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The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles uses “complaint regulatory” suspensions to insure a driver’s attendance at a hearing before a RMV hearings officer. If the driver who has received a letter from the Registry regarding a “complaint regulatory” suspension fails to appear at the hearing, the Registrar will automatically and indefinitely revoke the driver’s license until the matter is addressed with the RMV and the Registry is satisfied with that resolution.
Although there does not appear to be any direct statutory authorization for what one Superior Court Judge characterized as a “cryptic” suspension reason, the Board of Appeal has generally upheld the Registry’s right to take this adverse action and no hardship license is available in this situation.
Complaint regulatory suspensions can be triggered by anything that does not constitute any one of the other approximately 65 Mass. license suspensions reasons. At a complaint regulatory hearing, you are entitled to be represented by an attorney. Having legal representation at these hearings is strongly recommended as a complaint regulatory suspension can lead to other license suspensions or revocations.
Prior to your complaint regulatory hearing, a Registry lawyer may be able to contact the Registry on your behalf and determine the reason for the complaint regulatory suspension. Also, a lawyer can obtain your driving record to see if anything listed there triggered the suspension. The best strategy in these cases is to try to determine what triggered the suspension prior to the hearing.
It is important to proactively address any letter received by the Registry regarding a “complaint regulatory” matter. Ignoring this letter will result in an automatic suspension of your license and right to drive in Massachusetts. If your license is suspended or revoked, you will not be able to reinstate it without paying a reinstatement fee and satisfying all Registry reinstatement requirements. Therefore, the best course of action is to prevent the suspension from going into effect. Contact an attorney at 508-656-0057 for more information.