If you were arrested for DUI, there is a separate deadline to protect your license. It runs from the date on the notice, not from your court date, and missing it ends the administrative case no matter how strong your criminal defense is.
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Arizona treats driving as two separate systems, and almost nobody realizes it until something goes wrong. There is the criminal case in justice, municipal, or superior court. And there is a completely separate administrative case at the Motor Vehicle Division that can take your license even if the criminal charge is dismissed.
Traffic charges also carry consequences that are wildly out of proportion to how minor they sound. A property-damage-only hit and run is a misdemeanor that comes with a one-year license suspension. Failing to help an injured person at an accident scene is a felony even when the accident itself is not a crime. And a license revocation does not end on its own the way clients assume.
| Criminal case | MVD administrative case | |
|---|---|---|
| Forum | Justice, municipal, or superior court | ADOT Executive Hearing Office |
| What starts it | The prosecutor’s charging decision | The officer’s certified report |
| Burden of proof | Beyond a reasonable doubt | Preponderance of the evidence |
| What is at stake | Jail, fines, probation, a conviction | Your driving privilege |
Neither proceeding binds the other. A dismissal or an acquittal in the criminal case does not automatically undo an administrative suspension, because that suspension arises from the officer’s certified report and what happened at the roadside — not from a conviction. The client who says “my lawyer got it dismissed, so why is my license still suspended?” is describing exactly this.
The statutes say thirty days. A.R.S. § 28-1321(G)(2) (refusal) provides that the request “must be received by the department within thirty days after the date of the notice or the order of suspension will become final.” A.R.S. § 28-1385(G)(2)(c) (test at or above the limit) says the same. That has been the law since January 1, 2023, when Laws 2022, Ch. 233 took effect and changed “fifteen” to “thirty.”
Many Arizona law firm pages — and ADOT’s own general hearing page, which does not address DUI specifically — still say fifteen days. Fifteen was correct through the end of 2022.
What to actually do: read the notice you were served, because the date and deadline printed on it control. Then request the hearing within fifteen days anyway. Fifteen days is timely under either reading, it costs nothing, and it removes the argument entirely. It is a receipt deadline, not a mailing deadline — the department has to have it in hand.
One trap: applying for a SIIRDL (special ignition interlock restricted driver license) to keep driving waives your right to a hearing. MVD says so expressly. Do not apply for one before you have decided whether to contest the suspension.
Under § 28-1321(G)(3), refusing the test carries a twelve-month suspension for a first refusal and two years for a second or subsequent refusal within eighty-four months. That suspension attaches even if the criminal DUI case is later dismissed or you are acquitted.
A class 1 misdemeanor. There is no felony version of this statute.
The most important thing about this charge is the carve-out. Under § 28-3482, if the suspension was imposed under § 28-1601 (unpaid civil penalty) or § 28-3308 (failure to appear), then driving on it is a civil traffic violation, not a crime at all. A large share of suspended-license charges in Maricopa County justice and municipal courts come from unpaid photo-radar judgments and missed court dates — which fall in the civil category. The first question in every one of these cases is why the license was suspended in the first place.
Driving on a suspended license while impaired is a different and far more serious charge: aggravated DUI under § 28-1383(A)(1), a class 4 felony.
A class 2 misdemeanor for a first offense. A second within 24 months is a class 1 misdemeanor, and the person is not eligible for probation or suspension of sentence until 20 days in jail have been served, with a one-year license suspension and a restricted privilege available after 45 consecutive days. Assessed 8 points.
A class 1 misdemeanor. Traffic Survival School is mandatory. On a first violation the court may suspend the license for 30 days; on a second within 24 months the department shall suspend for one year, with a restricted license available after 45 consecutive days. Assessed 8 points.
Note that § 28-694 is not aggressive driving — it is wrong-way driving, which carries a $500 civil penalty. Pages that cite § 28-694 for aggressive driving are citing the wrong statute.
