What You Need to Know
- If your driver’s license or driving privileges show up as revoked in Michigan, it creates a Michigan license hold on your driving record that follows you nationwide.
- When you try to obtain or renew a license in another state, you will be unable to do so until you first clear the hold caused by that revocation.
- The only way to remove a Michigan hold is to win a driver’s license clearance appeal before the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office of Hearings and Administrative Oversight (OHAO).
If you are visiting Michigan and get a DUI, it can result in a Michigan license hold that affects your ability to drive in this state and your ability to renew your license in your home state.”
However, if you already have a DUI in one state and then, within seven years, pick up a DUI here in Michigan, it will be added to your driving record and treated as a second DUI that will cause you to lose driving privileges in Michigan.
Our firm can help clear a Michigan hold from your driving record. Don’t let DUI penalties pile up — once you have more than one conviction on your record, it affects your ability to get a license in any other state.
Understanding Michigan Driving Record Holds
Under Michigan law, the driving privileges of anyone who accumulates two OWI (Operating While Intoxicated) convictions within seven years — or three or more within ten years — will be revoked.
If that person moves out of state, the Michigan driver’s license revocation becomes a “hold” on their driving record. This also applies to someone who never had a Michigan license but picks up a second DUI conviction within seven years, or a third within ten years, in this state.
A license revocation is different from a suspension for something like an unpaid ticket. A suspension is temporary; a revocation, by contrast, is permanent.
That revoked status never changes. It does not matter how long you wait — the only way to get your driving privileges back is to file and win a formal driver’s license restoration or clearance appeal before the Michigan Secretary of State, through its Office of Hearings and Administrative Oversight (OHAO).
What Does It Mean to Have a “Hold” on Your Michigan Driving Record?
A hold on your Michigan driving record means your driving privileges have been revoked. A hold affects people who do not live here, and it will prevent them from obtaining or renewing a license in another state.
Of course, you cannot legally drive in Michigan until the hold is removed. Here is an example of how a hold works:
If Linda Lansing lost her Michigan license for two DUIs a few years back and continues to live in Michigan, no matter how long she waits, her license will remain revoked until she files and wins a formal driver’s license restoration appeal before the Secretary of State’s OHAO. Her license status in Michigan is “revoked.” The important distinction here is that Linda is still a Michigan resident.
However, assume that Linda moves to another state. If she goes to that state’s DMV to apply for a license, she will be refused because Michigan’s revocation shows up as a “hold.” The only way to remove that hold is to file for a clearance — which is, in substance, the same as a license restoration appeal.
Because Linda is no longer a Michigan resident, the Secretary of State cannot issue her a Michigan license, but it can remove the hold by granting a clearance.
In each scenario above, Linda either was or had been a Michigan resident with a Michigan driver’s license when her revocation occurred. Because she held a Michigan license, revoking her privilege to drive and revoking her license amounted to the same thing. Yet some people who have never been Michigan residents still wind up with a Michigan hold on their records. How does that happen?
What Happens When Out-of-State Drivers Get DUIs in Michigan?
If an out-of-state driver is convicted of a DUI in Michigan, they will likely lose their privilege to drive in Michigan — temporarily, as the result of a suspension in a first-offense DUI case, and permanently, as the result of a second DUI conviction within seven years of a prior conviction or a third conviction within ten years, regardless of where any such conviction occurred.
Whether their home-state license is revoked or suspended is determined entirely by that state’s actions — independent of anything Michigan does.
Can Michigan Revoke an Out-of-State Driver’s License?
Michigan cannot revoke or suspend a driver’s license issued by a different state. No state can do that.
What Michigan can — and does — do is revoke a person’s privilege to use that out-of-state license within Michigan, when that person is convicted of a qualifying second or third DUI here.
Revoked Out-of-State Driver’s License: An Example
Consider Toledo Ted, who lives in Ohio and holds an Ohio license. He received his first DUI in Ohio five years ago. While traveling through Michigan, he picked up his second DUI. Michigan would create a driving record for Ted and revoke his privilege to drive in this state — the result of two DUIs within seven years. This is separate and independent from anything Ohio might do.
If Ohio chooses not to act on Ted’s license for the Michigan DUI, Ted’s license remains valid in Ohio and every other state — except Michigan. Michigan’s revocation means Ted simply cannot drive here.
Even if Ted moves to Florida before Michigan’s hold appears on his record and obtains a valid Florida license, that license will not be recognized in Michigan. Ted is effectively prohibited from driving here by virtue of his revoked privileges.
However, when Ted goes to renew his license — wherever he lives — that Michigan hold will surface and block the renewal. He will be unable to move forward until he clears it.
To Remove a Michigan Hold, You Must Prove That You’re Sober
Here is the most important thing to understand: you must be sober to win a driver’s license clearance appeal. Our firm does not accept cases for people who have not genuinely stopped drinking. That commitment to sobriety is the foundation of how we can guarantee to win every case we take.
