The State of New Hampshire requires proof of financial responsibility (liability insurance) which is also known as an SR-22 certificate for 3 years following a first offense DUI conviction. For a second offense DUI conviction, SR-22 insurance is required for 3 years following the date you are eligible to have your license or right to drive in New Hampshire reinstated.  The SR-22 requirement cannot be waived for Massachusetts residents, even though the Mass. RMV does not require SR-22 insurance certificates.

The purpose of the SR-22 requirement is to protect those on the road in New Hampshire by requiring drivers who have committed certain violations to obtain adequate automobile insurance coverage and to provide proof of coverage in the form of a SR-22 insurance certificate.

Massachusetts does not require SR-22 insurance, because liability insurance is compulsory in Massachusetts for everyone.

New Hampshire requires SR-22 insurance even if you do not own a vehicle. In those cases, you have to file an operator’s SR-22 certificate. The financial responsibility / SR-22 processing unit for the NH DMV is located at 23 Hazen Drive in Concord, NH. You can reach them at 603-227-4010.

The NH DMV requires SR-22 certificates for those convicted of DUI, leaving the scene of an accident, MV homicide, and 2nd offense convictions for excessive speed, and reckless operation. Out of state convictions for the above-listed offenses trigger SR-22 insurance requirements. When a Massachusetts resident’s right to drive in New Hampshire has been suspended for failure to prove proof of financial responsibility (FR), the NH DMV will notify the Massachusetts Registry and the RMV will indefinitely revoke the driver’s license.

The Mass. RMV will require clearance in the NDR prior to reinstating a driver’s license which was suspended or revoked here. However, drivers usually cannot get insurance without a valid driver’s license. In situations such as these, the driver should ask for a clearance letter from the DMV in Concord, NH stating that other than the SR-22 FR requirement, the driver is otherwise clear in New Hampshire.

If you need assistance with the Massachusetts license suspension consequences associated with a NH DUI, contact Attorney Brian E. Simoneau using the contact form on this website.

The National Driver Register (NDR) is a nationwide repository of information on drivers maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It contains approximately 42 million records. It allows Registries and DMVs to share information on problem drivers identified in each state, such as those convicted of OUI. Drivers are identified in the NDR through name, birth date, Social Security number, gender, height, weight, and eye color.

DMVs are required to enter data into the NDR within 31 days after the state DMV is notified of a conviction for DUI, drunk driving, OUI, or another disqualifying offense. In Massachusetts, courts are required to notify the Registry whenever someone is convicted of a crime which would trigger a license suspension. The Registry is required by law to enter that information into the NDR. At minimum, the Registrar must send the driver’s legal name, date of birth, and gender. It may also send a driver’s height, weight, and eye color to assist the other states in identifying the correct person.

Whenever a person applies for a license, or renews a license, the RMV is required to check the NDR to see if the person’s license or right to drive has been suspended or revoked in any other state. Also, governmental agencies such as the Coast Guard, FAA, the Federal Railroad Administration and private companies can access the NDR. DMVs search the NDR based on last name, first initial, and date of birth.

One of the primary goals of the NDR is to insure that the suspensions and revocations are entered into the system in a timely manner. However, millions of suspensions or revocations were not recorded in the NDR until at least 1 year after the conviction entered. Likewise, records were not removed from the NDR in a timely manner, which prevented drivers from reinstating their licenses, when they should have been allowed to do so.

The NDR was implemented to prevent someone with a revoked or suspended license from going to a different state to get a new license. When a person is blocked in the NDR he or she is referred to the state where the block has originated to have it removed. If you are dealing with a NDR indefinite suspension or revocation, a lawyer may be able to help you get your license renewed or reinstated. Call for more information. 

Many Massachusetts residents have the misfortune of being charged with DUI in New Hampshire. When this happens, the driver must satisfy both the New Hampshire DMV and the Massachusetts RMV, prior to getting his or her license reinstated.  Those who are convicted of a first offense DUI in New Hampshire will be fined at least $500.00, found guilty of a Class B Misdemeanor, and required to complete an impaired driver intervention program.

