The HI licensing action explained
After a OUI arrest in Hawaii, the Administrative Driver's License Revocation Office, Hawaii State Judiciary (hidot.hawaii.gov) opens its own case against your driving privilege. It is administrative, it moves faster than the criminal case, and it is decided regardless of what the court later does with the charge.
The request for an administrative hearing is due within 10 days of arrest. Miss it and the suspension usually takes effect automatically.
Hearing requests, suspension notices, reinstatement fees and interlock paperwork.
Deadlines, forms and how the hearing is conducted.
How the HI agency runs the licence case
- Revocation after an OVUI arrest is handled by ADLRO rather than a motor vehicle department — unusual among the states.
- A hearing is requested on ADLRO's Request for Administrative Hearing form.
- Forms may be submitted by mail, fax, in person or by email to the office.
- ADLRO can issue the relicensing form before the revocation ends, though the county licensing office issues the licence itself.
Hawaii licence facts
Hawaii OUI law at a glance
Sourced from the Hawaii code and state agency sites. Verify current text before relying on it.
- Offense name
- OUI (Hawaii)
- Controlling statute
- Haw. Rev. Stat. § 291E-61
- Implied consent
- Haw. Rev. Stat. § 291E-11
- Per se BAC limit
- 0.08 (0.04 CDL, 0.02 or lower under 21)
- Licence hearing deadline
- 10 days after arrest
- Prior-offense lookback
- 10 years
- First-offense fine
- $250–$1,000
- First-offense jail exposure
- up to 30 days
- Licence suspension
- 1 year
- Ignition interlock
- Required on a first offense in most cases
- Trial court
- the District Court
- High-risk filing
- SR-22 for 3 years
A first offense carries revocation with interlock and a substance-abuse assessment.
Getting the licence back
- Serve the full suspension or hard-suspension period the agency sets.
- Complete any ordered assessment, education or treatment programme.
- Install an approved ignition interlock device — Hawaii requires one in most first-offense cases.
- Hawaii requires a SR-22 certificate of financial responsibility for 3 years before a licence is reinstated after a OUI conviction.
- Pay the reinstatement fee and any licence-issuance fee in full.
Fees and processing times change; confirm the current amounts on hidot.hawaii.gov before you travel to an office.
Hawaii ZIP codes covered
These Hawaii ZIP-code pages carry the local court, filing and licensing detail for the area, and each one links back to this resource page.
Counties and cities using these Hawaii resources
Counties
Other Hawaii official resources
Frequently asked questions
- How long do I have to challenge a Hawaii licence suspension?
- The administrative hearing request is due within 10 days of arrest. Confirm the current deadline and filing method with the HI licensing agency at hidot.hawaii.gov before relying on it.
- How long is a first-offense suspension in Hawaii?
- A first OUI offense generally carries a 1 year suspension in Hawaii. Reinstatement conditions, fees and any interlock requirement are set by the licensing agency.