If you are visiting Michigan and get a DUI, it can affect your ability to drive in this state and your ability to renew your license in your home state. Your home state’s laws and the penalties they impose on the first or subsequent DUIs will determine whether your license will be revoked.

However, if you already have a DUI in one state and then, within 7 years get a DUI here, in Michigan, the state will tack that on to your driver’s record. It will show as a second DUI and will cause you to lose driving privileges in Michigan.

Jeffrey Randa & Associates can help clear your driving record in Michigan. Don’t let the DUI penalties add up, as once you have more than one, it will affect your ability to get a license in all other states.

Understanding Michigan Driving Record Holds

Under Michigan law, the driving privileges of any person who has a driver’s license issued by this state and who racks up two DUIs and/or drugged driving convictions within seven years or gets convicted of DUI three or more times within ten years will have it revoked.

If that person moves out of state, then his or her Michigan driver’s license revocation becomes a “hold” on his or her driving record.

This also applies to someone who, despite never having had a Michigan license, picks up a 2nd DUI conviction within seven years or a 3rd DUI conviction within ten years in this state.

A license revocation is different than a suspension for something like an open case or unpaid tickets. A suspension is temporary; a revocation, by contrast, is permanent.

That revoked license status NEVER changes. It does not matter how long you wait, the ONLY way to get your license back is to file – and win – a formal driver’s license restoration or clearance appeal before the Michigan Secretary of State, through its Office of Hearings and Administrative Oversight (OHAO).

A person who lives outside of Michigan can also try a “do-it-yourself” appeal called an “administrative review” (discussed below), but as we’ll see, those are sure-fire losers, given that 3 out of 4 of them are denied.

What Does it Mean to Have a “Hold” on Your Michigan Driving Record?

A hold on your driving record in Michigan means your driving privileges have been revoked. A hold affects people who do not live here. It will prevent them from obtaining or renewing a license in another state.

Of course, you cannot legally drive on roads in Michigan until this hold is removed. Below is an example of how a “hold” works in Michigan.

If Linda Lansing lost her Michigan license for two DUIs a few years back, and she continues to live in Michigan, no matter how long she waits, her license will remain “revoked” until she files and wins a formal driver’s license restoration appeal before the Michigan Secretary of State’s Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD). Her license status in Michigan is “revoked.” Important here is that Linda is still a Michigan resident.

However, assume that Linda Lansing moves to another state. If she goes to its DMV to apply for a license there, she will be refused because Michigan’s revocation shows up as a “hold.” The only way to get rid of that hold is for her to file for a clearance, which is the same thing as a license restoration appeal.

However, since the person filing it is no longer a Michigan resident, the Secretary of State cannot issue him or her a license (how could it, because the person is a resident of another state?) but can remove its hold by granting a clearance.

In each of the two examples above, Linda either still was or had been a Michigan resident with a Michigan driver’s license when her revocation took place.

Because she held a Michigan driver’s license, revoking her “privilege” to drive and revoking her driver’s license amounted to the same thing. Yet some people who have never been a Michigan resident still wind up with a Michigan hold on their records. How can that be?

What Happens When Out-of-State Drivers Get DUIs in Michigan?

If an out-of-state driver is convicted of a DUI in Michigan, they will likely lose their privilege to drive in the state of Michigan. Whether or not their license is revoked or suspended is determined by the actions of their home state and independent of Michigan.

Can Michigan Revoke An Out-of-State Driver’s License?

Michigan cannot revoke or suspend a driver’s license issued by a different state. Similarly, no state can suspend or revoke a driver’s license issued by any other state.

What the state of Michigan can and does do to someone with an out-of-state license who is convicted of a second or third DUI here (irrespective of where any previous DUIs occurred) is revoke a person’s “privilege” to use that out-of-state license within the state.

Revoked Out-of-State Driver’s License Example Scenario

Therefore, if Toledo Ted, who lives in Ohio and has an Ohio license, got his first DUI in Ohio in 2019 and then, while traveling through Michigan, picked up his second DUI in 2024, Michigan would create a driving record for Ted and thereafter revoke his privilege to drive in Michigan. This is done separately and independent of anything Ohio would do. Let’s take this a bit further:

If Ohio chooses to do nothing to Ted’s license for the second (Michigan) DUI, then Ted’s license is still valid in Ohio and every other state except Michigan. Michigan’s revocation of Ted’s privileges to drive here means that Ted cannot drive in Michigan no matter what.

Even if Ted moves to Florida before Michigan’s hold makes it onto his record and obtains a valid license there, it will not work in Michigan because Ted is essentially “persona non grata” by virtue of his privileges to drive in Michigan having been revoked.

However, when Ted goes to renew his license, that Michigan “hold” will prevent him from doing so, and he will be unable to move forward until he clears it.

To Get A Michigan Hold Off Your Driving Record, You Must Prove That You’re Sober

Here is the biggest issue: You MUST be sober to win a driver’s license restraint or clearance appeal case. Our firm doesn’t accept cases for people who haven’t HONESTLY stopped drinking. That’s key to how we can guarantee to win every case we take.

We carefully screen our potential clients and ask direct questions about their abstinence from alcohol and drugs, including recreational marijuana (which is a huge no-no and will kill a license appeal before it even starts).

The cold truth is that if we could take every case we’re offered, we’d be rich!

However, because we’ll only take on a restoration or clearance appeal for people who are genuinely sober, that greatly reduces the number of interested parties who actually become our clients.