Persons with prior DWI convictions must complete the DUI multiple offender intervention program (M.O.P.) or an equivalent 7-day residential intervention program which has been approved, in advance, by the State of New Hampshire. A driver must furnish proof of successful completion of an Impaired Driver Intervention Program (IDIP) prior to restoration of his license or right to operate.

A NH DUI conviction carries a license revocation from at least 9 months up to 2 years, at the discretion of the court. However, when the DUI defendant enters an approved DUI program, the court may suspend up to 6 months of the license revocation. The court may also require the drunk driver to submit to random urinalysis or such other tests as the judge may deem appropriate.

The six-month suspension for early treatment option of, does not apply to the mandatory one-year license revocation period for DWI offenders under the age of 21.

In some cases, a New Hampshire DUI can be reduced from a misdemeanor to a violation. This can only be done at least one year after the date of the conviction. In deciding whether to reduce a NH drunk driving conviction, the judge may consider the person's subsequent driving history, any evidence of drug or alcohol treatment, the hardship that having a criminal record may cause for the OUI defendant, and any other factors that the judge deems relevant.
The New Hampshire Courts have determined that a DUI Massachusetts is considered a reasonably equivalent offense for sentencing and suspension purposes when someone with a Mass. OUI conviction commits a DUI in New Hampshire.

Getting back on the road after a NH DUI conviction will require completion of an alcohol program and satisfying both the Mass. RMV and the NH DMV.  A lawyer can help you do this in the quickest and most efficient way possible.

Under the provisions of section 54-56g of the Connecticut General Statutes, a person charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor or drug or while having an elevated blood alcohol content may apply for a Pre-Trial Alcohol Education Program. If your application to this program is granted, it may be possible to have your DUI case sealed to the public and, upon successful completion of the DUI program, you may be able to get the case against you dismissed. When your CT DUI case is sealed, no person can get any information from the Court Clerk's office regarding your file.

Once an alcohol evaluation is completed, the driver is assigned to either 10 or 15 alcohol classes. If you are assigned to 10 DUI classes, the fee for the course will be $350.00. If you are granted 15 classes, then the fee is $500.00. You must begin an alcohol intervention program or substance abuse treatment program, according to the evaluation report and the court order, within 90 days from the day the court issues the order, unless you are granted a delayed entry. When you finish the alcohol intervention program you will be placed in a treatment program recommended by a provider .under contract with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) or you will be placed in a state-licensed treatment program which meets standards set by DMHAS. Also, if court ordered, you must participate in at least 1 (one) victim impact panel.

If you decide to enter the program after the suspension of your license is over, you must tell the tell CSSD the date your license was suspended and the length of the suspension.

In order to complete the course, you must attend all the Alcohol Education classes, which were ordered. Because even a single absence can cause you to violate the program, you must make sure you do everything that you are told. By law, if you do not complete the required alcohol classes, your case must be unsealed and immediately placed on the trial list. This means there will be no further negotiation on your CT drunk driving case will occur.

You cannot get the Pre-Trial Alcohol Education Program if you have been assigned to the program within the preceding ten (10) years for a violation of General Statutes § 14-227a. The program is available only for first offenders and any other DUI convictions in any other state will disqualify you. Finally, the CT alcohol program is not available to those who committed DUI offenses while operating a commercial motor vehicle.

In addition to DUI license suspensions, for refusing to take a Chemical Alcohol Test Under Connecticut General Statutes Section 14-227b, the State of Connecticut will impose a 6 month license suspension for refusing the breath test, for a first offense DUI.

To get your license reinstated in Connecticut, you must contact the CT DMV as follows:

Department of Motor Vehicles
Driver Services Division
60 State Street
Wethersfield, Ct 06161-2525

The CT Suspension Telephone Center operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can reach the Center at (860) 263-5720 for CT license suspension and reinstatement issues.

If the RMV suspended or revoked your license for a chemical test refusal (CTR), which is also known as a breathalyzer refusal, and you have a previous DUI, the Registry may have improperly suspended your license.

