Washington ignition interlock license

Washington lets you drive on a device during a DUI suspension — from the day of the arrest notices — but only if a device is on every vehicle you drive and you have filed an SR-22.

The license that lets you drive during the suspension

Washington's ignition interlock driver's license is the instrument that lets a person keep driving — on a device — while a DUI-related suspension, revocation or denial runs. Section 46.20.385 makes it available to a person convicted of DUI or physical control, of certain vehicular homicide or assault charges, or whose license is suspended, revoked or denied under the implied consent section. The department “may issue” it on the fee and a finding of eligibility.

You can apply straight away

A person “may apply for an ignition interlock driver's license anytime, including immediately after receiving the notices under RCW 46.20.308” — the implied-consent notices given at the arrest — or after the suspension begins. There is no statutory waiting period before the first application.

Every vehicle you drive

The applicant must prove a functioning device “on all vehicles operated by the person,” and the department restricts the person to equipped vehicles for the rest of the suspension, revocation or denial, unless the employer exception in section 46.20.720 applies. The license extends through any concurrent or consecutive suspension from the same incident, administrative and criminal.

No license without an SR-22

This is the sentence that ties the device to the filing: an applicant “is eligible to receive a license only if the applicant files satisfactory proof of financial responsibility under chapter 46.29 RCW.” Chapter 46.29 is Washington's financial responsibility chapter — the SR-22. The device and the filing are both conditions of the same license.

The filing certifies 25/50/10, is filed with the Washington State Department of Licensing, and has its own period — 3 years with a clean-record look-back — which does not end when the interlock license does. The Washington SR-22 page covers it.

What it costs, under the statute

Unless the interlock company waives them or the person is indigent, the applicant pays the costs of installing, removing and leasing the device, plus a state fee of twenty-one dollars a month. That fee is paid to the interlock company, which passes it to the department's ignition interlock device revolving account, keeping 25 cents a month for handling. Device and lease prices themselves are set by providers, not by statute.

Help for indigent drivers

The revolving account exists to help with installation, removal, leasing and licensing costs for people who are indigent under RCW 10.101.010 and must install a device, with assistance by greatest need when funds are available.

Losing it, and getting it back

If the department learns a functioning device is no longer installed on every vehicle the holder drives, the director mails written notice that the license will be canceled. Showing a functioning device before the cancellation takes effect stays it; after it takes effect, a new license is issued at no additional charge once a device is shown. The director must cancel on a conviction for driving outside the license's restrictions, on loss of eligibility, or on any act that would suspend a regular license — and the person may reapply if otherwise qualified, paying the fee again. A person refused a license may request a hearing under department rules.

Driving without the device

The restriction is recorded. The department notes on the driving record that the person “may operate only a motor vehicle equipped with a functioning ignition interlock device,” and suspends if a required device stops being installed or working, until a company certifies one again. Driving an unequipped vehicle with that notation is a gross misdemeanor, and the sentence runs consecutively with any DUI sentence. The employer exemption is a defense the driver has to prove, with notice before the omnibus or pretrial hearing.

Circumventing it

Tampering with the device, using a filter, or having someone else blow into it is a separate gross misdemeanor for the restricted driver — and anyone who knowingly helps commits one too, unless the vehicle was started only for safety or repair and the restricted driver did not drive it.

Without a license at all

A person who holds no Washington license but would otherwise be eligible may apply too; the department may require the licensing examinations and a temporary restricted license. A person convicted of negligent driving that was originally charged as DUI or physical control is also eligible to apply.

The restriction itself — who must have a device, for how long, the 0.020 set point and the removal requirements — is in section 46.20.720, covered on the Washington interlock page.

Common questions