A DUI arrest in Alabama starts two separate cases. One is the criminal charge in court. The other is an administrative case about your driver’s licence — and it has a deadline almost nobody is told about.
Under Ala. Code § 32-5A-307, a request for an administrative hearing “shall be received by the agency or be mailed and postmarked within 10 days of the notice of intended suspension.” The statute continues: “Failure to request an administrative hearing within 10 days shall constitute a waiver of the person’s right to an administrative hearing and judicial review under this article.”
Ten days. Not ten business days. If you were arrested this weekend, the clock is already running.
Why people miss it
Because everything about the arrest points at the court date. You are handed paperwork with a date on it, you are told to appear, and that becomes the thing you worry about.
The licence case does not work that way. Nobody appears in court for it. There is no bailiff calling your name. If you do nothing, you simply lose — and by the time your criminal case is called, the ten days are long gone and the right to a hearing is waived by statute.
§ 32-5A-307: “The request shall be received by the agency or be mailed and postmarked within 10 days of the notice of intended suspension issued pursuant to Section 32-5A-303… Failure to request an administrative hearing within 10 days shall constitute a waiver of the person’s right to an administrative hearing and judicial review under this article.”
Ala. Code § 32-5A-307.What you lose if you miss it
The suspension takes effect, and its length depends on your record over the previous ten years.
| Prior alcohol or drug-related enforcement contacts in the preceding 10 years | Suspension |
|---|---|
| None | 90 days |
| One | One year |
| Two | Three years |
| Three or more | Five years |
Note what triggers this: an enforcement contact, not a conviction. The administrative case runs on its own track and does not wait for the criminal case to finish.
If you were arrested in the last ten days, call now
Not tomorrow. The request has to be received or postmarked inside the window, and there is no extension for not knowing about it. Phones are answered 24 hours a day.
What to do in the first 48 hours
- Find the paperwork you were givenEverything you were handed at the arrest or at release. Somewhere in it is the notice of intended suspension issued under § 32-5A-303, and the date on that notice starts the 10-day clock.
- Write the date on the notice on your calendar, then count 10 daysCalendar days. Do not assume the deadline is measured from the arrest — it runs from the notice.
- Get the hearing request filedReceived or postmarked inside the window. This is the step that preserves both the hearing and judicial review.
- Do not discuss the case with anyone but your lawyerNot on the phone from jail, not with the officer, not on social media. Those calls are recorded and those posts are discoverable.
- Note your court dateIt is on the citation or the release paperwork. That is the criminal case, and it is separate from the licence case.
- Write down what happened while you remember itWhere you were stopped, what you were asked, what tests were given, what you were told, who else was there, and the timeline. Detail fades quickly and it matters.
The criminal case, separately
Alabama’s DUI statute is Ala. Code § 32-5A-191. The thresholds are 0.08 percent for adults, 0.02 percent for drivers under 21, and 0.04 percent for commercial drivers. The statute also reaches impairment by substances other than alcohol.
| Conviction | Fine | Jail | Licence | Ignition interlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | $600–$2,100 | Up to 1 year | 90-day suspension (stayed if interlock installed) | 1 year if BAC 0.15%+, a child under 14 was a passenger, or the test was refused |
| Second | $1,100–$5,100 | Minimum 5 days, or 30 days community service | Revoked 1 year | 2 years |
| Third | $2,100–$10,100 | Minimum 60 days, not suspendable | Revoked 3 years | 3 years |
| Fourth | $4,100–$10,100 | Class C felony — 1 to 10 years, minimum 1 year and 1 day | Revoked 5 years | 4 years |
Section 32-5A-191 counts prior convictions falling “within 10 years of the date of the current offense.” A prior felony DUI conviction counts regardless of how long ago it was.
This is why the first thing to establish is your actual record, not your memory of it.
