Reviewed by James Novak, an Arizona DUI and criminal defense attorney and Founder at The Law Office of James E. Novak. Last updated September 25, 2026.
A driver served with an Arizona DUI suspension order has 30 days to request an MVD hearing, and the request must be received by the Motor Vehicle Division within that window under A.R.S. § 28-1321(G) and A.R.S. § 28-1385(G).
From a Tempe office, James E. Novak appears at MVD hearings for East Valley drivers, including those arrested in Gilbert, Chandler, and Mesa.
James Novak spent the start of his career prosecuting DUI cases in Maricopa County. On that side, the officer’s certified report was the first document in the file. I now read that same report looking for what it cannot support, and the Arizona DUI defense I build usually begins with the license, not the courtroom.
The reason is timing. A DUI arrest starts two proceedings at once. The criminal case can take months. The license suspension moves on a 30-day clock from the day the order is served. Some Arizona DUI materials still describe a shorter window, but both governing statutes set thirty days. The suspension is one of several DUI charges and penalties a driver faces, and it is the one that arrives first.
Thirty days, on both suspension tracks. A.R.S. § 28-1321(G)(2) requires the request to be received by the department within thirty days after the date of the notice, or the order becomes final. Section 28-1385(G)(2)(c) sets the identical rule for the test-result track. The request can be made in writing or online.
The word “received” carries weight in both statutes. A mailed request that arrives on day 31 is late, even if it was sent on day 28. The effective date of the suspension is counted from service as well. When an officer serves the order at the arrest, § 28-1321(D)(2)(b)(i) and § 28-1385(D)(1) make it effective 30 days after service. A timely request stops that clock. Under § 28-1321(J) and § 28-1385(L), the suspension is stayed until the hearing is held. The department keeps any surrendered license during the stay. It may issue temporary permits that expire when it makes its final decision.
Arizona runs two separate license tracks, and they are easy to confuse. The refusal track under § 28-1321 applies when a driver refuses or fails to complete a test. The test-result track under § 28-1385 applies when a driver submits and the result is 0.08 or more, or shows a listed drug or its metabolite without a valid prescription. The same arrest produces one or the other, never both. Under § 28-1321(B), a failure to expressly agree to a test, or to successfully complete it, is deemed a refusal.
| Feature | Refusal, § 28-1321 | Test result, § 28-1385 |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Refusing or failing to complete a test | 0.08 or more, or a listed drug or metabolite without a valid prescription |
| Suspension | 12 months | At least 90 consecutive days |
| Repeat conduct | Two years for a second refusal within 84 months | No 30-day alternative with a conviction inside 84 months |
| Shorter alternative | None in the statute | 30 days suspended and 60 days restricted, if conditions are met |
| Summary review | Not available | Available before the order takes effect |
| Hearing request deadline | Received within 30 days | Received within 30 days |
The shorter alternative on the test-result track has three conditions. Under § 28-1385(I), the driver must not have caused death or serious physical injury. The other two are a clean record for 84 months, counted by the dates the acts were committed, and completion of the screening the department orders. Meeting all three means at least 30 days suspended and 60 days restricted, with the restriction following § 28-144. Skipping the screening can bring the full 90 days instead. The refusal track also reaches drivers under 21 with spirituous liquor in the body, which is where an underage DUI often begins.
The hearing decides whether the suspension stands. It does not decide guilt. Each statute limits what the administrative law judge may consider, and the two lists are not the same. On the refusal track, § 28-1321(K) confines the hearing to four issues. They are whether the officer had reasonable grounds to believe the person was impaired, whether the person was arrested, whether the person refused, and whether the person was told the consequences. On the test-result track, § 28-1385(M) adds two issues the refusal hearing lacks. It asks whether the testing method was valid and reliable, and whether the results were accurately evaluated. The test itself is open to challenge only on the test-result track.
Under § 28-1321(I), the department sets a refusal hearing within 60 days of the request. It may hold the hearing in person, by telephone, or by videoconference. An in-person hearing sits in the county where the driver lives, unless the arresting agency asks for the county of the refusal when it files its report. If the suspension is sustained, it takes effect 30 days after written notice, under § 28-1321(L) and § 28-1385(O). A driver who loses a refusal hearing may petition the superior court for review within 30 days, under § 28-1321(M).
