Carl D. Olson

Summary of New Hampshire's Administrative Driver's License Suspension Law

WARNING!  If you refused to take a breath, blood or urine test after being arrested for DUI / DWI in New Hampshire, or if the results of your test were .08% blood alcohol or above, your license (or privilege to drive in New Hampshire if you are a non-resident) will be suspended 30 days after the arrest unless you or your attorney take appropriate action to demand an administrative hearing within 30 calendar days after arrest.  For a first time refusal or breath test failure, your license will be suspended for 180 days without this hearing.  If you have a prior DWI / DUI conviction or a prior refusal or breath test failure within the past 10 years, then your license or privilege to drive will be suspended for 2 years.  This is called the Administrative License Suspension (ALS).

This "ALS" is based upon New Hampshire's implied consent laws, which provide that any person driving in the State of New Hampshire is "presumed" to impliedly consent to chemical testing if he/she is arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence.

When you are arrested for DWI / DUI, you will be asked to submit to a breath or blood test.  If a breath test indicates .08% blood-alcohol or more, (or .02% if under the age of 21), or you refuse to submit to chemical testing, your driver's license will be immediately confiscated by the police (unless it is an out-of-state license) and you will be issued a pink sheet of paper.  This pink paper serves as a formal notice of immediate suspension, a temporary license valid for 30 days, and a technical explanation of the laws and procedures involved.

You, or your New Hampshire attorney should immediately notify the Divison of Motor Vehicles ("DMV") to contest the suspension at an administrative hearing.  An ALS hearing is conducted by a hearings examiner who is an employee of the DMV.  This person, although not necessarily legally trained, will act as the "judge".  The hearing is conducted like a trial, but without a jury and with different due process and evidentiary rules than a criminal case.  The New Hampshire Supreme Court has ruled that an ALS hearing is a civil proceeding, requiring proof by a preponderance of the evidence and not beyond a reasonable doubt.

 RSA 265-A:30 Administrative License Suspension. –
    I. If any person refuses a test as provided in RSA 265-A:14 or submits to a test described in RSA 265-A:4 which discloses an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more or, in the case of a person under the age of 21 at the time of the violation, 0.02 or more, the law enforcement officer shall submit a sworn report to the department. In the report the officer shall certify that the test was requested pursuant to RSA 265-A:4 and that the person refused to submit to testing or submitted to a test which disclosed an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more, or, in the case of a person under the age of 21, 0.02 or more.
    II. Upon receipt of the sworn report of a law enforcement officer submitted under paragraph I, the department shall suspend the person's driver's license or privilege to drive as follows:
       (a) In the case of a refusal to take a test described in RSA 265-A:4, the suspension shall be for the period specified in RSA 265-A:14.
       (b) In the case of a person who submits to a test described in RSA 265-A:4 which discloses an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more or, in the case of a person under the age of 21 at the time of the violation, 0.02 or more, the suspension shall be for:
          (1) Six months if there is no prior refusal under RSA 265-A:14, no prior driving while intoxicated or aggravated driving while intoxicated convictions, and no prior administrative license suspension pursuant to RSA 265-A:30.
          (2) Two years if there is a prior refusal under RSA 265-A:14, or a prior driving while intoxicated or aggravated driving while intoxicated conviction, or a prior administrative suspension pursuant to RSA 265-A:30.
    III. On behalf of the department, the law enforcement officer submitting the sworn report under paragraph I shall serve immediate notice of suspension on the person, and the suspension shall be effective 30 days after the date of service. If the person has a valid New Hampshire driver's license, an officer shall take the driver's license of the person, and issue a temporary license valid for the notice period. The officer shall send the license to the department along with the sworn report under paragraph I.
    IV. If the person submits to a test described in RSA 265-A:4 and the results of the test are not immediately available and therefore no notice has been served by the law enforcement officer, the department shall mail such notice and the suspension shall be effective 30 days after the date of service. If the address shown in the law enforcement officer's report differs from that shown on the department records, the notice shall be mailed to both addresses. The notice shall be presumed to have been served 3 days after mailing. Upon receipt of the notice of suspension and before requesting any review or hearing under RSA 265-A:31, if the person has a New Hampshire driver's license that has not been surrendered, the person shall surrender such person's license at a place designated by the department and shall be issued a temporary driving permit valid for the notice period.
    V. In the case of a person who has a driver's license from another jurisdiction, all provisions of this subdivision shall apply except that surrender of the out-of-state driver's license and issuance of a temporary driving permit shall not be required. The department shall transmit a copy of the suspension order to the motor vehicle authorities in the jurisdiction where the person's license was issued, and also in the jurisdiction of the person's residence if different from that where the license was issued.