Out of State Drunk Driving Convictions & Your Mass. License

Mass. General Laws c. 90, § 22(c), requires the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles to give effect to out-of-state motor vehicle violations as if they had occurred in Massachusetts, for the purpose of license revocations and suspensions. The law defines a motor vehicle violation as a violation of law, regulation, by-law, or ordinance, except a violation related to parking, the nature of which would have been reported to the registrar … if said violation had occurred in Massachusetts.

Regarding out-of-state violations, the statute declares “the registrar shall give the same effect to said conviction for the purposes of suspense, revocation, limitation or reinstatement of the right to operate a motor vehicle, as if said violation had occurred in the commonwealth.” The combination of the Mass. OUI Statute and G.L. c. 90, § 22(c), requires the Massachusetts Registrar to treat out-of-state convictions by way of guilty pleas for alcohol-impaired driving as OUI convictions under the OUI Statute for the purpose of license suspension.

The above-cited law means than an out of state drunk driving conviction will impact your Massachusetts driver’s license.  You should keep this in mind when deciding to work out a plea bargain or take your out of state DUI case to trial.