2025 Georgia Codes – Page 251

(a) The department, upon canceling, suspending, or revoking a license, shall require that such license shall be
surrendered to the department and be processed in accordance with the rules and regulations of the depart-
ment.
(b) Any person whose license has been canceled, suspended, or revoked shall immediately return his license
to the department.
(c) It shall be unlawful to refuse to deliver upon a legal demand any driver’s license which has been canceled,
suspended, or revoked.
(d) Except as provided in Code Section 40-5-62, when the revocation period expires, the department shall
reinstate the license to the driver within 30 days.
(e)(1) For the purpose of making any determination under this Code section relating to the return of revoked
or suspended licenses to drivers, the period of revocation or suspension shall begin on the date the license is
surrendered to the department or a court of competent jurisdiction under any provision of this chapter or on
the date that the department processes the citation or conviction, whichever date shall first occur.
(2) If the license is lost, or for any other reason surrender to the department is impossible, the period of revo-
cation or suspension may begin on the date set forth in a sworn affidavit setting forth the date and reasons
for such impossibility, if the department shall have sufficient evidence to believe that the date set forth in
such affidavit is true; in the absence of such evidence, the date of receipt of such affidavit by the department
shall be controlling.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, a period of revocation or suspension may
begin on the date a person is sentenced for an offense that also results in the revocation or suspension of his
or her driver’s license or driving privileges.
(f) When a person serving a sentence has his or her driver’s license or driving privileges concurrently revoked
or suspended with the imposition of his or her sentence, the department shall credit the time served under
such sentence toward the fulfillment of the period of revocation or suspension.

(a) To whom issued.
(1) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this Code section or Code Section 40-5-57, 40-5-57.2, 40-5-
63, 40-5-75, 40-5-121, or 42-8-111, any person who has not been previously convicted or adjudicated
delinquent for a violation of Code Section 40-6-391 within five years, as measured from the dates of previ-
ous arrests for which convictions were obtained or pleas of nolo contendere were accepted to the date of the
current arrest, may apply for a limited driving permit when that person’s driver’s license has been suspend-
ed in accordance with:
(A) Code Section 40-5-54.1 and upon receipt of a record of such from a court or the agency within the
Department of Human Services which is responsible for enforcing orders for child support;
(B) Subsection (d) of Code Section 40-5-57;
(C) Paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-57.2;
(D) Paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-63;
(E) Paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-67.2;
(F) Subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-57.1, when the person is 18 years of age or older and his or her
license was suspended for exceeding the speed limit by 24 miles per hour or more but less than 34 miles
per hour, and the sentencing judge, in his or her discretion, decides it is reasonable to issue a limited driv-
ing permit; or
(G) Paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-75.
(2) No person who has been granted an exemption from the ignition interlock device requirements of Article
7 of Chapter 8 of Title 42 due to undue financial hardship under Code Section 42-8-111 shall be eligible for
a limited driving permit, an ignition interlock device limited driving permit, or any other driving privilege
for a period of one year.
(3) To the extent a person is subject to more than one suspension for which a limited driving permit may be
issued, the department shall not issue such permit unless the suspensions are for a conviction for driving
under the influence in violation of Code Section 40-6-391 imposed pursuant to Code Section 40-5-63 and
an administrative suspension imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-
67.2 arising from the same incident.
(b) Application form. Applications for limited driving permits shall be made upon such forms as the commis-
sioner may prescribe. Such forms shall require such information as is necessary for the department to deter-
mine the need for such permit. All applications shall be signed by the applicant before a person authorized to
administer oaths.
(c) Standards for approval. The department shall issue a limited driving permit if the application indicates that
refusal to issue such permit would cause extreme hardship to the applicant. Except as otherwise provided
by subsection (c.1) of this Code section, for the purposes of this Code section, the term “extreme hardship”
means that the applicant cannot reasonably obtain other transportation, and therefore the applicant would be
prohibited from:
(1) Going to his or her place of employment or performing the normal duties of his or her occupation;
(2) Receiving scheduled medical care or obtaining prescription drugs;
(3) Attending a college or school at which he or she is regularly enrolled as a student;
(4) Attending regularly scheduled sessions or meetings of support organizations for persons who have addic-
tion or abuse problems related to alcohol or other drugs, which organizations are recognized by the com-
missioner;
(5) Attending under court order any driver education or improvement school or alcohol or drug program or
course approved by the court which entered the judgment of conviction resulting in suspension of his or her
driver’s license or by the commissioner;
(6) Attending court; reporting to a community supervision, juvenile probation, or Article 6 of Chapter 8 of
Title 42 probation office; reporting to a community supervision officer, county or Department of Juvenile
Justice juvenile probation officer, or probation officer serving pursuant to Article 6 of Chapter 8 of Title 42;
or performing community service;
(7) Transporting an immediate family member who does not hold a valid driver’s license for work, to obtain
medical care or prescriptions, or to school; or
(8) Attending any program, event, treatment, or activity ordered by a judge presiding in an accountability
court, as such term is defined in Code Section 15-1-18.
