Work Letter Required for Mass. DUI Hardship License

Individuals seeing a hardship license from the Registry of Motor Vehicles or the Division of Insurance Board of Appeal must present substantial evidence that the hardship license applicant is not a danger to public safety and that he or she has a substantial and overriding need to drive. Applicants seeking work licenses from either the Board of Appeal or the Registry must provide documentary proof of employment. In many cases proof of employment can make the difference between getting denied or getting a 12 hour work license. The employer’s letter should be on letterhead, signed by someone in the company, and it must explain the applicant’s work hours and need to drive. The letter should address whether or not public transportation will allow the Cinderella license applicant to get to and from work.

Many jobs require travel during the workday. For example,  plumbers, roofers, electricians, computer technicians, salesmen, delivery persons, truck drivers, and construction supervisors are required to travel considerable distances to various jobsites and work locations. In these cases, the work letter should explain that he need to drive as part of the applicant’s job.
In some cases, it is not possible to obtain a work letter. In those situations, employment can be verified by pay stubs and tax records. Proper documentary evidence of employment is essential, because the law requires the Registry and the Board of Appeal to issue DUI hardship licenses only for work, school, or medical reasons. It is, therefore, not possible to get a hardship license to look for work. Persons who are unemployed should not apply for a hardship license unless and until they have a documented job offer.

The Board of Appeal will generally accept a letter documenting a job offer, where the author states that he or she would offer the hardship license applicant a job , upon the issuance of a driver’s license.  In license suspension appeals before the Board of Appeal, the more paperwork and documentary evidence an appellant submits regarding likelihood of recidivism, risk to public safety, and need to drive, the better the chances that he or she has in winning the appeal and getting a driver’s license.

Except in DUI 2nd offense cases where the first offense is more than 10 years old, hardship licenses are not available during any breathalyzer refusal suspension. Also, hardship license applicants must serve the minimum required amount of suspension time prior to applying for a hardship license from either the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) or the Board of Appeal.