Drivers Hardship License Law – General – Utah
1. Does the agency (motor vehicle/DOT) law provide for hardship licenses?
Yes. § 53-3-220, dealing with mandatory suspensions and revocations, allows for limited privileges to drive a motor vehicle to and from the person’s place of employment or within other specified limits on recommendation of the trial judge.
§ 41-6-44 provides that for electronically home monitored DUI/DWI offenders, the court may set specific time and location conditions that allow the person to attend school educational classes, or employment and to travel directly between those activities and the person’s home.
2. Do prior offenses prevent me from obtaining a hardship license?
A person is ineligible for limited driving privileges if they have two charges of reckless driving committed within a period of 12 months, a juvenile record of an offense involving weapons or explosives use with a vehicle, or drug offenses involving a vehicle. Also, a person is ineligible if they are convicted of automobile homicide, DWI, DUI, a felony involving using of vehicle, failure to stop after an accident causing injury or death, or when the original denial, suspension, revocation, or disqualification was imposed because of a violation of Section 41-6-44 (DUI), Section 41-6-44.6 (alcohol/drug consumption), a local ordinance which complies with the requirements of Subsection 41-6-43(1) (local DUI and related ordinances and reckless driving ordinances, Section 41-6-44.10 (implied consent), Section 76-5-207 (vehicular homicide), or a criminal prohibition that the person was charged with violating as a result of a plea bargain after having been originally charged with violating one or more of these sections or ordinances.
3. What are the requirements for getting a hardship license?
This discretionary privilege is limited to when undue hardship would result from a failure to grant the privilege and may be granted only once to any individual during any single period of denial, suspension, revocation, or disqualification, or extension of that denial, suspension, revocation, or disqualification. § 53-3-220.
4. Does a lifetime or mandatory revocation make you ineligible for restricted driving privileges?
No. The mandatory revocation statute, § 53-3-220, allows for issuing a limited license for employment and other purposes to those eligible.
5. Can minors receive limited driving privileges?
Minors over the age of 16 ½ years old are eligible for the limited driving privileges described above.
Also, under § 41-8-2 it is an affirmative defense to a charge of driving during prohibited night hours that the minor was driving for the driver’s employment, including the trip to and from the driver’s residence and the driver’s employment.
