Missouri licensing laws mandate that a driver with two (2) DWI convictions in a five-year period (taken from date of conviction) can not have their license reinstated for five years following the second conviction. Drivers with three or more DWI or any alcohol-driving related conviction can not get a license for ten years following the date of the last conviction. I will discuss methods to get a restricted Permit to drive during the 5- and 10-year periods in a separate post. The DOR will deny the issuance of a license to those whose records indicate DWI convictions, including out-of-state alcohol convictions. The difference between the two time period listed herein, however, is that only DWI convictions count toward a 5-year denial whereas any alcohol related driving conviction (ie Driving with Excessive blood alcohol content {BAC}) count toward the 10-year denial. Therefore, it is wise to have your attorney ask for an amendment of a DWI-2nd offense to Driving With Excessive BAC for the sole purpose of avoiding a 5-year denial of the license. The driver is still subject to a license suspension of one year for the refusal or failure of a breath test with a prior DWI, but to avoid the 5-year denial you must avoid a second DWI conviction. Indeed, the BAC law (577.012) was crafted to allow for the state to obtain a conviction for driving with excess BAC while the driver escapes the 5-year license denial. A win-win proposition by most accounts. However, as noted above, the BAC conviction will count toward a 10-year denial if the driver picks up another DWI charge during their lifetime. Lawmakers believed that a third life-time DWI conviction or its equivalent warranted a lengthy denial of a license. As I will note in future postings, a driver can apply for a restricted Permit to drive after serving a few years of the suspension/denial. Regardless, take note of the distinction drawn between the DWI and BAC statutes and use the latter to your advantage if possible in order to avoid the mandatory 5-year denial period.
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