(c.1) Exception to standards for approval. The provisions of paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) of subsection (c)
of this Code section shall not apply and shall not be considered for purposes of granting a limited driving
permit or imposing conditions thereon under this Code section in the case of a driver’s license suspension
under paragraph (2) of subsection (a.1) of Code Section 40-5-22.
(d) Conditions attached. A limited driving permit shall be endorsed with such conditions as the commissioner
deems necessary to ensure that such permit will be used by the permittee only to avoid the conditions of
extreme hardship. Such conditions may include the following restrictions:
(1) Specific places between which the permittee may be allowed to operate a motor vehicle;
(2) Routes to be followed by the permittee;
(3) Times of travel;
(4) The specific vehicles which the permittee may operate; and
(5) Such other restrictions as the department may require.
(e) Fees, duration, renewal, and replacement of limited driving permit.
(1) A limited driving permit issued pursuant to this Code section shall be $32.00 and shall become invalid
upon:
(A) The expiration of one year following issuance thereof in the case of a suspension:
(i) For an offense listed in Code Section 40-5-54;
(ii) In accordance with Code Section 40-5-54.1;
(iii) In accordance with Code Section 40-5-57;
(iv) In accordance with Code Section 40-5-57.2;
(v) In accordance with paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-63 for a violation of Code
Section 40-6-391; or
(vi) In accordance with Code Section 40-5-75;
(B) The expiration of 30 days in the case of an administrative license suspension in accordance with para-
graph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-67.2; or
(C) Any earlier reinstatement of the driver’s license.
(2) A person may apply to the department for a limited driving permit immediately following such con-
viction if he or she has surrendered his or her driver’s license to the court in which the conviction was
adjudged or to the department if the department has processed the administrative driver’s license suspen-
sion form or conviction. Upon the applicant’s execution of an affidavit attesting to such facts and to the fact
that the court had not imposed a suspension or revocation of his or her driver’s license or driving privileges
inconsistent with the driving privileges to be conferred by the limited driving permit applied for, the depart-
ment may issue such person a limited driving permit.
(3) Limited driving permits issued pursuant to this Code section are renewable upon payment of a renewal
fee of $10.00. Such permits may be renewed one time after the person is eligible to reinstate his or her
driver’s license for the violation that was the basis of the issuance of the permit.
(4) Upon payment of a fee in an amount the same as that provided by Code Section 40-5-25 for issuance of a
Class C driver’s license, a person may be issued a replacement for a lost or destroyed limited driving permit
issued to him or her.
(f) Liability of issuing officer. No official or employee of the department shall be criminally or civilly liable
or subject to being held in contempt of court for issuing a limited driving permit in reliance on the truth of
the affidavits required by this Code section.
(g) Revocation of limited driving permit.
(1)(A) The department shall revoke a limited driving permit upon notice from:
(i) A court of a conviction of the permittee for violating any state law relating to the movement of vehicles;
(ii) A court of a conviction of the permittee for violating the conditions endorsed on the limited driving
permit; or
(iii) A court or the agency within the Department of Human Services which is responsible for enforcing
orders for child support that the permittee is not in compliance with an order for child support.
(B) Any court in which such conviction is had shall require such permittee to surrender his or her limited
driving permit to the court, and the court shall forward it to the department within ten days after the con-
viction, with a copy of the conviction.
(2) Except for revocations based upon division (1)(A)(iii) of this subsection, any person whose limited driv-
ing permit has been revoked shall not be eligible to apply for a driver’s license until six months from the
date such permit was surrendered to the department.
(3) In any case of revocation of a limited driving permit pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the
department may impose an additional period of suspension for the conviction upon which revocation of the
permit was based.
(h) Hearings. Any person whose permit has been revoked or who has been refused a permit by the depart-
ment may make a request in writing for a hearing to be provided by the department. Such hearing shall be
provided by the department within 30 days after the receipt of such request and shall follow the procedures
required by Chapter 13 of Title 50, the “Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.” Appeal from such hearing
shall be in accordance with said chapter.
(i) Rules and regulations. The commissioner may promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to
implement this Code section.
(j) Penalty. Any permittee who operates a motor vehicle in violation of any condition specified on the permit
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.