By John Cutler on April 7th, 2026 in DUI
If you were arrested for a DUI in Idaho and your breath, blood, or other evidentiary test came back over the legal limit, you have only 7 days from the date of service on your Notice of Suspension to request an Administrative License Suspension (ALS) hearing. Miss that 7-day window and your license is automatically suspended 30 days later, with no work permits or driving privileges allowed during the first 30 days of a first ALS.
Call Cutler Law Office at (208) 525-4858 right now to start your ALS hearing request before the clock runs out.
The administrative driver’s license suspension or ALS suspension is a separate suspension from the driver’s license suspension you will receive if you are convicted of a DUI. This suspension is triggered if your breath, blood, or other evidentiary test is over the legal limit or shows you are impaired by drugs.
First ALS Suspension
Your first ALS suspension is a 90-day suspension of your driver’s license, with the first 30 days being an absolute, no privileges or work permits allowed. If you have a CDL license, in addition to the 90-day suspension of your regular driver’s privileges, you will receive a one-year absolute disqualification of your CDL privileges. The ALS is one of several time-sensitive consequences that can catch first-time DUI offenders off guard, so it pays to know what to expect after a first DUI arrest in Idaho.
Second ALS Suspension
A second ALS suspension within 5 years of a prior ALS results in a one-year absolute, no privileges or permit allowed, suspension of your driver’s license. If you have a CDL license, the second ALS suspension, regardless of how old the prior ALS was, results in a lifetime disqualification of your CDL privileges.
Either of the above suspensions will also require you to install an interlock device on any vehicle you drive for a period of one year following the end of your suspension. The ALS suspensions are a very serious penalty and are often overlooked because the courts are not required to tell you about them, since the ALS is separate from the court action on the DUI charge.
What Triggers an ALS Suspension?
The ALS suspension is triggered when you fail an evidentiary test. Whether you face one in the first place often comes down to the roadside choice of whether to take the breath test. This is usually a breath or blood test, and a failure means the results were over the legal limit. When this happens, you will be served with a “Notice of Suspension” that has a “Date of Service” on it. If your test was a breath test, the Notice of Suspension will be given to you with your ticket. If you were given a blood test, your Notice of Suspension and Date of Service will be served on you by mail at the address that the Idaho Department of Transportation has on file. So it is important to check and make sure the department has your correct address, or you could miss your deadline to file for a hearing.
IMPORTANT DEADLINE: You will only have 7 days from the date of service to request an administrative hearing, or the suspensions will automatically go into effect 30 days from the date of service. As noted above, this is an important deadline you do not want to miss and is often overlooked.
At Cutler Law Office, P.A., John Cutler has defended Idaho DUI and criminal defense cases for more than 30 years and is one of the few attorneys in Idaho who belongs to the National College for DUI Defense. We represent drivers across eastern Idaho, including those facing charges as an Ammon DUI lawyer client, in Rigby DUI matters, and through our Rexburg DUI lawyer practice.
If you are inside the 7-day ALS window, call (208) 525-4858 or contact Cutler Law Office today to start your hearing request.
