Will a DUI Cost You Your License in South Carolina? Suspensions, Hearings, and Interlock Devices

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

A DUI arrest in South Carolina can result in suspension of a driver's license through an administrative process that starts the same day, long before any conviction, and drivers have only 30 days to request a hearing or apply for a temporary license. A DUI conviction can bring separate consequences for your driving privileges.

Under South Carolina's expanded ignition interlock law, which took effect in May 2024, drivers convicted of DUI generally must enroll in the Ignition Interlock Device Program and drive with an ignition-interlock-restricted license, subject to limited exceptions. A Charleston DUI lawyer who moves quickly on the hearing deadline can often keep a client driving while the criminal case is still pending.

A DUI arrest in South Carolina can cost you your driver's license before you ever see a courtroom. A DUI license suspension in South Carolina may start the same day as the arrest, on a timeline completely separate from the criminal case. 

Knowing both tracks and their strict deadlines can mean the difference between staying on the road and losing your license for months. At the Farmer Law Firm, our experienced Charleston DUI lawyer can help protect your license and defend against the charges you face.

Will You Lose Your License After a DUI in South Carolina?

In some South Carolina DUI arrests, yes: your license is at risk before a judge ever hears your case. South Carolina runs two separate suspension systems: an administrative process through the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) that can take effect the day of arrest, and a second suspension that follows a conviction in criminal court. Each has its own deadlines and path back to driving, and missing either one can leave you without a license for months.

What Is South Carolina's Implied Consent Law?

South Carolina's implied consent law is one reason that you could face an administrative suspension of your license on the day of your arrest. Under S.C. Code Section 56-5-2950, anyone who drives in South Carolina has already agreed to a breath, blood, or urine test whenever an officer has probable cause to suspect DUI. Refusing the test or failing it in a certain way triggers the suspension described below.

The law applies to alcohol and drug impairment alike, with no exception for a first offense. Two outcomes trigger the administrative suspension:

• Refusing the officer's requested breath, blood, or urine test
• Testing at a blood alcohol content of 0.15 percent or higher

Either outcome starts the process below, whether or not the underlying DUI charge or a related drug charge is ever proven in court.

How Does an Administrative License Suspension Work After a DUI Arrest?

An administrative suspension is not a penalty for the DUI itself. It is a separate consequence for failing implied consent. Under South Carolina's implied consent suspension law, the arresting officer suspends your license on the spot and issues a Notice of Suspension. That notice starts a clock running, whether or not you are ever convicted.

For a first offense with no qualifying suspensions or convictions in the past 10 years, your license may be suspended for:

• Six months for refusing testing
• One month for testing at 0.15 percent or higher.

You must act immediately to challenge the suspension and keep driving.

What Are Your Options After Getting a Notice of Suspension?

You have 30 days from the issuance of the Notice of Suspension to request a contested case hearing. Miss that deadline, and you waive your right to challenge the administrative suspension.

Within that 30-day window, South Carolina law allows you to request a hearing and choose a way to keep or regain driving privileges while the case is pending:

• Request a contested case hearing. The hearing takes place before the Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings, where a hearing officer determines whether the administrative suspension should stand.
• Enroll in the Ignition Interlock Device Program. Instead of serving the remainder of the suspension, you may enroll in the program, end the suspension, and obtain an ignition-interlock-restricted license.
• Apply for a Temporary Alcohol License. For a $100 fee, eligible drivers who request a hearing may obtain a temporary alcohol license that allows them to drive without restrictive conditions while the hearing is pending.

If the suspension is overturned, your driving privileges are reinstated, but the criminal DUI case continues separately. If the suspension is upheld, you must enroll in ADSAP and the Ignition Interlock Device Program. 

If you do not request a hearing, the suspension stands, and ADSAP enrollment is mandatory. However, instead of serving the remainder of the suspension without driving, you can enroll in the Ignition Interlock Device Program, end the suspension, and obtain an ignition-interlock-restricted license.

What Happens to Your License After a DUI Conviction?

A DUI conviction can trigger separate consequences for your driving privileges, even if you already faced an administrative suspension after the arrest. Under South Carolina's expanded ignition interlock law, which took effect in May 2024, drivers convicted of DUI generally must enroll in the Ignition Interlock Device Program, have their suspension ended, and obtain an ignition-interlock-restricted license.

How long you must use the device generally depends on the number of DUI offenses:

• First offense. You must enroll in the Ignition Interlock Device Program and use the device for six months.
• Second offense. The ignition interlock requirement is increased to two years.
• Third offense. You must use an ignition interlock device for three years. If the third offense occurs within five years of the first offense, the requirement increases to four years.
• Fourth or subsequent offense. You face a lifetime ignition interlock requirement.
• These requirements are separate from the administrative license suspension that may result from refusing chemical testing or registering an alcohol concentration of 0.15% or higher.

Why You Should Work With a Charleston DUI Lawyer to Protect Your License

The 30-day OMVH deadline is unforgiving, and the paperwork must be filed the first time correctly. At The Farmer Law Firm, our Charleston DUI lawyer will move quickly to get you back on the road on a temporary license within days. Here are other benefits of retaining our firm:

• Attorney Merritt Farmer is among a small number of attorneys nationwide certified as an instructor in the NHTSA DUI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing course, the same training officers receive at the academy.
• Merrit will review the stop, the field sobriety tests, and the breath or blood test procedure for errors affecting both the hearing and the criminal case. He will develop a defense strategy tailored to your unique situation.
• He will also handle filing your hearing request and temporary license paperwork, so you are not trying to comply with DMV deadlines alone while also facing a pending charge

Every DUI case turns on its own facts: the stop, the test results, and the driving history. Our client reviews reflect the personal attention that Merritt brings to cases like these. He is committed to working hard to protect both your license and your record.