Ohio Limited Driving Privileges: When Can I Drive After an OVI?

The remedy discussed throughout our guide to the license suspension.

Ohio limited driving privileges are how most people get back on the road while an OVI case and license suspension are pending. Your license is affected immediately at arrest, but after a mandatory no-driving period you can usually ask the court for limited privileges to drive for the things you need. How long you wait, and how restrictive the privileges are, depends on the offense and the court. Call (937) 318-1384 for a free consultation.

What Are Limited Driving Privileges?

Ohio law allows a person subject to a license suspension to apply for limited driving privileges, but eligibility is not immediate in all cases. Privileges are granted only by court order and may include conditions authorized by Ohio law. Limited privileges have historically covered occupation, vocation, education, medical needs, license examination, and court-ordered treatment, and a change in Ohio law now permits courts to grant privileges for other purposes at the judge’s discretion. If you are not able to show your court-ordered driving privileges to a police officer when stopped, he or she may assume that you should not be driving, which could lead to further legal issues.

Privileges often come with an interlock condition and end with reinstatement.

How Long Before You Can Drive? The “Hard Time” Waiting Period

The statute imposes mandatory no-driving periods, often called “hard time,” before privileges may be granted, and those periods depend on whether the suspension was based on a refusal or a test result, the number of prior offenses, and the type of test involved.

On a first-offense OVI with an Administrative License Suspension for a failed test, you are eligible for driving privileges after a fifteen (15) day period. These fifteen days are your hard-time suspension, meaning that for fifteen days following your arrest and the seizure of your license, you cannot drive. After the fifteen days, you are eligible, with court approval, for restricted driving privileges.

For a second-offense OVI, Ohio law imposes a mandatory hard time of no driving for forty-five (45) days before you are eligible for driving privileges. For a third-offense OVI, the statutory hard time is 180 days, and you should be aware that most judges are reluctant to give driving privileges on a third-offense OVI even after that period has passed. Talk to your attorney about how your specific court handles driving privileges at each offense level.

How to Request Driving Privileges

Each court is frustratingly different in what you must do to apply for privileges and in how restrictive their privileges are. Make your request specific: where you need to travel, why, and at what times. If your schedule is complicated, include a daily schedule, and proof of insurance must be included with the application. Some courts allow you to petition for privileges online through their website.

At DaytonDUI we will guide you through this process. In your DaytonDUI packet there are instructions on what we need in order to get you back to driving. Get us what we need and we will have your privileges filed with the court and get you the most expansive privileges possible.

Conditions: Restricted Plates and Ignition Interlock

Driving privileges often come with conditions. A court may require restricted (“party”) license plates and, in many cases, an ignition interlock device as a condition of granting limited privileges during a suspension. Whether these are required or discretionary depends on the offense, the test result, and your prior record. Ask your attorney whether they are likely in your case.

Driving Under Suspension: Do Not Risk It

Do not drive outside your granted privileges, and do not drive while suspended. Being caught driving while under an Administrative License Suspension is a separate crime that carries additional mandatory penalties, which may include a mandatory three-day jail sentence. If you are caught driving outside the privileges the court granted you, you face prosecution for Driving Under Suspension, which carries a mandatory jail sentence and an additional license suspension. More local police departments now have license plate reading technology that will flag your car even if you do not commit any other crime, so do not take the chance.

Privileges Are Not the Same as Reinstatement

It is important to understand that limited driving privileges are not the same thing as getting your license back. Privileges allow limited driving during a suspension, but they do not restore full driving rights, and time spent with limited privileges does not eliminate the underlying suspension. Only the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles reinstates a license, and only after the entire suspension period has been served and all conditions have been met.

Why Trust Charles M. Rowland II

Charles M. Rowland II has established himself as a top OVI attorney in Ohio and the Dayton area and beyond. He lives by the motto, “Work hard, play by the rules, and never quit!” Preparation, dedication and perseverance are his touchstones. He will vigorously fight for you and will genuinely care about the outcome of your case. He wants the most favorable outcome including acquittals, dismissed charges, or advantageous reduced charges.

He has been recognized by his clients and his peers as a top OVI attorney. He has been a “Super Lawyer” since 2013, a Fellow to the Ohio State Bar Foundation, the Nations Top 1%, the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 for Criminal Defense, a Dayton Bar Association Foundation Fellow, and has appeared in Time and Car & Driver Magazine for OVI defense. He is a lecturer on OVI defense to police agencies, attorneys, judges, and students, and he taught OVI trial practice at the Greene County Peace Officer Training Academy for over fifteen years.

Charlie is a member of the Dayton Bar Association, the Dayton Bar Foundation (2022 Foundation Fellow), the Greene County Bar Association (past President), the Clark County Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Foundation (2005 Foundation Fellow), the American Bar Association, and the American Bar Foundation.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ohio limited driving privileges

Free Consultation

If you have been charged with an OVI in the Dayton area and need to get back to driving, call Charles M. Rowland II at (937) 318-1384 for a free consultation.