Ignition interlock requirements in Georgia

Georgia's interlock comes as a one-year permit for limited purposes. After a second DUI in five years it is at least a year on every vehicle you drive, and opting out for hardship means a year of not driving.

The ignition interlock limited driving permit

Georgia's interlock route is a permit issued by the Department of Driver Services. It is available in three situations: an administrative license suspension where the person has no DUI conviction in the previous five years (under either of two subsections of section 40-5-67.1), and a suspension for a second DUI conviction within five years, after at least 120 days of it have been served.

Who cannot have one

The department will not issue the permit to anyone under 21, anyone not currently licensed in Georgia, anyone who holds a commercial license, anyone whose administrative suspension is for a crash that caused injuries or fatalities, or anyone whose license is suspended, revoked or canceled for some other reason.

Applying after an arrest

On an administrative suspension, the permit is issued for a fee of $25 within 30 days of the suspension notice, on surrender of the license and an affidavit that the person waives the administrative hearing. Choosing the permit means giving up the hearing. On a second-offense suspension, it needs a certificate of eligibility from an accountability court or proof of enrollment in treatment.

One year, then the device comes off

The permit is valid for a year. “Upon successful completion of one year of monitoring of such ignition interlock device, the restriction for maintaining and using such ignition interlock device shall be removed”, and the permit may be renewed for two months at a time for a $5 fee — but only once after the person becomes eligible to reinstate.

Where you can drive

Unlike some states' interlock licenses, Georgia's permit is limited to listed purposes: work and the duties of an occupation; scheduled medical care and prescriptions; school; recognized support meetings; court-ordered courses and programs; court, probation and community service; taking a family member without a license to work, medical care or school; accountability-court activities; and the monthly visit to the device provider.

Second DUI in five years: at least a year on every vehicle you drive

When someone is convicted of a second DUI within five years and granted probation, the court issues a certificate of eligibility for an interlock permit or probationary license. The conditions are a device in each vehicle registered in the person's name and any other vehicle they drive “for a period of not less than one year”, and at least 120 days of substance abuse treatment or a drug, mental health, veterans or DUI court.

The hardship exemption has a price

The court may exempt a person from the device requirements on a finding of undue financial hardship, at conviction or later. But a person granted that exemption “shall not be eligible for a limited driving permit or any other driving privilege for a period of one year.” Skipping the device means not driving.

Waiting periods and conditions

The department will not issue the interlock permit until 120 days after the conviction — or a habitual violator probationary license until two years after — and only on proof of a certified DUI risk reduction program, a clinical evaluation and treatment enrollment (or drug court), installation in any vehicle the person will drive, and the court's certificate.

On the record and on the card

The court sends the Department of Driver Services a copy of the certificate of eligibility, or a record that it declined to issue one, with the conviction. The certificate names any exemption and the vehicles that must be fitted. The department's records then show the restriction, and the license, permit or probationary license carries a notation that the person may only drive a vehicle with a functioning, certified device. The fee for a license with that notation is the ordinary license fee, and for the limited permit the fee set in section 40-5-64.1. And the article does not shorten any suspension or revocation imposed elsewhere, except where its own sections say so.

The label on the device

Certified providers must fix a warning label to every device on installation, stating that anyone who tampers with, circumvents or otherwise misuses it is guilty of a misdemeanor and may face civil liability. The label is there for the passenger or family member tempted to help, as much as for the driver.

Monitoring and revocation

Everyone required to have a device under the article reports to the provider center every 30 days for monitoring. The department revokes the permit on notice that the device was tampered with, that the holder missed monitoring, or that the device was removed before the required term was completed — and also for a moving violation or for driving outside the permit's terms. After a first revocation the person cannot apply for a license for six months from surrendering the permit; after a second, two years. Driving in breach of the permit is a misdemeanor, and so is knowingly renting, leasing or lending a vehicle without a device to someone under the restriction.

Nobody may steer you to a provider

Georgia goes further than most states in separating the people who supervise a case from the businesses that supply devices. No judicial officer, community supervision officer, law enforcement officer, private probation company or bondsman may “specify, directly or indirectly, a particular provider center”; they may only give the names of certified centers on request. Private probation companies and bondsmen may not own, run or work for a provider center.

The filing that runs alongside it

Georgia's proof of financial responsibility certifies 25/50/25 and runs for one year. It is a separate obligation filed with the department under O.C.G.A. sec. 40-9-80, and the one-year interlock monitoring period and the filing year are measured from different events. The Georgia SR-22 page covers the filing.

What this page does not cover

The underlying suspension lengths in section 40-5-63 and the department's device rules are not described here. Device prices are set by providers, not by statute.

Common questions