A21 DUI of Alcohol License Suspensions in Mass.

If you are the holder of a Massachusetts Driver’s License or a Massachusetts resident and you have the misfortune of being convicted of an out of state DUI, in addition to any license loss in the state where the DUI occurred, the Mass. RMV will automatically impose an A21 – DUI of Alcohol Suspension. For a first offense, this A21 suspension will be 365 days in length. It will be 730 days in length for a second offense DUI and 2920 days in duration for a 3rd DUI offense.

Not all A21 – DUI of Alcohol Suspensions are legally imposed and it may be possible to get the suspension shortened or overturned on legal grounds. You can appeal based on legal grounds and a lawyer who specializes in suspension appeals can represent you before the RMV Driver Control Unit or the Division of Insurance, Board of Appeal.

So long as your right to operate has been reinstated in the jurisdiction where the A21 DUI occurred, you can be considered for a hardship license in Massachusetts by appearing before a Registry Hearing Officer or the RMV Appeals Board. Reinstatement is contingent upon payment of the required fee and clearance of any NRVC Withdrawal.

The addition of the out of state A21 – DUI of Alcohol Suspension to your MA driving record will result in a 5-point assessment under the Safe Driver Insurance Plan and it will count as a prior offense in the even that there are future DUI convictions in Massachusetts or elsewhere. If the A21 – DUI of Alcohol Suspension constitutes a second or subsequent offense, the RMV will require use of an ignition interlock device for the duration of any 12-hour hardship license and for a minimum of 730 days after removal of the hardship restriction.

Sometimes the Registry is legally allowed to add these A21 DUI convictions for historically purposes only and the RMV is prohibited from imposing A21 suspensions based on these out of state convictions. You should contact a lawyer to see if your case falls within this category.