Not all legal issues are argued in the courtroom, and at Hewlett, Collins and Allard we have experience in defending clients before the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles for any hearing. If your North Carolina Drivers License has been revoked or is in danger of revocation for an infraction, medical condition, or DWI, let our attorneys put their experience to work for you.

The NC DMV has the authority to suspend or revoke your license without a preliminary hearing in some instances. If you are currently under a license revocation, you may be able to request a hearing to have your driving privileges restored. As with most legal issues, you have the right for an attorney to be present to represent or advise you in your DMV hearing, and this can bring a substantial benefit in certain cases.

DWI Revocation and Restoration – DWI Refusal Revocation

If you are stopped for Driving While Impaired in Wilmington or anywhere else in North Carolina, you may be asked to submit to a field sobriety test. You have a right to refuse any field sobriety test without additional consequence, but this does not mean that you may avoid being arrested for a DWI. Should you refuse a field sobriety test, you may be arrested and taken to the police department for a chemical test to measure blood alcohol content (BAC). This test, likely to be conducted with an intoximeter (breathalyzer), can be used as evidence in a trial to convict you of a DWI. You have the right to refuse to submit to a chemical sobriety test, but not without penalty. If you refuse the chemical sobriety test, or for any reason cannot adequately complete the breathalyzer test, according to North Carolina law the DMV will immediately revoke your drivers license for one year. If your license has been revoked for refusing a breathalyzer test, you may be able to fight your refusal revocation at a DMV hearing. You have a limited time window to request a refusal revocation hearing, so don’t hesitate to contact Hewlett, Collins and Allard as quickly as possible if you have been arrested for a DWI.

DWI Revocation and Restoration – DWI Restoration Hearing

If you have been convicted of DWI three times in North Carolina, your driving privileges will be permanently revoked. However, permanently doesn’t have to mean forever, and it is possible to request a DMV hearing to have your driving privileges restored after a significant amount of time has passed, if you can prove that you are sober, responsible, and deserve to be given another chance. It is by no means guaranteed that the North Carolina DMV will grant you a driving privilege after a third DWI conviction, but we can help with all aspects of a DWI restoration hearing, from filing the initial request paperwork to representing you on your hearing date.

Losing Driving Privileges for a Medical Condition

Even without a DWI charge, it is possible to lose your driving privileges in North Carolina for other reasons. The DMV can revoke your driving privileges due to medical issues, if they have reason to believe that these medical issues prevent you from being a safe and responsible driver. Conditions such as epilepsy can lead to a revocation, as can emergency issues such as a stroke or heart attack if such events caused a traffic infraction. You can request a DMV hearing to have your driving privileges reinstated if you have lost them due to a medical issue, and at Hewlett, Collins and Allard, we can assist in your DMV medical hearing. We can work in coordination with your physician or medical professional to show that, even with your medical condition, you can operate a motor vehicle with the same care and caution as drivers without health issues.

DWLR Revocation Hearing

If your drivers license has already been revoked and you decide to drive during a period of revocation, the DMV may choose to impose a permanent revocation if you have been stopped for three or more moving violations while under revocation. This is a revocation due to Driving While License Revoked (DWLR). Despite being called a permanent revocation, it is possible to request a DMV hearing to have your license restored after a period of time. If you have followed the law and kept up with the punishment by not operating a motor vehicle for two years, you may be eligible for a limited driving privilege. This privilege allows you to drive between certain curfew hours in order to attend work or school, and can allow you to drive while taking care of necessary household functions such as grocery shopping. After three years, you may be able to have your driving privileges fully restored through a DMV hearing. The DMV attorneys at Hewlett, Collins and Allard can help get your driving privileges restored by submitting the proper paperwork and restoration requests, and can represent you in your DMV hearing to show that you are a responsible individual, and that you will be a safe and responsible driver.