To be clear, sobriety is the absolute foundation of every license appeal, and the basis for why we guarantee to win every driver’s license restoration and clearance appeal case we take.

What Happens to Your License From Another State if Michigan Revokes Your Driving Privileges?

If you lose driving privileges in Michigan but you are from out-of-state, you will have a hold on your driving record. As noted above, when you go to renew your license in your home state, you will not be able to do so until you clear the hold.

Here’s how that would play out with our example from above:

Michigan’s revocation of Ted’s ability to drive here would kick in pretty soon after his conviction. Ohio, however, would probably not get wind of the Michigan DUI, Ted’s second overall, until Ted had to renew his license there.

Assume Ted’s Ohio license is good through 2026. Ted would be able to drive in Ohio and every other state except Michigan until he went to renew his license at the DMV in 2026, at which time Ohio would run him his record and learn of his revocation of privileges in Michigan.

Ohio would interpret Michigan’s revocation of Ted’s privileges to drive here as a “hold” and then would refuse to let him renew his license. Ted will have to clear the Michigan “hold” on his driving record before Ohio will let him renew his Ohio license or any other state will grant him a license.

What Happens if You Move States After Michigan Revokes Your Driver’s License?

The revocation of a Michigan license essentially translates to a “hold” in any other state, prohibiting the person from obtaining a license until he or she first obtains a clearance in Michigan.

A revoked Michigan license remains a revoked license as long as a person remains a Michigan resident.

If, however, a person changes his or her residency to another state, then he or she forfeits any claim to a Michigan license.

This means that he or she must apply for a license in the new state, which, as we’ve seen, will run his or her record and then find that the person’s Michigan license was revoked, and that he or she has a “hold” that prevents the issuance of a new license.

How Do You Clear a “Hold” From a Michigan Driving Record?

Accordingly, once you have a Michigan hold on your driving record, there is absolutely, 100% NO WAY to get it off until you win a driver’s license clearance appeal.

While the language and terms (revocation -vs.- hold and clearance -vs.- restoration) are different, what is needed to get back on the road is identical.

Under Michigan law, if you rack up tow DUIs within seven years or three DUIs within ten years, you are categorized as a habitual offender, and it is presumed – by law – that you have an alcohol problem.

File For a License Appeal In Michigan

To get your license back or to win a clearance of a Michigan hold, a person must file for a license appeal with the Secretary of State’s Office of Hearings and Administrative Appeal (OHAO) and prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that his or her (legally presumed) alcohol problem is both under control, and that it is likely to remain under control.

What this really means is that you must prove that you are and have been sober and, more importantly, that you are a safe bet never to drink again.

A person who lives outside of Michigan can try and get a clearance through what is called an administrative review. Three out of four of those lose. There is a good chance that if you’re reading this, you’ve already tried that. To be perfectly blunt about it, these appeals are a tremendous waste of time.

Why Work With Jeffrey Randa & Associates

Our Firm guarantees to win every case we take, so we are quite literally invested in making sure our clients win the first time around.

In order to provide that guarantee, we need to make sure a person really and truly has quit drinking. We do not screw around with anyone who hasn’t made the dramatic and life-changing transition from drinker to non-drinker.

If you’ve really done that, then you know how profound and far-reaching those changes are.

If you think that you can still drink, however, then you’re not there yet.

The OHAO is looking for people who can truthfully say that they understand that there will never come a time when they will be able to even have a glass of or take a sip of alcohol. The real meat and potatoes of all this is that you must have really gotten sober.

Client Testimonials

Hear what other clients in your position have to say about their experience with Jeffrey Randa & Associates.

“What a great experience at a difficult time in my life. Randa and Associates were true to their word and followed through on every detail to show what a professional and competent law firm they are. Highly recommended.” — Doug C.

“I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for your support and professionalism throughout my driver’s license restoration case. Your expertise and dedication were instrumental in achieving this positive outcome, which will have a significant impact on my life moving forward. Your thorough understanding of the law, attention to detail, and strategic approach to my case were truly impressive. I appreciate the time you took to explain the process clearly and keep me informed at every stage. Your patience and reassurance helped ease my concerns during what was a stressful time for me. The result we achieved together — the restoration of my driver’s license — is invaluable to me. I couldn’t have done this without your skillful representation. Thank you again for your hard work and commitment to my case. Your professionalism and expertise have made a real difference in my life, and I am grateful.” — B. Davis.

Don’t Let Your Michigan Driving Record Hold You Back For Life

This is as good a place to leave off as any. We have seen that a person can wind up with a hold on his or her driving record in two ways:

• First, anyone who has had a Michigan license that was revoked for multiple DUIs will find that revocation becomes a “hold” when he or she tries to get (or, in some cases, renew) a license in another state.
• Second, even if a person never had a Michigan license but picked up a second or subsequent offense DUI here, the revocation of his or her privileges to drive in Michigan will ultimately become a “hold” when he or she attempts to renew an existing license or otherwise obtain a license in a different state.

If you have a hold on your license or your Michigan driver’s license is revoked, contact Jeffrey Randa & Associates for a free consultation that is both confidential, and, best of all, done over the phone, right when you call.

My team and I are very friendly people who will be glad to answer your questions and help you understand your situation. We can be reached Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. (EST), at either 586-210-3017 or 248-782-7620. You can also fill out our online contact form to contact a driver’s license restoration lawyer.