The deadline, first.
A California DUI arrest starts two cases. The criminal one goes to the Superior Court in the county where you were arrested. The other is administrative, run by the DMV, and it decides whether you keep your licence.
You have ten days from the arrest to request the DMV hearing. If that window closes without a request, the suspension proceeds and nobody puts your side of it.
Under Vehicle Code section 13353.2 the department suspends the driving privilege where a person was driving with 0.08 percent or more by weight of alcohol in their blood; where a person under 21 had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.01 percent or greater; or where a person driving a vehicle requiring a commercial licence had 0.04 percent or more. Section 13353 covers suspension for refusing or failing to complete chemical testing.
Vehicle Code section 13558 provides for administrative review and hearing of those determinations. That is the proceeding the ten days buys you.
What the hearing actually decides.
The DMV hearing is narrower than a trial. It is not deciding whether you're guilty of a crime. It's an administrative proceeding about specific findings — broadly, whether the officer had reasonable cause, whether you were lawfully arrested, and whether the chemical evidence supports the statutory threshold. On a refusal case it also asks whether you were properly admonished and whether you in fact refused.
The standard of proof is lower than in the criminal court, and the hearing officer is a DMV employee rather than a judge. That is a real difference and worth understanding going in.
It also cuts the other way. Winning the DMV hearing does not end the criminal case, and a criminal outcome does not automatically undo an administrative suspension. They are genuinely separate.
What usually matters.
Requesting it in time. Everything else is downstream of this.
The basis for the stop. If there was no lawful reason to stop the vehicle, that matters here as well as in court.
The testing chain. Which device, when it was calibrated, how the sample was handled, and how much time passed between driving and testing.
On a refusal, the admonition. Refusal cases turn heavily on what you were told, in what terms, and whether what happened actually amounts to a refusal.
How I handle these.
- Read the file first. Before I tell you what I think of it. What the report supports is usually narrower than what it alleges.
- Check the technical ground. The stop, the search, the testing, the paperwork — each of which is checkable rather than a matter of opinion.
- Work out what a good outcome looks like for you. That depends on your job, your record, your licence and what you actually need to protect. It isn't the same answer for everyone.
- Negotiate from what the file supports. Most cases resolve, and the leverage comes from knowing precisely what it will and won't carry.
- Trial where the offer isn't reasonable.
Where I handle these.
Across ten Northern California counties, from offices in Sacramento at 701 E Street and Roseville at 970 Reserve Drive, Suite 116. Licensed since 1999, State Bar number 203402.
Questions I hear most.
How long do I really have?
Ten days from the date of arrest to request the hearing. It's the shortest deadline in the whole process and the easiest one to miss, because it runs while you're still dealing with everything else. For the wider picture, see licence and DMV hearings.
Is the DMV hearing the same as my court date?
No. Different proceeding, different decision-maker, different standard of proof, different outcome. One does not decide the other. For the wider picture, see licence and DMV hearings.
Do I have to attend?
In many cases I handle the hearing and you don't need to be there. Ask me about your specific case. For the wider picture, see licence and DMV hearings.
What if I refused the test?
That's handled under Vehicle Code 13353 and it's a different analysis — the admonition you were given and whether your conduct amounted to a refusal both become central. For the wider picture, see licence and DMV hearings.
The statutes on this page
Statutory text checked against the California Legislative Information site on 6 August 2026. California criminal statutes commonly amend effective 1 January — if you are reading this well after that date, ask me rather than relying on it.
I treat my clients the way I would want an attorney to treat my mother, if she met with one. Call (916) 277-8299. The consultation is free.
