Suspended License

Your Driving Privilege

Driving is a privilege that you should not take for granted. While the ease of motor vehicle transportation is convenient, it can also be dangerous. That is why you must drive safely in order to keep your license.

In North Carolina, there are many reasons why the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) might suspend or revoke your driver license. If the DMV has suspended or revoked your license, it is against the law for you to operate a motor vehicle or to get a license in another state.

Checking Your Driver's License Status

Whenever you need or want to check the status of your driver’s license, you can order a driving record report. This record will spell out if your driver’s license is currently valid. Should your license have been revoked or suspended, the report will indicate that according to what’s on record at the DMV. This report will also show points against your license and, in some cases, information on any accidents you have had.

How to Lose Your License

Below are just a few examples of how you could lose your license:

• Receiving 12 points against your driving record in a three-year period.

• Getting eight points in the three years following a reinstatement after suspension/revocation.

• Fraudulent use of license―yours or claiming someone else's as your own.

• Conviction of an offense in another state, which, if committed here, would be grounds for suspension.

• Excessive speeding.

• Court sentences where a condition of the sentence is that you aren't allowed to operate a motor vehicle.

• Child support delinquencies or failure to pay child support.

• Hit and run.

• Driving while impaired.

• Failure to appear or pay fine, penalty, or costs for motor vehicle offenses.

If you hold a provisional license, you can lose it for other offenses, such as:

• Conviction of certain moving violations while still a provisional licensee.

• Getting caught drinking under age, or refusing to submit to a chemical analysis.

• Dropping out of high school under age 18.

Restoring Your Driver License

After the suspension period has ended, you can restore your license. Take these steps:

• Visit any driver license office.

• Pay any fees due (see below).

• Reapply for your driver license.

• Take the required tests.

Depending on the reason your license was suspended, you might have to fulfill additional requirements before receiving a new license.

If you have any questions about your license being suspended or how to restore it, you can write to the Division of Motor Vehicles at:

• NC Division of Motor Vehicles

• Driver License Section

• Information Services Branch

• 3114 Mail Service Center

• Raleigh, NC 27699-3114

You can also e-mail the division through the DMV's official Web site.

For your convenience, you can review the state's motor vehicle statutes by searching for keywords in Chapter 20. The DMV has also provided information about suspensions for drivers.

Reinstatement Fees

North Carolina law states that anybody whose license has been revoked, suspended, or canceled must pay a $50 restoration fee to have the license reinstated. You'll pay a $75 fee if the DMV revoked your license due to a DWI conviction. The DMV won't charge these fees if you lost or surrendered your license for health reasons following a medical exam.

You must also pay a $50 service charge to restore your license unless you surrendered it to the court or mailed it to the DMV before the suspension took effect.

For further information, see DMV Point System on this site.

Limited Driving Privileges

In some cases, after the DMV has revoked your license, the court might issue you limited driving privileges. This allows you to drive under certain circumstances, such as to and from work, for emergency medical treatment, or for court-ordered treatments. You should speak to an attorney if you think you might be eligible for such privileges. You can also read the North Carolina statutes online regarding limited driving privileges.