Having your driver’s license suspended can be a major problem if the suspension prevents you from going to work, taking your kids to school, taking elderly family members to the doctor or fulfilling any other professional or personal commitments. A suspension of your driver's license can be triggered by many different things, including receiving too many traffic tickets or being convicted of an impaired driving offense. Whatever the reason for your suspension, you need to understand what your options are when it comes to dealing with the threat of losing your privilege to drive. A New Orleans traffic tickets lawyer can help you fight to keep your license or can provide you with assistance in seeking a hardship license that will allow you to drive for limited purposes. There are certain requirements that must be met and certain restrictions that must be adhered to when you are granted a hardship license, but a lawyer can help you understand and abide by those rules.
How to Qualify for a Hardship License
A hardship license may be issued at a motor vehicles office in Louisiana, provided that the requirements for obtaining such a license are fulfilled. Hardship licenses are not issued to drive commercial vehicles, but may be issued to Class D or E license holders to operate personal vehicles under limited circumstances. To obtain a hardship license, you may be required to have:
An SR-22 filing, which shows proof of automobile insurance.
A lease agreement and installation agreement for an ignition interlock device, if your license was suspended based on impaired driving or a chemical test refusal. No ignition interlock device is necessary for a school bus violation, a license suspension due to nonpayment of child support, driving with a suspended license or for certain other traffic offenses.
A court order, if necessary, based on the offense that resulted in your license suspension.
When issued, a hardship license will typically allow the license holder to drive only for necessities of life, for purposes of earning a livelihood, and/or for medical hardship. Both economic and medical hardship licenses generally will be issued only after petitioning the district court in the parish where you reside. If the parish approves your request for a hardship license, it will order the Department of Public Safety Office of Motor Vehicles to issue the license. A court order is not required in all circumstances to obtain a hardship license that allows a motorist to drive for necessity of life. For example, no court order is required for a hardship license to be issued after a license is suspended for an individual’s first school bus violation. A traffic tickets lawyer in New Orleans can help motorists determine exactly what the requirements are for a hardship license and will help those with a suspended license submit appropriate requests, documentation and paperwork to the local court and/or the Office of Motor Vehicles. Contact an attorney as soon as you can to begin the process of getting your license back if it has been suspended.
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