Arrested for DUI in Georgia? You have 30 days to act.
Talk to a Board Certified DUI Defense Specialist about your license and your case. Consultations are free.
Georgia’s Implied Consent Law in Plain Terms
Under O.C.G.A. § 40-5-55, anyone who drives in Georgia is treated as having agreed in advance to chemical testing of their blood, breath, urine, or other bodily substances if they are lawfully arrested for DUI. After the arrest, the officer is supposed to read you an implied consent notice. There are three versions, depending on whether you are 21 or older, under 21, or driving a commercial vehicle. Each one warns that refusing the test will lead to a suspension of at least one year.
The notice is not a formality. Whether the officer read the correct version, read it at the right time, and did not add misleading information are all issues that can be raised at the administrative license suspension (ALS) hearing and in a motion to suppress in the criminal case.
What Counts as a Refusal?
A refusal is not only saying “no.” An officer may report a refusal when a driver stays silent, gives conditional answers (“only if I can call my lawyer first”), or does not provide enough breath for the instrument to read. If the officer asked for more than one type of test (for example, breath and then blood), refusing either one can be reported as a refusal. Roadside tests are different: the portable breath device and the field sobriety tests are voluntary, and declining them is not a refusal under the implied consent law.
What Happens to Your License After a Refusal
When a refusal is reported, DDS moves to suspend your license for one year under O.C.G.A. § 40-5-67.1. The officer usually takes your license and gives you a DDS Form 1205, which works as a 45-day temporary permit and as notice of the suspension. A refusal suspension is not eligible for the regular ALS limited permit or for early reinstatement. You have 30 days from notice to choose one of two paths:
- Request an ALS hearing. File a written request with DDS and pay the $150 fee. Your license stays valid until the hearing. At the hearing, the officer must appear and testify under oath, and the suspension can be thrown out if the State cannot prove its case or the officer does not show up.
- Waive the hearing and apply for an ignition interlock permit. If you are 21 or older, have no DUI conviction in the past five years, do not hold a CDL, and meet the other requirements, you can keep driving for work, school, medical care, and other approved purposes with an interlock device installed for 12 months. See our ignition interlock permit page for the full list of conditions.
If you do neither within 30 days, the suspension takes effect automatically when the temporary permit runs out, and you face a hard one-year suspension with no driving at all. The only way to end a refusal suspension early is a non-DUI outcome in the criminal case, such as a dismissal, an acquittal, or a reduction to a charge like reckless driving. The step-by-step timeline is in our guide to the first 30 days after a DUI arrest.
Can a Refusal Be Used Against You at Trial?
Georgia’s constitution gives drivers more protection here than federal law does. In Olevik v. State (2017), the Supreme Court of Georgia held that the State cannot force you to blow into a breath machine. Two years later, in Elliott v. State (2019), the court held that prosecutors cannot use a breath test refusal as evidence of guilt at trial.
Our firm extended that protection to urine tests. In Awad v. State (2022), Ben Sessions argued before the Supreme Court of Georgia, which held that a driver’s refusal to provide a urine sample cannot be admitted against them. A blood test refusal is treated differently because a blood draw does not require the driver to do anything, so prosecutors may still try to use it, and officers often respond to a blood refusal by seeking a search warrant.
Should You Have Refused? It Depends
There is no single right answer, and it is too late to change the decision once you are reading this page. What matters now is how the refusal is handled. A refusal can take the State’s most important number out of the case, but it also puts your license at greater risk. The choice between the hearing and the interlock permit, and how to use the officer’s hearing testimony later, should be made with a lawyer who has reviewed your paperwork and, where available, the video.
Refusals for Drivers Under 21 and CDL Holders
The stakes are higher for some drivers. Drivers under 21 are not eligible for the refusal interlock permit, and different suspension rules apply. See under-21 DUI in Georgia. A refusal by a commercial driver’s license holder, even in a personal vehicle, can lead to a one-year CDL disqualification. See DUI and your commercial driver’s license.
Related Topics
- How Georgia breath tests work (Intoxilyzer 9000)
- Hospital blood tests in DUI cases
- DUI motions hearings
- First DUI offense penalties
- Georgia DUI defense overview
Talk to a Georgia DUI Lawyer About Your Refusal
Ben Sessions is board certified in DUI defense by the National College for DUI Defense and has taught more than 30 continuing legal education courses on DUI defense. We handle refusal cases statewide, including in Macon, Warner Robins, Milledgeville, and Atlanta. Call (470) 225-7710 for a free case review. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
