The DUI Stop and the License
23 V.S.A. § 1205 — a refusal or a result over the limit starts a civil suspension, and a hearing request is due within seven days
- On an officer's affidavit of a refusal, the license is suspended for six months; on a test at or over the limit, for 90 days.
- During the suspension, an eligible driver may drive under an ignition interlock restricted license or certificate.
- The officer serves a notice of intention to suspend, with a form to request a hearing.
Seven days to ask. A hearing request is mailed or delivered within seven days after the notice. On a first offense without a request, the suspension takes effect on the 11th day after the notice; with a request, only if the court orders it after the hearing.
The preliminary hearing is held within 21 days after the alleged offense, and a final hearing within 21 days after that, limited to the issues the section lists.
Testing is also limited by the Fourth Amendment. The Supreme Court of the United States has held that a breath test may be taken without a warrant as part of a lawful arrest for drunk driving and a blood test may not; that a driver may not be criminally punished for refusing a blood test where no warrant was obtained; and that the natural fall of alcohol in the blood does not by itself create an emergency excusing a warrant in every case, which is decided case by case on all the circumstances. Those holdings are a floor: a state's own constitution and statutes can give more protection than they do, never less.
Sources for this section (3)
- 23 V.S.A. § 1205 — Civil suspension; summary procedure
- Birchfield v. North Dakota, 579 U.S. 438 (2016) — A breath test may be taken incident to arrest, a blood draw needs a warrant
- Missouri v. McNeely, 569 U.S. 141 (2013) — The natural fall of blood alcohol is not by itself an emergency justifying a warrantless draw
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Vermont attorney.