California DUI Arrest for Out of State Resident

Visitors to California who are arrested for DUI in this state cannot afford to ignore the matter and simply go home. Ofcourse, if the court date is missed, a warrant will be issued for the defendants arrest. Some take the view, "So what? I'm not coming back to California". While this may be the case, there is another matter to consider and that is the defendants privilege to drive in his or her home state. It may come as a nasty surprise to some, but a suspension of a persons privilege to drive for a DUI in California can result in a license suspension by a defendants home state.

Each state that is a signatory to the Driver's License Compact has a statute requiring that state to revoke or suspend driving privileges as a result of a suspension in California for a DUI.

California law allows some relief for people who have suffered an out of state suspension as a result of a DUI conviction in California. Normally, the DMV in California will not reinstate a persons privilege to drive unless proof of completion of a California alcohol education program has been filed with them. However, at the end of any period of statutory suspension, the DMV will terminate a suspension upon application of an out of state resident. Proof of residency and proof of out of state insurance is normally required. The DMV will then waive the alcohol program requirement. It should be noted that the court will typically require proof of completion of an out of state alcohol education program as a term of probation for a DUI.

The only way for an out of state resident to be sure of avoiding consequences in his or her home state, is to successfully defend the DUI allegation in California. Ignoring the problem will guarantee that the matter will become worse somewhere down the line.