First offense: class 1 misdemeanor, fine of not less than $250, and the court may suspend the license up to 90 days. Second within 24 months: class 6 felony, fine of not less than $500, not less than 10 days in jail, and a mandatory one-year suspension — not a revocation. That distinction was made by statute in 2021 and it matters, because a revocation requires a fresh application while a suspension ends by its own terms. Assessed 8 points.
| Situation | Class | License consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Accident causing death or serious physical injury — driver did not cause it (§ 28-661) | Class 3 felony | 5-year revocation (serious injury) / 10-year (death) |
| Accident causing death or serious physical injury — driver caused it (§ 28-661) | Class 2 felony | 5-year revocation (serious injury) / 10-year (death) |
| Accident causing injury other than death or serious physical injury (§ 28-661) | Class 5 felony | 3-year revocation |
| Accident involving damage to a vehicle only (§ 28-662) | Class 1 misdemeanor | Court-ordered one-year suspension |
| Failure to give name, address, registration or show license (§ 28-663) | Class 1 misdemeanor | — |
| Failure to render reasonable assistance to an injured person (§ 28-663) | Class 6 felony | — |
Whether the driver caused the accident is the single fact that moves a § 28-661 charge between a class 3 and a class 2 felony. It is usually the highest-value fact in the case.
Two more points on § 28-661 that people do not expect: the sentence must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed, and the revocation period does not include time spent incarcerated. The revocation clock is tolled during custody, so the real-world period is far longer than five or ten years for anyone who serves a prison term. A restricted privilege may be sought five or more years into the revocation, conditioned on no driving convictions during it and on restitution having been paid in full.
§ 28-672 — causing serious physical injury or death by committing one of twelve specified moving violations — is a class 1 misdemeanor for both the injury and the death variant. The predicate list is closed; the State has to prove one of the enumerated violations, and that list is a real defense target. License consequences are mandatory, ranging from 90 to 180 days for a first serious-injury violation up to one year for a repeat death case within 36 months.
§ 28-675 — causing death while your privilege is suspended or revoked — is a class 4 felony, rising to a class 3 felony where the suspension arises under specific paragraphs of subsection (B). Which paragraph the suspension came from decides the felony class. § 28-676, causing serious physical injury in the same circumstances, is a class 5 felony with no such enhancement. Both carry a one-year revocation.
Arizona assesses points against your driving record under A.A.C. R17-4-404. ADOT states the threshold plainly: accumulate 8 or more points within any 12-month period and you will either be required to attend Traffic Survival School or face a suspension.
There is no two-tier system. A number of law firm pages publish a structure where 8 points means TSS and 12 points means suspension. That structure does not exist. Eight points in twelve months is a single trigger and MVD elects between the two outcomes.
| Violation | Points |
|---|---|
| DUI, extreme DUI, or aggravated DUI | 8 |
| Reckless driving, racing, or aggressive driving | 8 |
| Driver’s duties after an accident (§§ 28-662 through 28-665) | 6 |
| Failure to control speed to avoid a collision resulting in death | 6 |
| Same, resulting in serious physical injury | 4 |
| Speed greater than reasonable and prudent (§ 28-701) | 3 |
| Any other moving violation | 2 |
Two consequences follow. A single 8-point violation trips the threshold by itself. And four ordinary 2-point moving violations in twelve months do the same thing — which is how careful people with no serious offense on their record end up facing a suspension.
You will also see claims online that speeding 20 mph over the limit, fleeing, or hit and run are each worth 8 points. Those are not line items in the rule. Ordinary speeding falls under § 28-701 or the residual 2-point category.
TSS is mandatory on convictions for running a red light, violating flashing signals, or being involved in a traffic accident. Failing to complete a discretionary point-based assignment results in a six-month suspension; failing to complete a mandatory assignment results in an indefinite suspension until it is done. MVD’s own policy states that the division is not required to prove you actually received the notice — a client who never saw the letter is still suspended. Complete it by the date printed on your order.
Note that the deadline to request a hearing challenging a TSS assignment is a different and shorter deadline than the DUI hearing deadline. Do not assume they are the same.
This is the most misunderstood point in Arizona license law.
A suspension withdraws the privilege for a stated period; it generally returns when the period ends and reinstatement requirements are met. A revocation terminates the privilege. It comes back only by fresh application.
Under § 28-3315(B) and (C), after a revocation a new license issues only on application, only if all withdrawal actions are complete, and only if the applicant has no convictions or responsible findings for traffic violations in the twelve months immediately preceding the application — and MVD will not even accept the application until that clean twelve months has run.