The Registry has been using prior DUI cases which were resolved not by convictions, but by admissions to sufficient facts and continuances without findings to extend breathalyzer refusal suspensions from the 180 day minimum to 3 years, 5 years, and life.

The use of a prior DUI case which was resolved by an admission to sufficient facts and continuance without a finding CWOF to extend a chemical test refusal suspension appears to be unlawful. Indeed, on April 5, 2006, Lynda M. Connolly, Chief Justice of the District Court, issued a memorandum to District Court Judges, Clerk-Magistrates, and Chief Probation Officers regarding “Chapter 122 of the Acts of 2005: ‘Melanie’s Law.’”  In it she stated, “[t]he extended periods of suspension require a previous conviction; a program assignment, as a prior drunk driving disposition, will not trigger extended test refusal suspension.”

Nevertheless, the Registry counts admissions to sufficient facts and CWOFs as convictions, to impose enhanced suspension penalties on those who exercise their legal rights to refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test. Seven Massachusetts Superior Court judges have ruled that reliance on prior CWOFs to increase chemical test refusal suspensions is legally wrong and they have ordered the Registry to reduce these license suspensions.  In ruling against the Registry, these judges have ruled that if the Legislature wanted prior OUI cases which were continued without a finding and eventually dismissed to count as OUI “convictions,” for purposes of the implied consent law, it would have said so.

There are numerous cases regarding this issue pending in various Superior Courts and the highest court in Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court is scheduled to ultimately rule on the legality of treating prior CWOFs as convictions. My office has been heavily involved in this issue from the start and I was pleased to have been able to file an appellate brief on this important legal issue.

If your license was suspended or revoked due to a breathalyzer or chemical test refusal  for 3 years, 5 years, or life, I urge you to contact my office for a free review if your situation. You may be entitled to credit for time served on your refusal suspension to be applied to any DUI suspension. You may also be entitled to a full license reinstatement.

Attorney Brian E. Simoneau

508-656-0057

E-Mail: brian@simoneau.com

In the case of Given v. Board of Appeal on Motor Vehicle Liability Policies and Bonds, the Middlesex Superior Court, the Middlesex Superior Court ruled that substantial evidence supported the Motor Vehicle Liability Board's decision to not issue a hardship license to a driver with a suspended license. The driver had three violations of operating a motor vehicle under the influence. The driver had previously re-offended after receiving a hardship license, and the driver's most recent discharge papers categorized him as at high risk to re-offend. The board expressed concerned that the driver remained a risk to public safety.

Fred Given has three convictions for operating a motor vehicle under the influence (“OUI”). His first two convictions were entered on October 14, 1994 and May 30, 1997, respectively. His most recent conviction was entered on October 31, 2006. On November 24, 2006, following the third conviction, the Registry of Motor Vehicles (“RMV”) suspended Given's license to operate pursuant to G.L. c. 90, § 24(1)(c)(3) which mandates an eight year license revocation for a third OUI conviction. In December 2008, Given appealed to the Board and requested a hardship license.

Given was granted a hardship license once before, following his second OUI conviction in 1997. After a two-year suspension, Given completed the Middlesex D.U.I.L. program (the second offenders program) and was granted hardship relief. After his third OUI conviction in 2006, Given attended the second offenders program again. His 2006 discharge summary reflects an assessment that he is at a high risk for recidivism.

The Board held a hearing on January 14, 2009. At the hearing, Given testified to the following. Given owns a construction business. Since his driver's license was suspended in 2006, he has been dependent on his partner for rides to and from work. His partner will soon retire and will no longer be an available source of transportation. Given is the sole financial support for his two children, aged 13 and 15. He provides $250 a week in child support to his ex-wife who is disabled with Crohns disease and unable to work or drive. Given testified that he has been sober since November 1, 2006 and that he attends four to five AA meetings a week.

