Your license
Driver's license problems in Missouri
The Department of Revenue runs its own clock. Ted works the license side of a DWI as hard as the criminal side.
15 days to request your license hearing
After a DWI arrest at .08 or more, the Department of Revenue starts a license suspension on its own. You have 15 days from the date on the notice (Form 2385) to request a hearing. Miss it and the suspension stands. § 302.530
The answer
Count your 15 days
The date on your notice goes in. The day your hearing request has to be in comes out.
Count your days
The 15-day hearing request
You have 15 days from the date on the Department of Revenue notice to request the hearing. § 302.530
The rule
15 days
Type the date on your Form 2385 and the page counts it for you.
What Ted handles
License matters Ted handles
- The 15-day hearing request
- Suspension after a DWI arrest
- Limited driving privilege
- Reinstatement after a suspension
- Five- and ten-year denials
- Driving while suspended or revoked
- Points
How it moves
Two clocks, side by side
What the case is doing and what you or your license are doing at the same moment. Tap a step.
- 1
Day 0
The arrest
The criminal case: Booking at the jail, then bond or a summons. Say nothing about the case to anyone but your lawyer.
Your license: At .08 or more the officer takes your license and hands you Form 2385. It is also a 15-day driving permit.
- 2
Days 1 to 15
The 15-day window
The criminal case: Bond conditions apply. Ted gets the report and the video and reads the charging papers against the definitions.
Your license: Request the Department of Revenue hearing before day 15, or the suspension starts on its own.
- 3
Day 15, if no request
The suspension starts
The criminal case: Nothing changes in the criminal case.
Your license: 30 days with no driving, then 60 days restricted; or a 90-day interlock privilege instead. A prior alcohol contact within five years means a one-year revocation.
- 4
Weeks later
The first court date
The criminal case: Arraignment or a first appearance. Nothing is decided that day.
Your license: With a hearing requested, you keep driving on temporary permits until the final order.
- 5
Months 1 to 6
Discovery, motions, the hearing
The criminal case: Reports, instrument records, video. Problems become motions to suppress.
Your license: The DOR hearing decides one thing: whether you were driving at .08 or more. It is not the criminal case.
- 6
The end of the case
Resolution
The criminal case: A dismissal, a plea to something smaller, or trial. You make the final call.
Your license: A conviction carries its own license consequences; two or more add the five- and ten-year denials.
Driver's license: common questions
I missed the 15 days. Is there anything left?
The suspension stands, but driving may still be possible: a limited driving privilege or the interlock privilege depends on your record and the reason for the suspension. Call before you drive.
How long is the suspension after a first DWI arrest?
Thirty days with no driving, then sixty days of restricted driving, or a ninety-day interlock privilege instead. A prior alcohol contact within five years turns it into a one-year revocation.
Source: RSMo 302.525
What is a limited driving privilege?
Permission to drive for limited purposes, such as work, during some suspensions and revocations. Who qualifies depends on the record and the reason for the suspension, and the application has its own paperwork.
How many points before a suspension?
Eight points in eighteen months brings a suspension; four in twelve months brings an advisory letter; twelve in twelve months brings a revocation.
Source: RSMo 302.304
The law this page cites
Read at its source on 2026-10-29.
License suspended or revoked? Talk to Ted.
What happens next
Ted calls you back
Ted or his paralegal will call you back at the number you give. Have your paperwork near the phone if you can.
You talk through what happened
What you were charged with, where, and what the paperwork says. Ted tells you what the charge means and what comes first.
You decide
If it makes sense to work together, Ted explains the fee and what he does next. If not, you still leave knowing where you stand.
Rather talk than type? Call, and the office sets a time.