If the Registry of Motor Vehicles suspended your driver’s license or right to operate for Operating Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol, and you have a prior DUI conviction, regardless or when or where it occurred, you will be required to use an ignition interlock device while you are on a hardship license and for a minimum of 2 years after getting the hardship hours removed from your license. The Registry makes no exceptions when it comes to the ignition interlock device (IID) requirement, which is mandated for all repeat DUI offenders. Your license will be IID restricted even if the court treated you as a first offender or you were given a “Cahill” or “Second Chance, First Offender” disposition.
The initial lease fee for the IID is approximately $200.00 and you must pay a $100.00 monthly monitoring fee. These fees are mandatory and there are no waivers for those who are indigent.
All states now have some form of an ignition interlock program. In some states, such as New York, the IID is required even for first offenders. In Massachusetts, it is required for those with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th offenses. Those with 5DUI offenses will have their licenses revoked for life, with no ability to apply for a hardship or work license.
If you are a repeat DUI offender and have been cleared for either hardship relief or a full license reinstatement, you must have the IID installed by a certified vendor. Once the IID is installed, you need to bring proof of installation to a Registry Hearings Officer in order to reinstate your license. You will have to sign a package of forms which explain the Registry’s IID program and the rules which you must obey to avoid the loss of your license. You must sign this package in the presence of a Notary Public and it must be notarized. Any license driver who lives with you must also sign paperwork stating that he or she knows that your license is IID restricted.
In most cases, you will be required to take a written and road test to get your license reinstated. If you are required to re-test, you must have the IID installed prior to taking the road test. You will take the test in the IID equipped vehicle.
If you commit an ignition interlock violation by missing rolling re-tests, failing rolling re-tests, failing to have the device downloaded as required, or tampering with, disconnecting, or circumventing the IID, your license will be revoked for 10 years or life. Also, operating a vehicle without the IID during your restriction period will result in a 10 year license revocation, regardless of whether or not you were charged criminally or convicted.