On April 15, 2009, the Board affirmed the RMV's eight year suspension of Given's license, noting that Given had re-offended after receiving hardship relief on his two-year OUI suspension and completing the second offenders program in 1997. The Board also expressed concern that Given's most recent discharge papers categorize him as at high risk to re-offend. The Board found that Given currently can get to and from work with his partner, and although Given's partner is soon to retire, this type of inconvenience was contemplated by the Legislature when it enacted G.L. c. 90, § 24. Finding that Given has a life-long problem with alcohol, the Board expressed reluctance to issue another hardship license without substantial proof of ongoing aftercare following the second offenders program. Given did participate in the SMOC aftercare program in 2008, but the Board stated that it still had “concerns that Givens remains a risk to public safety” and invited him to obtain further proof of treatment and counseling, and to reapply in 2010.

A previously revoked license may be reinstated on the basis of hardship, however reinstatement shall be granted under such terms and conditions as the Board, in its discretion, deems appropriate and necessary. In this case, the Board balanced the degree of hardship alleged by Given against the degree of risk posed to public safety, and found that the balance weighed in favor of denying Given's request. The purpose of a license revocation “is to protect the public from future harm by depriving the unsafe or irresponsible driver of his or her authority to continue to operate a motor vehicle.”

Given argues that he has demonstrated the need for a hardship license by virtue of his position as owner of a construction business, particularly in light of his family situation (he is the sole earner providing for two dependent children.) The Supreme Judicial Court has held that difficulty commuting to and from work is not enough to “tip the scales” in favor of a hardship.  In delivering its decision, the Board stated that the Legislature contemplated this kind of inconvenience when it decided that long license suspensions were a necessary measure to protect the public from dangerous drivers.

Thus, the Middlesex Superior Court ruled that, the Board's decision was not arbitrary or capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise violative of the law, and it was supported by substantial evidence. The Board's decision was therefore affirmed.

Going into a Board of Appeal hearing with a discharge summary showing a high risk of recidivism, no real & substantial hardship, and a history which shows that the person seeking hardship relief was caught driivng under the influence while on a hardship license was probably not a good idea. The result here is not surprising.

Under the so-called "Massachusetts Implied Consent Law," drivers subject themselves to progressive administrative license suspension penalties each time they refuse to take a Breathalyzer test, after having been arrested for operating under the influence of liquor, when they have also had prior DUI convictions, no matter when or where any prior drunk driving convictions occurred.

Fortunately, drivers who are facing chemical test refusal suspensions have the right to appeal these suspensions to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, by attending Registry CTR hearings and appealing the revocations to the Board of Appeal. If your license was revoked because you refused to take a breath or blood test after being arrested for OUI, you can attend a CTR hearing between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. within fifteen (15) days of your Massachusetts DUI arrest. Chemical Test Refusal hearings are ONLY conducted at the Boston Registry office, located on the fourth floor at 630 Washington Street. No appointment will be made; hearings are held on a walk-in basis only. You may appear and present any witnesses, documents, or other evidence you wish to have considered. There is no provision in the law for any extension of this time period, and no letter, phone calls, or other communications to the Registry will serve to extend this period beyond 15 days or to authorize a hearing at any location other than the Boston office of the Registry located at 630 Washington Street. You have the right to be represented by a lawyer at this hearing and legal representation is strongly recommended.
No hardship licenses are authorized by law during a breathalyzer refusal period of suspension, unless your criminal case has been properly disposed of pursuant to G.L. c. 90 § 24D, which allows for a “first offender” disposition, upon enrollment in the 24D Alcohol Education Program.  By law, this breathalyzer refusal suspension will be served consecutively with any other suspension arising out of the OUI charge.

In addition to appealing breathalyzer refusal suspensions to the Registry, within 15 days, you can also appeal the suspension to the Board of Appeal of the Division of Insurance and, if the Board rules against you, to Superior Court. When it comes to challenging breathalyzer refusal suspensions, I have extensive experience at all levels of the appeals process and I have obtained full license reinstatements for many of my clients. Fill out the contact form on this site for more information or call my office at 508-656-0057.

