driver’s license is confiscated.  They are then given a notice of the revocation which is their new license to drive for the next ten days.  The suspension then begins at midnight on the tenth day unless an appeal is filed with the Department of Transportation prior to that time.

The license suspension periods imposed immediately by the Department of Transportation, are as follows:

            First Offense: 

                        Test “Failure”:  180 days

                        Test Refusal:  1 year

            Second or Subsequent Offense:

                        Test “Failure”:  1 year

                        Test Refusal:  2 years

If a person is not automatically suspended by the DOT but later receives a deferred judgment then the suspension is for 90 days.

For Third Offenses, the Judge is required to enter an order barring the person’s license for 6 years following their conviction.  This does not happen until the person is actually convicted of their third offense in 12 years in criminal court though.