DUI License Revocations in Nebraska

Nebraska DUI laws are confusing. One of the many things that is confusing is the license revocation process. Often the first questions someone asks their attorney after being arrested for DUI have to do with what will happen to their license – What is the potential license revocation? Is it from the DMV or the Court? What is the difference? And, can I get the Interlock?  These are all questions that arise immediately after receiving a citation or being arrested for driving under the influence.

One of the biggest reasons it is difficult to understand the license revocation process is because there are almost always two separate license revocations you must deal with when you receive a DUI in Nebraska.  The first is the Administrative License Revocation, or ALR, and is administered by the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).  The second is the court-ordered revocation handed down at sentencing if you are found guilty by the judge presiding over your criminal case.

The ALR process begins immediately following your citation or arrest.  You should be given a fifteen-day temporary license, and you have ten days from being pulled over to challenge your license revocation with the DMV.  The ALR revocation for a first offense DUI is six months.  Because the ALR revocation is an administrative proceeding and civil in nature, there are only two issues you can really challenge: (1) whether there is sufficient evidence that you were operating a car and (2) whether there is sufficient evidence that your blood alcohol level was above .08.  Many of the other issues often raised in defense of a DUI, such as constitutional challenges to the stop of the vehicle by law enforcement are irrelevant to the ALR proceeding.

The court-ordered revocation for a first offense DUI in Nebraska is sixty days to one year, depending on whether you receive probation and how high your blood alcohol level was at the time of arrest.  The court-ordered revocation runs concurrent with the ALR; in other words if you receive a six-month revocation from the DMV and a sixty-day revocation from the court, your total license revocation is six months, NOT six months + sixty days.

With regard to the Interlock, if you are facing a first offense DUI and have never before been subject to an ALR revocation, you are immediately eligible for the Interlock after the expiration of your fifteen-day temporary license.  If you are facing prosecution for a subsequent DUI offense, and/or you challenge your ALR revocation, you will have to wait forty-five days or until there is a court order before you will be allowed to drive with the Interlock.

Remember, this is an overview of the license revocations that may result from a DUI arrest in Nebraska, and there are other issues that can come into play depending on the specific facts of your case.  Speak with your DUI attorney about the potential impact the charges you are facing may have on your license, as well as how you should handle your defense.