When Georgia law enforcement officers place a driver under arrest for DUI, they are required to read you what’s known as Georgia’s Implied Consent Law and request that you submit to a chemical test of your breath, blood, or urine to determine if you were over the legal limit when driving. In Georgia, the legal limit is .08 for drivers over the age of 21, .02 for drivers under the age of 21, and .04 for drivers that hold a commercial drivers license and were driving a commercial vehicle at the time of arrest.
The officer will also tell you that you have the right to refuse to take a test after a DUI arrest, and many drivers would initially think that refusing is an easy choice: if the test results may show that you are over the legal limit, why give the State this evidence to use against you at trial to try to prove you guilty?
However, Georgia’s implied consent law makes this decision much harder on drivers by requiring that your license (or privilege to drive in Georgia for drivers with out of state licenses) will be suspended for one year if your refuse to take the chemical test. For many people, this makes the decision much harder: take the test and give the state evidence that you may be over the legal limit; or refuse the test and lose your ability to drive to work, school, medical appointments, family events, or anywhere else for a full year. Facing a year-long license suspension is why many drivers arrested for DUI in Georgia decide to take the test and find themselves charged with what’s called DUI Per Se—driving with a BAC over the legal limit for your age and license class.
In full, the Georgia Implied Consent notice for drivers over the age of 21 reads:
Implied consent notice for suspects age 21 or over: The State of Georgia has conditioned your privilege to drive upon the highways of this state upon your submission to state administered chemical tests of your blood, breath, urine, or other bodily substances for the purpose of determining if you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If you refuse this testing, your Georgia driver's license or privilege to drive on the highways of this state will be suspended for a minimum period of one year. Your refusal to submit to blood or urine testing may be offered into evidence against you at trial. If you submit to testing and the results indicate an alcohol concentration of 0.08 grams or more, your Georgia driver's license or privilege to drive on the highways of this state may be suspended for a minimum period of one year. After first submitting to the requested state tests, you are entitled to additional chemical tests of your blood, breath, urine, or other bodily substances at your own expense and from qualified personnel of your own choosing. Will you submit to the state administered chemical tests of your (designate which test)?
If you refuse the test, the officer should serve you with what’s known as Georgia’s DDS 1205 form. This is the notice that the State is initiating the one-year suspension of your license based on your refusal. The DDS 1205 form contains very important information for Georgia drivers: you have 30 days from the date of your arrest to send a letter to the Department of Driver Services to request a hearing to contest the one-year suspension of your license at an administrative license suspension (“ALS”) hearing. There are no exceptions—if you do not send the hearing request before the 30-day deadline, your license will be suspended for a full year. If you or a loved one are arrested for DUI in Forsyth County, Georgia, and refused to take the chemical test, it imperative that you contact an experienced DUI attorney as soon as possible to contest your suspension and guide you through the ALS hearing process.
The attorneys at Miles Hansford Law Firm have extensive experience representing clients charged with DUI and facing license suspensions. As former prosecutors in Forsyth County, Attorneys Brian A. Hansford and Knox L. Allen offer a unique understanding of how to navigate DUI refusal cases to help clients defend against the serious consequences of DUI charges and license suspensions. Contact our office immediately to ensure your rights are protected after refusing to submit to a chemical test during a DUI arrest.