Occupational or Restricted Drivers License in MI

Question: What is an occupational or restricted drivers license in Michigan? When would one be issued?

Answer: A restricted driver's license in Michigan means that there are certain things you can do with your license but other things that you can't. And typically the main things that are covered under restricted privileges are being able to drive to and from work and in the course of work, also being able to get to medical appointments, and then things that might be required by the court for treatment and things that might be required under probation. So a restricted driver's license can often help someone keep their job, if they're in this kind of situation. The restricted privileges come automatically with an operating while visibly impaired conviction—it's a 90-day period where the license is restricted. In a operating while intoxicated conviction, there's a 30-day suspension followed by 150 day restricted period. So, very similar to the operating while visibly impaired, the restrictions are exactly the same in either of those situations. There's also an implied consent suspension, which can be changed by a circuit court judge to a restriction, and typically those restrictions follow very much the same. Although we have had plenty of times where judges have actually given increased restricted privileges or sometimes less than the standard restrictions and implied consent hardship appeals.

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