The California DMV Driver Safety Office handles DUI matters through one statewide phone number: (833) 543-7703.1California DMV. Driver Safety Offices Call it to request an Administrative Per Se (APS) hearing, check the status of a suspension, or ask about reinstatement. If you were just arrested, the clock matters more than anything else on this page: you have 10 days from the arrest date to request the hearing, and missing that window means your suspension takes effect automatically.2California DMV. California Driver Handbook – Section 9: Alcohol and Drugs
Hours to Reach the Driver Safety Office
The office answers Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.1California DMV. Driver Safety Offices The later Wednesday opening trips people up. Calling at 8:00 that morning won’t reach anyone.
If phone lines are jammed and the deadline is close, use the DMV’s Driver Safety Portal at dmv.ca.gov/portal/driver-safety-portal. You can request and schedule a hearing, upload documents, and check case status through the portal without waiting on hold.3California DMV. Driver Safety Case Management Either channel counts for meeting the 10-day request deadline.
This Is Not the Same as Your Local DMV
The Driver Safety Office is a separate branch. It handles suspensions, revocations, and hearings. It does not process registrations, title transfers, or standard license renewals, so a trip to your neighborhood field office won’t help with a DUI matter. Field office staff will point you to the same statewide number.
A DUI arrest also sets two parallel cases in motion: a criminal case in court and an administrative action by the DMV. The DMV suspension is independent of whatever happens in criminal court. Even if the criminal charge is dismissed, the administrative side keeps moving until you deal with it.4California DMV. Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
The 10-Day Deadline
You have 10 days from the date of arrest to request an APS hearing.2California DMV. California Driver Handbook – Section 9: Alcohol and Drugs This is the single most time-sensitive step in the process. Miss it and the suspension kicks in automatically 30 days after the arrest, and you lose the right to challenge it before it begins.4California DMV. Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
Request the hearing in time and the DMV extends your temporary driving privilege past the initial 30-day window until the hearing takes place. That extension is the practical reason to call fast. Without it, you could be off the road while the case is still pending. Written confirmation of the hearing date and the extended temporary license arrives by mail.
What to Have in Front of You Before You Call
Have the pink temporary license the arresting officer handed you. Its formal name is the Administrative Per Se Suspension/Revocation Order and Temporary Driver License, printed on Form DS 367.5California Highway Patrol. HPM 70.4 – Administrative Per Se It carries your driver’s license number, the arrest date, and the law enforcement agency involved. The technician needs those to pull up your case.
Also have ready:
- Your current mailing address.
- A phone number where the DMV can reach you.
- A sense of your availability over the next 30 to 60 days, since the technician will try to set a hearing date that works for you.
What the Hearing Itself Decides
The APS hearing is not a criminal trial. It’s an administrative review run by a DMV hearing officer, and it focuses on three questions: whether the officer had reasonable cause to believe you were driving under the influence, whether the arrest was lawful, and whether your blood alcohol concentration was 0.08% or higher — or whether you refused the chemical test.6California DMV. DUI First Offenders Alcohol Involved Non-Injury 21 and Older
If the hearing officer finds a problem with any of those elements, the suspension can be set aside. If the hearing goes against you, the suspension stands as originally ordered. The outcome doesn’t dictate what happens in criminal court, and the criminal case doesn’t dictate what happens here.
Refusal Changes the Numbers
What the DMV does depends partly on whether you took or refused the chemical test at the time of arrest. If you took it and your BAC was 0.08% or above, the administrative suspension for a first offense is four months. If you refused, it jumps to one full year.2California DMV. California Driver Handbook – Section 9: Alcohol and Drugs The longer refusal suspension applies even if you are never convicted of DUI in criminal court, because the DMV action stands on its own.
A refusal also limits your options for a restricted license during the suspension period, which makes it meaningfully harsher in day-to-day terms. That is separate from anything the criminal court may add for the refusal itself.
After You Request the Hearing
Once the request is in, you should receive mail confirming the hearing date and the extension of your temporary driving privilege. Hold onto that paperwork. If you want to review evidence, subpoena the arresting officer, or bring your own witnesses, those arrangements happen in the weeks before the hearing, and you can handle them through the same phone number or the online portal.3California DMV. Driver Safety Case Management
If you plan to be represented by a DUI attorney, get them involved early — ideally before the 10-day deadline runs. Many attorneys will make the hearing request on your behalf, but they need enough time to get your file and reach the Driver Safety Office within the window.