The clock does not start at the offense or at sentencing. It is the twelve months immediately before you apply, and a new traffic ticket during that period restarts it. Clients routinely assume the license comes back automatically after a year. It does not. Note also that expiration of the license does not terminate a suspension.
Interlock is mandatory for DUI convictions involving liquor, ordered under § 28-3319. Two things about it are worth knowing before you are living with one.
The extensions compound. Under § 28-1461(E), MVD shall extend the restriction and the interlock period by six months for tampering or circumvention, two or more attempts to operate over the limit, any liquor at all if the driver is under 21, failure to provide proof of compliance, or failing three consecutive rolling retests. One of the listed triggers is failing during a six-month extension — so violations stack. This is administrative and automatic, driven by the manufacturer’s electronic report, with no court appearance and no new criminal charge. A subsection (H) point is worth remembering: a missed random sample does not count if the ignition was off, which makes these reports contestable.
The first-offense deferment is real and underused. Under § 28-3319(H), a first-offense DUI defendant sentenced under § 28-1381(I) can have part of the interlock requirement deferred after completing an alcohol education program of at least sixteen hours, maintaining a functioning device on every vehicle operated, having no two-or-more attempts to operate at 0.08 or above during the restriction, supplying all compliance information, and — this is the condition that most often disqualifies people — the offense not having involved an accident causing physical injury or property damage. Under § 28-3319(I) the deferment is permanent unless the person is arrested for a new DUI offense during the deferment period.
Because the MVD suspension is a separate administrative action based on the officer’s certified report, not on a conviction. It has its own deadline, its own hearing, and its own lower burden of proof. If nobody requested the MVD hearing in time, the suspension became final regardless of what happened in court.
A.R.S. § 28-1321(G)(2) and § 28-1385(G)(2)(c) both say the request must be received within thirty days after the date of the notice, and that has been the law since January 1, 2023. Many sources still say fifteen days, which was correct through 2022. Read the notice you were served, because the deadline printed on it controls — and request the hearing within fifteen days regardless, since that is timely under either version.
No. Under § 28-3482, if the suspension came from an unpaid civil penalty under § 28-1601 or a failure to appear under § 28-3308, driving on it is a civil traffic violation rather than a crime. The reason for the suspension has to be identified before the charge can be evaluated.
Yes. Eight points in any twelve-month period triggers either Traffic Survival School or a suspension. Most ordinary moving violations are worth two points, so four of them in a year is enough.
Not if the only damage was to a vehicle — that is a class 1 misdemeanor under § 28-662, though it still carries a court-ordered one-year license suspension. Where someone is injured, the exposure rises quickly, and failing to render reasonable assistance to an injured person is a class 6 felony under § 28-663 on its own.
Be careful. MVD states that by obtaining a SIIRDL you waive your right to a hearing. If you apply for one in the first thirty days to stay on the road, you have given up the administrative case. Decide whether to contest first.
No. Arizona can suspend your privilege to drive in Arizona regardless of where your license was issued, and Arizona reports actions to other states. An Arizona action typically follows you home.
For a civil traffic violation, often not. For any criminal traffic charge — including driving on a suspended license, reckless driving, aggressive driving, and hit and run — you are facing a criminal conviction, possible jail, and license consequences, and you should have a lawyer. Many of these can be resolved without you appearing at every setting.
Arizona cases rarely arrive alone. If any of these apply to your situation, or you are not sure which charge you are actually facing, these pages explain what to expect:
Traffic and MVD matters run on short deadlines that do not wait for your court date. If you have been served with a notice of suspension, charged with a criminal traffic offense, or told you are at the points threshold, call us before the clock runs out.
Free consultation: (480) 405-6767
Prefer not to call? Send us your case details and a member of our team will follow up with you.
This page is general information about Arizona law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes, rules and MVD procedures change; content reflects Arizona law as of July 2026. Deadlines printed on the notice or order served on you control. Every case depends on its own facts. Past results do not guarantee or predict the outcome of any future case. Nova Law Group, PLLC serves clients throughout Maricopa County, Arizona.
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