In accordance with G.L. c.  90 § 24(P), the Registry imposes administrative license suspensions for those under 21 years of age, for refusing a breathalyzer or taking a breathalyzer and registering a blood alcohol percentage of .02 or greater. Some drivers who have not been charged with DUI or any related offenses may apply for a waiver of this additional 180 day suspension by entering and completing a department of public health approved driver alcohol education program for youths.

You may obtain the name and location of the program nearest you by calling the Massachusetts drug and alcohol hotline at (617) 445-1500. You must provide written proof that you have entered completed the course at a hearing at the registry of motor vehicles.

This suspension is separate and distinct from any suspension that the court may order in the future as a result of any operation under the influence charge that you may be facing, and from any other suspension issued by the Massachusetts RMV.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles will run this administrative breathalyzer failure or refusal suspension concurrently with other suspensions. This means that, should a suspension be ordered by the court before this chemical test refusal or failure suspension has been completed, the remaining time on this suspension will be served after the suspension by the court has been completed.

This administrative breathalyzer refusal / failure suspension is imposed pursuant to G.L. c.  90 § 24(P), regardless of the outcome of any criminal charges that may have been filed.

If the RMV has suspended or revoked your license for a breathalyzer refusal, you may be able to appeal the suspension and get your license reinstated. Complete the contact form on this site for more information. 

Hardship license procedures at the Registry and the Board of Appeal must be followed to increase your chances of getting a Mass. hardship or Cinderella license. Requirements for a hardship license include providing certain documents such a letter from your employer or acceptable proof of self-employment. For DUI suspensions, documentation showing proof of completion of a drug or alcohol education program, such as the 24D or DUIL program is also essential. Letters of recommendation which discuss the hardship license applicant’s character, family situation, background, accomplishments, risk to the public safety, and need to drive can also make the difference between getting a Cinderella license or having to serve the remaining portion of your suspension or revocation.

Where someone’s license is suspended for drunk driving, proof of attendance at AA, smart recovery, NA, or other similar self-help / group therapy meetings can be very valuable. These letters show that the hardship license applicant is taking on-going steps to prevent a relapse.

Where a the Mass. Registry has suspended or revoked a person’s license for a drug conviction, such as drug distribution, possession with intent to distribute, trafficking, or even simple possession of a controlled substance, such as marijuana, cocaine, oxycodone, Percocet, or any other controlled substance or illegal drug, evidence of clean drug screens can be critical.

In cases where the person seeking a hardship or work license is on parole or probation, a letter from the person’s parole or probation officer can be very helpful. The more detail included in the letter, the better. At minimum, it should state that there have been no parole or probation violations, and that the person is not prohibited from driving or trying to get a license as a condition of probation. The Board of Appeal requires that probationers provide a copy of the Board of Appeal hearing notice to the appellant’s probation officer.

Having the right documentation can make the difference between winning and losing.  When it comes to hardship licensing, Attorney Brian Simoneau works with his clients to insure that they have the right documents to satisfy Registry and Board of Appeal hardship license requirements. Other important steps include carefully reviewing the applicant’s driving and criminal records, addressing any issues such as open cases and unpaid citations, writing a detailed hearing memorandum which explains the situation and need to drive as well as the applicable law, and making a convincing presentation of the client’s case to the Board of Appeal or Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Like Massachusetts, the State of California issues hardship licenses, which are known as “restricted driver’s licenses” in California, for those convicted of operating under the influence. Massachusetts residents who were arrested for DUI in California may be able to obtain these restricted driver’s licenses, so that they can legally drive here in Massachusetts.

In order to obtain such a hardship license, the applicant must submit proof of completion of an approved California alcohol education program, a SR-22 Insurance Certificate, and pay all required reinstatement and license re-issue fees.

The hardship license is restricted to those hours needed for employment and attendance of the required alcohol education program.

CDL license holders who were driving commercial motor vehicles at the time of the drunk driving arrest are not entitled to apply for California restricted driver’s licenses. Also, if the court has made a determination that the person convicted of DUI is not entitled to a hardship license, the DMV cannot issue such a license.