Complaint Regulatory Suspensions in Massachusetts

MassDOT imposes Complaint Regulatory license and registration suspensions for a variety of different reasons. The purpose of a complaint regulatory license suspension is to bring the driver in for a hearing. If the driver fails to appear the Registry will indefinitely revoke his or her license until the customer personally appears and satisfies whatever requirements that the Registry of Motor Vehicles imposes.

One of the primary reasons for complaint regulatory suspensions in Massachusetts is allowing someone whose license is suspended to operate your motor vehicle. Under Melanie’s law, it is a criminal offense to knowingly lend your vehicle to a person whose license is suspended or revoked. However, you can have your vehicle’s registration revoked even without a conviction or even being charged. When law enforcement notifies the RMV that someone was operating a vehicle registered to you without a valid license, the Registry will automatically send you a complaint regulatory letter.

The Registry also imposes complaint regulatory suspensions in cases where Massachusetts residents have registered their vehicles out of state. If you are a Massachusetts resident, you must register your vehicles in Massachusetts. Many residents register their vehicles in other states to avoid having to pay Massachusetts automobile insurance rates. This is illegal and the RMV will take action against you if you are found to have improperly registered your vehicle out of state. You can also be cited by the police for this offense.

Lately, the Registry has been using complaint regulatory suspensions to force drivers to provide “proof of findings” regarding out of state DUI cases. The purpose of this requirement is to add the out of state DUI onto the customer’s Massachusetts driving record. The addition of these DUI convictions to the record automatically generates new DUI suspensions, many of which should be appealed. My office has been successful in getting many of these out of state DUI suspensions reduced or even completely reversed and annulled.

There are other reasons for complaint regulatory suspensions such as being issued a license without an ignition interlock restriction when you are legally required to have the IID.

If you have received a complaint regulatory suspension letter from MassDOT, you must personally appear at a Registry hearing and you are entitled to be represented by a lawyer at that hearing. Call today to discuss your case.