If you have had your driver’s license suspended due to failing a breath test or refusing a test, you can apply to have the suspension converted to a limited restricted license which will allow you to drive for work purposes with an ignition interlock device. Now you can do it online.
If you blew between a .08 and .149, and have never had a DUI occurrence in your lifetime, the suspension should be for 30 days, followed by 6 months of restriction to only driving with an ignition interlock device. If you blew over .150, whether it is your first offense or not, the suspension will be for one year, followed by a restriction to the ignition interlock for one or more years depending on your prior record. If you refuse a breath, blood or urine test, the suspension will be for one year, followed by at least a 2 year restriction to the ignition interlock on your first Kansas DUI, and more years of restriction if it is a second or subsequent. Of course, you can and should request a hearing about whether you should be suspended and you should have the best Kansas DUI attorney that you can find review all of the evidence, show up at the hearing and litigate any and all issues possible.
But, if you are suspended for a year because it is not your first DUI, you blew over .150 or are alleged to have refused a test, then you can apply to the Kansas Department of Revenue for a limited restricted license that will allow you to drive to and from work with an ignition interlock device. If you took the test you have to wait 45 days before you can apply. If you refused, you have to wait 90 days. So, if you blew a .160 and lose the administrative hearing, your license will be suspended for one year. But after 45 days you can submit the application for the restricted license. If you are not suspended for any other reason, the application will be granted. There is a $100 application fee (surprise!). What this means is that after the 45 days of suspension, for the remainder of that first year of suspension you can drive for work with the interlock. At the end of that first year, you will have another year of restriction to ignition interlock, but you can drive wherever you want.
It can take a couple of weeks for the application to get approved by the Kansas Department of Revenue, so it may be more like 60 days that you can’t drive after a suspension for a breath test failure.
A recent press release from the KDR announces that the application, which used to have to be mailed in, can now be done online:
For immediate release News Contact: Jeannine Koranda Director of Communications Phone:
Restricted driver’s license application now available online
Dec. 1, 2015 TOPEKA – Kansas drivers with suspended licenses can now apply and pay for a restricted driver’s license online. The automated online application replaces a paper application and cuts processing time in half. Customers can use the online application for unpaid ticket restrictions, which will allow drivers to obtain limited driving privileges instead of their unpaid tickets for up to a year. Customers can also use the online application to request limited driving privileges for the remainder of their alcohol-related suspension. Applications do not guarantee approval. The department determines approval based on an individual’s driving record. Customers can also check the status of their driver’s license or retrieve copies of all notices that the Division of Vehicles has mailed to them from the online status check function at www.ksrevenue.org/DLStatusCheck. The status check application is updated nightly Monday through Friday and shows if a driver’s license has been suspended, revoked, canceled or has restrictions.