We carefully screen potential clients and ask direct questions about their abstinence from alcohol and drugs, including recreational marijuana — which is a deal-breaker and will end a license appeal before it begins.
The cold truth is that if we could accept every case that came our way, we would be very busy. But because we only take restoration or clearance appeals for people who are genuinely sober, that significantly limits the number of interested parties who actually become our clients.
Sobriety is the absolute foundation of every license appeal, and the reason we can guarantee to win every driver’s license restoration and clearance appeal case we take.
What Happens to Your Out-of-State License if Michigan Revokes Your Driving Privileges?
If you lose driving privileges in Michigan and you are from out of state, you will eventually wind up with a hold on your driving record. When you go to renew your license in your home state, you will be blocked until you clear the Michigan hold.
Here is how that plays out with our earlier example:
Michigan’s revocation of Ted’s driving privileges would take effect shortly after his conviction. Ohio, however, would likely not learn of the Michigan DUI — Ted’s second overall — until Ted went to renew his Ohio license.
Assume Ted’s Ohio license is good for two more years. Ted can drive in Ohio and every other state except Michigan until he goes to renew at the Ohio BMV when it’s time. At that point, Ohio will run his record, discover the Michigan revocation, and treat it as a hold.
Ohio will then refuse to let Ted renew his license until the Michigan hold is cleared. The same result would occur in any other state where Ted attempted to obtain a license.
What Happens if You Move States After Michigan Revokes Your Driver’s License?
The revocation of a Michigan license translates to a hold in every other state, prohibiting a person from obtaining a license until he or she first wins a clearance in Michigan.
A revoked Michigan license remains revoked as long as a person remains a Michigan resident. If, however, a person establishes residency in another state, he or she forfeits any claim to a Michigan license.
That person must then apply for a license in the new state — which will run the record, discover the Michigan revocation, and block issuance of a new license until the hold is cleared.
How Do You Clear a Michigan Hold from Your Driving Record?
Once you have a Michigan hold on your driving record, there is absolutely no way to remove it except by winning a driver’s license clearance appeal.
While the language differs — revocation versus hold, clearance versus restoration — what is required to get back on the road is identical.
Under Michigan law, if you accumulate two DUIs within seven years or three DUIs within ten years, you are categorized as a habitual alcohol offender, and it is presumed by law that you have an alcohol problem.
File for a License Appeal in Michigan
To win a clearance of a Michigan hold, a person must file for a license appeal with the OHAO and prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that their legally presumed alcohol problem is both under control and likely to remain under control.
In plain terms, you must prove that you are sober, have been sober, and — more importantly — are a safe bet to never drink again.
Why Work With Jeffrey Randa & Associates?
Our firm guarantees to win every clearance and restoration case we take. We are invested in making sure our clients win the first time.
To back that guarantee, we need to be certain a person has truly and completely stopped drinking. We do not work with anyone who has not made that dramatic, life-changing transition from drinker to non-drinker.
If you’ve genuinely made that change, you know how profound and far-reaching it is.
If you believe you can still drink on occasion, you are not there yet.
The OHAO is looking for people who can truthfully say they understand there will never be a time when they can have even a single drink. That is the real substance of every clearance appeal — and why genuine sobriety is non-negotiable.
One more thing worth noting: the entire clearance process can now be handled remotely. Our out-of-state clients do not need to travel back to Michigan for any part of the appeal, including the hearing itself. All hearings are now conducted by the Secretary of State via Microsoft Teams, no matter where a person lives.
Don’t Let a Michigan Hold Keep You From Driving
A person can wind up with a hold on their driving record in two ways:
- Anyone who held a Michigan license that was revoked for multiple DUIs will find that revocation becomes a hold when they try to obtain or renew a license in another state.
- Even someone who never held a Michigan license can end up with a hold if they picked up a qualifying second or third DUI in Michigan. The revocation of their privilege to drive here will be discovered the moment they try to renew or obtain a license elsewhere.
If you have a Michigan hold on your driving record — or if your Michigan driver’s license has been revoked — contact Jeffrey Randa & Associates for a free consultation. Consultations are confidential and done over the phone.
My team and I are happy to answer your questions and explain the clearance process. We can be reached Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at 586-465-1980. An after-hours answering service is available if you call outside those hours. You can also reach us through the contact form on our website. For more on how clearance cases work, visit our driver’s license restoration page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Look Up My Michigan Driving Record?
You cannot look up your driving history online in Michigan. You must request your record through the Secretary of State via mail, telephone, fax, or in person — or online through the Secretary of State’s driving record request page.
Can I Get a Driver’s License in Another State If I Have a Michigan Hold?
No — not until the hold is cleared. If Michigan has revoked your driving privileges, that revocation shows up as a hold in every other state. You cannot obtain or renew a license anywhere until you file and win a clearance appeal in Michigan.
