Little Rock Driver’s License Suspension Lawyer

Last updated on October 25, 2026

A DWI arrest can put your driving privileges at risk before your criminal case reaches court. You have a short deadline to challenge the administrative suspension, and even a dismissal or acquittal requires follow-through with Driver Services before you drive again.

At Wesley Rhodes, Attorney at Law, Wesley Rhodes represents people facing license suspensions connected to DWI and other criminal matters in Little Rock and Central Arkansas. The first steps are identifying each hold on your license, preserving any hearing deadline, and determining whether a restricted license or reinstatement is available.

What Happens After A DWI Arrest

The officer takes your license and, if it is unexpired and otherwise appears valid, issues a receipt that serves as a temporary permit for up to 30 days. The notice provides for the suspension to take effect in 30 days. Seizure of the physical license doesn’t itself mean that every driver loses permission to drive that day, and a temporary receipt doesn’t cure an existing suspension.

Check how notice was delivered. For a mailed notice under § 5-65-402, the postmark date is treated as the delivery date. Keep the envelope. The statute provides for a hearing within 20 days and a temporary permit until the hearing if the office can’t hold it within that period. Requesting a hearing alone doesn’t pause the suspension.

The license proceeding is civil and separate from the DWI criminal case. At the administrative hearing, the State has the burden by a preponderance of the evidence: whether the required facts are more likely true than not. Issues include the officer’s reasonable grounds, the test or refusal evidence, and required warnings. The hearing officer considers submitted documents and your statement but cannot compel witnesses or documents to appear. Preserve the notice, test paperwork, and any relevant recordings.

An adverse hearing decision can be challenged through a petition for a new review in the circuit court of the county where the offense occurred. Section 5-65-402(c) sets a 30-day filing deadline; the decision must be attached and the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration properly served. Filing doesn’t stop the suspension, although the court can issue a stay. Bring the written decision to your lawyer promptly.

Reinstatement After Dismissal Or Acquittal

Under Ark. Code § 5-65-402(d)(2)(B), dismissal or acquittal of the charge supporting a covered administrative suspension reverses that suspension. Driver Services must reinstate the affected privilege at no cost, and the dismissed or acquitted charge cannot count as a previous offense for a future administrative suspension. This is a legal right to reinstatement, but you still must complete the process.

• Obtain the court disposition. Get documentation identifying the charge and its dismissal or acquittal.
• Submit proof and apply. Section 5-65-402(g) provides a reinstatement path based on proof that the charge underlying the suspension was dismissed or resulted in acquittal.
• Check every remaining hold. Match the disposition to each suspension or disqualification on your record.
• Confirm reinstatement before driving. Section 5-65-402(e) keeps the restriction in place until you apply for and are granted reinstatement.

For example, dismissal of a DWI charge doesn’t resolve a separate refusal charge that remains pending or results in a conviction. The refusal-based suspension needs its own resolution. A failure-to-appear hold, drug-related suspension, or separate commercial disqualification also needs to be addressed under the law governing that particular hold.

Selected DWI And Refusal Suspension Periods

These are licensing periods, separate from criminal sentencing. Prior offenses, their dates, and their dispositions matter. Restricted-driving eligibility is a separate question from the length of the suspension.

Ark. Code §§ 5-65-104, 5-65-205, and 5-65-304. These selected periods do not describe every suspension, commercial disqualification, or reinstatement requirement.

Refusal is a separate statutory violation. Disputing the DWI allegation doesn’t, by itself, defeat the refusal allegation. See the discussion of chemical-test refusal in Arkansas for the distinction between covered tests and other requests.

Restricted Driving And Ignition Interlock

Alcohol DWI And First Refusal

For eligible alcohol-related DWI suspensions, an ignition-interlock restricted license can be available immediately if Driver Services authorizes it. A first refusal can also qualify when the arrest involved alcohol intoxication. Installation alone doesn’t authorize driving: the restricted license must be issued after verification of the required installation. A fourth-or-subsequent DWI revocation under § 5-65-104 does not allow a restricted permit.

Section 5-65-118 permits a first-offense DWI interlock waiver for required use of an employer’s vehicle in the course of employment when you don’t own or control the business, a doctor’s certification that you cannot provide a deep-lung breath sample, or no certified provider within 100 miles of your residence. A waiver requires a court order; it doesn’t itself restore a suspended license.

