Driving While License Suspended, Failure to Maintain Insurance, and Suspended Tag Citations in Georgia

There are three traffic offenses under Georgia law that are considered document offenses that can have serious consequences to your drivers license if you are found guilty of the citation as issued. Driving with a suspended license, failure to maintain insurance, and driving with a suspended tag are all suspendable offenses under Georgia law. If you are found guilty of any of these charges your license will be suspended for between 60 and 180 days depending on the charge.

For a first offense guilty plea or conviction your license will be suspended:

• 60 days for failure to maintain insurance

• 120 days for driving with a suspended tag/registration

• 180 days for driving with a suspended license

For the insurance and license charges, there is no limited permit available. It is a hard suspension with no ability to drive at all until the suspension period has concluded. For the suspended registration/tag charge, a limited driving permit is available for the cost of $25. A limited driving permit allows restricted driving for specific reasons defined by the Georgia Department of Driver Services.

You can avoid a suspension for any of these three offenses in two ways. First, if the offense is reduced to a non-suspendable charge, you will not have your license suspended if the citation is resolved to the reduced charge. Second, you are eligible to plead nolo contendere or “no contest” once every five years for each of these specific charges to prevent the license suspension.

These three document offenses carry additional issues for repeat convictions, and in the case of driving with a suspended license the statute requires mandatory jail time if convicted.

An experienced Georgia criminal defense and traffic citation attorney can assist you in explaining all options and help you get the best possible outcome in your case. Call or text 678-753-6431 for a free consultation today.