A Drink Driving Solicitor Can Help Reinstate Your Driving Licence

Disqualification on your driving licence affects your life in many unexpected ways. If you’ve been convicted of drink driving in the United Kingdom, a 12-month drink driving ban is mandatory under nearly all circumstances. Under certain conditions, though, you may be able to have your driving licence reinstated before the end of your disqualification period. A drink driving solicitor can help you make your application to have your licence reinstated early and argue your case before the court. If you’re dealing with a drink driving suspension of your licence, here’s what you should know about the process of having your driving licence reinstated.

Eligibility

Your eligibility for early reinstatement depends upon your original penalty and your history of drink driving convictions. In most cases, if you have a first time offense with a mandatory 12-month disqualification, you are eligible to apply for early reinstatement no sooner than 56 days before the end of your suspension. On longer terms, you may be eligible to apply after you have served at least one half of the disqualification time.

Applying for Reinstatement

In many cases, you will have to sit a re-test before your licence will be restored even if you wait out the full disqualification period. You will also have to apply for a new driving licence. If you’re applying for early reinstatement, however, you will have to go before the court that originally issued the driving ban. Thus, if your licence was suspended in Chatham or London or Kent, you’ll have to appear before the court in Chatham or London or Kent.

The court will review your character and behavior since the driving suspension in making its decision. The decision will also depend upon the severity of the original offence and on your history of drink driving leading up to the latest suspension. If you have more than one drink driving conviction on your record, it will be considerably more difficult to convince a court to grant you an early reinstatement.

In cases of longer suspensions, you or your drink driving solicitor will also be expected to present a persuasive argument or reason why your licence should be reinstated early. It isn’t enough to just want to be able to drive again. The most persuasive arguments are generally related to employment, such as having a firm job offer in hand that will require you to have a driving licence.

If you’re trying to have your driving licence reinstated before the term of disqualification is done, consulting a drink driving solicitor offers your best chance to persuade the court to give you back your right to drive. Before you make your application, make a call to the offices of a solicitor experienced in criminal legal aid and drink driving offences.