An MVD hearing is often the first time a DUI officer answers questions under oath, and I treat it as part of the criminal defense. My engineering background matters most on the test-result track, where the reliability of the instrument is squarely at issue. The ignition interlock device rules are worth understanding before deciding whether to request a hearing at all.
Both statutes offer a special ignition interlock restricted driver license, and both attach a price to it. Under § 28-1321(Q) and § 28-1385(K), a driver who applies for and receives that license agrees to the department’s action. The driver also waives any right to an administrative hearing contesting it.
That trade suits some drivers and not others. A driver whose job depends on driving next week may reasonably take it. Someone with a real challenge to the stop or the test gives that challenge up by taking it. The decision has to be made before the 30-day window closes, because the waiver cannot be undone by a hearing request filed afterward.
Driving during a suspension carries its own risk. Under A.R.S. § 28-1383(A)(1), a new DUI committed while the license is suspended or restricted is charged as aggravated DUI, which is a felony. The restriction that triggers it includes one imposed under § 28-1385.
The central document is the officer’s certified report. Both statutes make it subject to the penalty for perjury. It must state the officer’s grounds for believing the driver was impaired, and on the refusal track it must describe how the driver refused and confirm the driver was advised of the consequences. A report that is vague on those points is vulnerable.
The report also has a deadline of its own. The officer must file it with the department within 30 days after the arrest. If it is not filed in time, § 28-1321(D)(2)(a) bars the department from entering a refusal suspension. Section 28-1385(C)(1) provides that the department may not enter a test-result suspension. Both exceptions apply only where the violation caused death or serious physical injury. The filing date is on the report, so the question can be answered from the paperwork alone.
On the test-result track, the testing evidence joins the report. That includes the breath instrument’s calibration and maintenance records, the operator’s observation period, and the blood-draw chain of custody. Under § 28-1385(N), the results are admitted once the foundation requirements of the testing statutes are established. Whether that foundation holds is a legitimate hearing issue.
I request the hearing in nearly every case where there is a genuine issue. The hearing is where the officer first commits to an account under oath, and that account follows the case into criminal court. Inconsistencies found at the MVD often become the strongest material at trial.
As a former Maricopa County prosecutor, I know which parts of a certified report tend to be thin. The reasonable-grounds narrative and the advisement of consequences are where I look first on a refusal. On a test-result case, I read the instrument records the way an engineer reads any measurement, asking what was actually verified and when. I also weigh the interlock license against the hearing with each client before the deadline, because that choice cannot be reversed.
The order starts the clock the day it is served. These steps protect the options it leaves open:
No, because the MVD hearing and the criminal case are separate proceedings. Under A.R.S. § 28-1321(N) and 28-1385(Q), a ruling that does not sustain the suspension is not admissible in and has no effect on a criminal court proceeding. The hearing can still help the criminal defense, because the officer testifies under oath about the same stop.
A timely hearing request stays the suspension until the hearing is held, under A.R.S. § 28-1321(J) and 28-1385(L). The department does not return a surrendered license during that period. It may issue temporary permits that expire no later than its final decision.
A summary review is a paper decision available only on the test-result track. Under A.R.S. § 28-1385(P), a driver may request it instead of a hearing at any time before the order takes effect. The department reviews the officer’s reports and any written explanation from the driver. No one testifies, so there is no chance to question the officer.
The order of suspension becomes final, and the suspension takes effect on its own terms. A.R.S. § 28-1321(G) and 28-1385(G) both state that result. The options that remain are the ones that do not depend on a hearing, such as applying for a special ignition interlock restricted driver license after completing the required screening.
The 30-day window closes whether or not anyone has explained it. I have defended Arizona DUI charges for more than 20 years, and I handle MVD hearings as part of every DUI case I take on. Call my office at (480) 413-1499 for a free initial consultation, available 24 hours a day, or reach me through the Tempe DUI defense contact page.