Controlled-Substance DWI And Hardship Permits

The interlock provisions don’t apply to a controlled-substance DWI suspension under § 5-65-104. For an eligible first offense, a hardship permit under § 5-65-120 may be an option. Driver Services must find extreme and unusual hardship and no adequate alternative transportation for an authorized purpose such as work, school, or medical care. After reviewing your five-year driving record, it must also find that you aren’t a multiple traffic-law offender or that you don’t present a threat to the public. Issuance is discretionary, with specific times and conditions.

That hardship route is unavailable for a first alcohol DWI or first refusal, and § 5-65-120 bars it for a second or subsequent DWI, chemical-test refusal, underage DUI, or underage refusal within five years. An interlock license and a hardship permit are different forms of permission. The drugged-driving charge and the precise basis of the suspension determine which rules apply.

Interlock Completion Under The July 2026 Law

Effective July 1, 2026, Act 841 added a compliance process to § 5-65-118. Certain alcohol readings, missed retests, or missed servicing during the final 60 days of the original interlock period or during an extension can lead to a 60-day extension. The law includes exceptions involving prompt retests and device images, so preserve the device records if a violation is disputed.

At completion, request a compliance certificate from the provider and present it to Driver Services to remove the interlock restriction. If the provider reports a violation, you can request reconsideration and submit evidence of compliance. A confirmed violation extends the period by 60 days. Don’t treat the original end date or removal of the device as proof that unrestricted driving has been restored.

Court-Related And Other Criminal License Holds

These statutes also provide no-cost reversal when the particular failure-to-appear or nonpayment-related charge used as the basis is dismissed or results in acquittal. Dismissal of a different underlying charge isn’t the same finding. A district court may order a restricted permit under § 27-16-916 for qualifying holds under these provisions; confirm the permit’s issuance, limits, and any other suspension before driving.

Drug Offenses

Under § 27-16-915, a qualifying drug conviction, guilty or no-contest plea, or acceptance and enrollment in a covered pre-adjudication specialty court program triggers a six-month suspension unless the court finds compelling circumstances warranting an exception. The statute specifies a one-year commercial-driving suspension for a CDL holder. The ordinary-license suspension can apply without a driving allegation. A court-ordered restricted permit may be available, but other disqualifying holds can prevent it, and it cannot authorize commercial driving.

Underage Alcohol And Serious Vehicle Offenses

Minor-in-possession licensing rules differ from underage DUI. Section 3-3-203(e) provides 60 days for a first offense, 120 days for a second, and one year for a third or subsequent offense for people ages 18 through 20; people under 18 are governed by the juvenile provisions. Separately, § 27-16-905 requires revocation upon receipt of specified final convictions, including vehicle-related manslaughter or negligent homicide and a felony in which a vehicle was used.

Commercial privileges require separate attention. A qualifying DWI conviction or refusal can disqualify a CDL holder even when it involves a personal vehicle. Section 27-23-112 prohibits an Arkansas court from issuing a restricted permit to operate a commercial motor vehicle. Restoring ordinary driving privileges doesn’t necessarily remove a separate commercial disqualification.

Completing A Suspension And Applying For Reinstatement

If the suspension remains in place, get the requirements for your particular record before paying for a course or removing an interlock. DWI-related reinstatement can require approved education or treatment, victim-impact-panel attendance, completion of applicable interlock requirements, and fees. Keep the completion certificates and submit them with your application. The dismissal-or-acquittal procedure described above is a separate route.

Section 5-65-119 calculates the DWI/refusal reinstatement fee at $150 per separate calendar-date occurrence, subject to the statutory removal rules. It isn’t a separate $150 charge for every allegation from the same date, and it isn’t a universal total for every licensing problem. Check which fees remain after any reversal and whether other holds have their own requirements.

Don’t drive while waiting for reinstatement. Driving during a DWI-law suspension or revocation is an unclassified misdemeanor under § 5-65-105, punishable by 10 to 90 days in jail and a possible fine up to $1,000. Other suspensions can involve a different statute. See driving on a suspended or revoked license.

What To Bring To A Consultation

• Every notice and its envelope: delivery and postmark dates can control deadlines.
• Your temporary permit and hearing decision: these identify the permission currently available and any review deadline.
• Court paperwork for each charge: dismissal orders, judgments, and appearance or payment orders help match each hold to its legal basis.
• Completion and interlock records: certificates, service reports, and disputed readings help show what remains or support reconsideration.
• Work, school, medical, and transportation information: these records can support a request for a permitted form of restricted driving.

For a license suspension connected to a criminal matter in Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, Benton, or elsewhere in Central Arkansas, call 501-301-4591 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.

This page reflects Arkansas law as of October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice about your specific case.