The officer punched a hole in my license when I was cited with a Washington State DUI

After you have been placed under arrest for DUI, the officer will usually punch a hole in your license but this does not mean that your license is automatically suspended. This hole indicates to any law enforcement agency, should you be pulled over again for any reasons, that you have a pending action against you (from the courts/DOL) and that your license is most likely in temporary status. Additionally, you will want to carry the Temporary License slip with your license at all times until your DOL case has been completed.

Is my driver’s license automatically suspended?

If you are pulled over and arrested for DUI, your license is not automatically suspended. The officer will give you documents regarding a Department of Licensing administrative hearing, one of these documents will have a slip of paper at the bottom that you need to cut off and carry with your license throughout the rest of your case. If you request a Department of Licensing Administrative Hearing, this will allow you a chance to fight against a license suspension.

NOTE: You must request a Department of Licensing within 20 days of your DUI Arrest.  (Request a hearing here.)  Once your hearing has been requested, your license suspension will be based on the outcome of your administrative hearing. If you don’t request a hearing, your license will be suspended on the sixtieth day from the arrest, although it may be on a date the DOL decides, they will inform you of this date by mail. If you are worried about your pending license suspension, or are not sure if you are still within the timeframe to request a hearing give our office a call, we understand the law can be confusing and we are here to help.