Driving While License Suspended or Revoked (DWLS & DWLR) FAQs

A suspended license is taken away for a defined period and comes back when the suspension ends and the reinstatement fee is paid.

A revoked license is terminated indefinitely. The only way to drive again after a revocation is to file a formal restoration appeal and prove you are eligible to be re-licensed. The appeal is filed with the Michigan Secretary of State (SOS), through its Office of Hearings and Administrative Oversight (OHAO).

Both DWLS and DWLR are charged under the same Michigan law, but the underlying license history is very different. Suspensions usually come from things like unpaid tickets, too many points, or failure to appear.

Revocations almost always come from multiple OWI (drunk driving) convictions, which is why a DWLR charge tends to carry steeper administrative consequences than a typical DWLS.

A first DWLS or DWLR conviction is a misdemeanor that carries up to 93 days in jail and a fine of up to $500, or both.

A second or subsequent conviction is still a misdemeanor, but the maximum jail exposure jumps to one year and the fine ceiling rises to up to $1,000.

Local sentencing practices vary, and in much of the Greater Detroit area, jail is not the typical outcome on a first offense, especially when the underlying suspension is for something administrative rather than a serious driving incident. However, the license consequences can have a significantly negative impact on your ability to legally get back on the road.

Often, yes. In most Metro Detroit district courts, a DWLS charge can be plea-bargained down to a non-reportable offense that will NOT trigger a mandatory license penalty. This is always the goal in every case. A common mistake that people make is thinking that a plea deal to the charge of no valid operator’s license on person, or “no ops,” will avoid the mandatory additional license penalty.

It will not. The ONLY way to avoid that is to negotiate a different charge that keeps a conviction for any moving violation off your driving record. Only then can you be protected from the additional license sanction the Secretary of State must otherwise impose.

DWLR cases are tougher to negotiate, especially when the revocation comes from multiple OWIs, but a similar plea deal may still be possible. Working out that kind of favorable result depends on a good, strategic defense plan that takes into account the court, the prosecutor, and your driving history. A lawyer who handles these cases regularly in Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, and the surrounding counties knows the ins and outs of how things work in the different courts and how to best handle these cases in each.

Yes, almost always. Under the “mandatory additional” rule built into MCL 257.904, the Secretary of State must impose another period of suspension or revocation when you are convicted of any moving violation while your license is already suspended or revoked. If your suspension was for a definite term, the additional period equals the original. If your suspension was indefinite, the additional period is 30 days.

If your license was revoked, a DWLR conviction triggers a new revocation for the same period as your last revocation — either 1 or 5 years. Because Michigan revocations have no fixed end date, this resets the clock on when you can even file for license restoration.

This is why even a “minor” conviction for ANY moving violation can be devastating for someone whose license was revoked after multiple OWIs. The criminal fine and possible jail time are bad enough; the new revocation period that follows can push the next driver’s license restoration appeal years down the road.

In some cases, yes. Michigan law allows vehicle impoundment for up to 120 days after a DWLS or DWLR conviction, depending on which subsection you are convicted under. Impoundment is mandatory for repeat offenders and discretionary in most first-offense cases. The vehicle does not have to be yours alone; if you own or lease it in whole or in part, it can be subject to the order.

The misdemeanor framework only applies when no one is hurt. If you are caught driving on a suspended or revoked license and the operation of the vehicle causes an injury that results in a serious impairment of a body function to another person, you can be charged with a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine between $1,000 and $5,000.

If the operation causes a death, the charge is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine between $2,500 and $10,000.

These felony exposures do not require any showing of recklessness or intoxication. The license status alone, plus the causal link between the driving and the injury or death, is enough.

Michigan recognizes a narrow necessity defense. The DWLS/DWLR statute does not apply to a person who operates a vehicle “solely for the purpose of protecting human life or property if the life or property is endangered and summoning prompt aid is essential.” Driving a family member to the hospital during a true emergency is the textbook example. Picking up groceries on the way home is not. This defense is fact-specific and very rare. A lawyer needs to look closely at what happened before relying on it.

The standard Michigan license reinstatement fee is $125. That fee is what the Secretary of State charges to lift a suspension once the suspension period has run and any other requirements are satisfied. Court fines, costs, and any other holds on your record are separate.

A suspended license is “reinstated” once the time has run and the fee is paid.

A revoked license is “restored” only after a successful hearing before the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office of Hearings and Administrative Oversight (OHAO). These are legally distinct processes, and the $125 administrative fee does not substitute for the formal restoration hearing required after a revocation.

A Michigan revocation creates a “hold” on your record that follows you to every other state through the National Driver Register (NDR). Until that hold is cleared, you cannot get a new license anywhere else. The fix is a formal driver’s license clearance appeal through OHAO, and our firm handles these all the time — and we guarantee to win every such case we accept. The entire clearance process can be handled remotely; you do not need to come back to Michigan.