Ala. Code § 32-5A-191.Refusing the test
Alabama’s implied consent law is Ala. Code § 32-5-192. It provides that a person must be told that failure to submit to a chemical test “will result in the suspension of his or her privilege to operate a motor vehicle for a minimum of 90 days,” and that on request the agency shall provide a hearing in the same manner as under § 32-5A-307.
So a refusal does not avoid the licence problem — it creates one, on the same 10-day clock. And under § 32-5A-191, a refusal is one of the triggers for a one-year ignition interlock requirement on a first conviction.
Where the case will be heard
The criminal case goes to the court named on your citation — a municipal court if a city police department made the stop, or district court for a county or state arrest.
Check your citation for which one
What this firm handles
Rule 7.4 of the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct permits a lawyer to state the fields in which they do and do not practise. So, plainly:
- We handle DUI and traffic matters — first, second and third offence DUI, speeding, reckless driving, driving while suspended, and related traffic charges.
- We do not handle felony criminal defence. A fourth or subsequent DUI is a Class C felony under § 32-5A-191, and drug charges, assault and other felonies are outside what we do. If that is your situation we will tell you on the first call and point you somewhere useful rather than take the file.
No lawyer can promise you a result, and Alabama Rule 7.1 prohibits any communication likely to create an unjustified expectation about what can be achieved. What we can tell you is what the statutes require, what the deadlines are, what the realistic range of outcomes looks like on facts like yours, and what has to happen next.
Preserving the 10-day hearing request is not a guarantee of anything. Waiving it removes an option you cannot get back.
Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct, Rules 7.1 and 7.4.Questions we get in the first 24 hours
When exactly does the 10 days start?
From the notice of intended suspension issued under Ala. Code § 32-5A-303 — not from the arrest, though they usually happen together. Find the notice and read the date on it. Under § 32-5A-307 the request must be received by the agency or mailed and postmarked within 10 days of that notice.
Is it 10 business days?
The statute says 10 days. Do not assume weekends or holidays extend it. Treat it as 10 calendar days and act well inside that.
What happens if I already missed the 10 days?
Section 32-5A-307 provides that failing to request within 10 days waives the administrative hearing and judicial review under that article. That does not end the criminal case, which is separate and still has to be defended. Call and tell us where you actually are — the answer is different depending on how much time has passed.
Can I drive while all this is going on?
It depends on what stage you are at and whether the suspension has taken effect. Do not guess. Driving while suspended is its own offence and it makes everything worse.
Should I have refused the breathalyser?
That question is behind you, and the answer is more complicated than people assume. Under § 32-5-192 a refusal carries a suspension of at least 90 days, and under § 32-5A-191 a refusal is one of the triggers for a one-year ignition interlock requirement on a first conviction. Either way, the 10-day clock is the same.
Will a DUI stay on my record forever in Alabama?
For the purpose of counting priors under § 32-5A-191, convictions within 10 years of the current offence count — and a prior felony DUI counts indefinitely. What appears on a background check is a separate question from how the statute counts priors. Ask about your specific record rather than relying on a general answer.
I was arrested in Athens but I live out of state. Does this still apply?
The Alabama administrative process applies to the driving privilege in Alabama, and your home state will have its own response to an Alabama action. Both matter. Tell us at the first call so nothing is missed on either side.
What does it cost?
Call and describe the situation. We will tell you what the matter involves and how we would charge for it before you commit to anything.
The clock does not stop for the weekend
If you or someone in your family was arrested for DUI in Limestone, Madison, Morgan or a surrounding county, call the office. Phones are answered 24 hours a day.
Daniel Shawn Pickens
Attorney at Daniel S. Pickens Law in Athens, Alabama. The firm handles DUI and traffic defense, real estate closings and title work, estate planning and probate, deeds, business formation and contracts for clients across Limestone, Madison, Morgan, Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin and Lawrence Counties.
Questions about a DUI or traffic charge? Email dui@dsp.law or call 256-434-1678.
Daniel S. Pickens Law · 300 West Green Street, Athens, Alabama 35611
