DUI Stop, Testing, and License Hearing Checklist: A Practical Checklist

Summary. A deadline-driven checklist: the first twenty-four hours, discovery, video review, the timeline, suppression, the administrative hearing, plea consequences, mitigation and sentencing, and reinstatement.

For doctrine, see DUI and DWI Defense. For the workflow, see Handling a DUI Case.

⚠ The most missed deadline in American criminal practice is the DUI administrative hearing request — often 10 days from arrest.

Phase 1 — At the roadside

Polite. Say very little. License, registration, insurance — nothing more.
Not required to answer where you have been or what you have had to drink.
Field sobriety tests are voluntary in most states and refusing them carries no automatic license penalty.
Any knee, back, leg, or inner-ear condition, age over 65, weight, or footwear issue stated out loud (it is recorded).
Preliminary roadside breath test distinguished from the evidentiary station test.
After arrest: request to consult counsel before the chemical test decision, where permitted.
No arguing, no resisting, no explaining. Everything is recorded.

Phase 2 — The first 24 hours

All paperwork located: citation · notice of suspension · temporary permit · property receipt · implied consent advisory copy · bail papers.
HEARING DEADLINE READ AND CALENDARED (often 7 / 10 / 15 days from arrest).
Temporary permit expiration date calendared (often 30 days).
Written account made today: venue · what and how much · time of last drink · food · departure time · route · stop location · surface, lighting, weather, traffic · what was said both ways · duration of each phase · station arrival and test times · medical conditions and medications.
Corroboration preserved: bar/restaurant receipt · credit card statement with timestamp · rideshare/map history · names and numbers of companions.
DUI counsel called.
Video preservation letter sent (retention cycles are short).
Do not drive on a suspended license.

Phase 3 — Discovery request

All body-worn and dash camera footage, native format, every officer, entire encounter including transport and booking.
CAD dispatch log with timestamps.
Booking video.
Instrument maintenance, calibration, and certification records, defined period before and after.
Operator certification.
Observation period log — who observed, from when to when.
Implied consent advisory form with times recorded.
Field sobriety test notes and marked clue sheets.
Officer training records (SFST) and any DRE certification.
Blood cases: phlebotomy record · chain of custody · tube lot and preservative · storage log · lab accreditation · analyst qualifications · SOP · raw chromatography data.
Checkpoint cases: written operational plan · supervisory authorization · neutral formula for stopping vehicles · publicity documentation · statistics for the night.
Any impeachment material the jurisdiction requires disclosed.

Phase 4 — Video review (against the report, line by line)

Driving: does the video show the violation as described?
Speech: audibly slurred, or normal under stress?
Movement: unsteady walking to the patrol car, or normal?
Instructions: given completely and correctly? demonstration performed? understanding confirmed?
Conditions: slope · gravel · wet · wind · passing traffic · headlights and strobes during HGN.
Each recorded clue checked against what the video shows. (Clues recorded but not visible are the most valuable cross-examination material in the case.)
What was NOT observed: no accident · no near miss · no unsafe speed · proper pull-over · documents produced without fumbling.
Observation period: did the officer remain present? did the driver belch, cough, or put anything in their mouth?
Every timestamp cross-checked against the CAD log and the report.

Phase 5 — The timeline (to the minute)

Arrival at venue · first drink · LAST DRINK · departure · stop (CAD) · first contact · each field test · arrest · transport · station arrival · observation start · test 1 · test 2.
Observation period duration verified against the protocol requirement.
Rising blood alcohol assessed: time from last drink to test; absorption likely incomplete at driving?
Toxicologist consulted where the result is near the limit.
Whole blood vs. serum/plasma conversion checked on any hospital-drawn result.

Phase 6 — Suppression motions (in order of value)

The stop — no violation, or not as described. If it fails, everything after falls (Wong Sun).
The extension — Rodriguez v. United States, 575 U.S. 348 (2015): identify on video the moment the traffic mission was complete.
The arrest — probable cause built on observations the video refutes.
The test — warrantless blood draw without exigency (McNeely); blood obtained by threatening criminal penalties for refusal (Birchfield); defective or untimely advisory; violated observation period.
The checkpoint — field discretion instead of a supervisory plan; no neutral formula; no publicity where required (Sitz).
HGN foundation; DRE opinion beyond validated scope.

Phase 7 — Administrative hearing

Requested within the deadline.
Suspension stayed pending hearing (where the state provides it) — confirmed.
Officer subpoenaed where permitted.
Four narrow issues prepared: lawful stop · probable cause to arrest · advisory properly given · refusal or test at/above limit.
Advisory form times compared against the refusal time recorded.
Video brought.
Transcript ordered — it locks the officer into an account months before trial.
Hardship / occupational / restricted license applied for; interlock requirement understood.

Phase 8 — Before any plea, price these five

Insurance — 3–5 years of increase, quoted by your agent, in dollars.
Interlock — installation plus monthly cost, for the required term.
Employment — CDL: 0.04 limit, 1-year disqualification for a first offense, lifetime for a second, and it follows a personal-vehicle DUI. Professional board reporting deadline (often 30 days, sometimes from arrest). Clearance and driving-required jobs.
Immigration — consult counsel before the plea; the statute of conviction and plea wording matter more than the sentence.
Record — expungement eligibility and waiting period; the driving record retains it for the lookback regardless.
Diversion or deferred adjudication asked about first.
Lookback period counted correctly if there is a prior (offense-to-offense vs. conviction-to-offense).
Certified record of any prior obtained (not the criminal history printout) and its validity assessed.

Phase 9 — Mitigation packet

Evaluation completed and treatment or education begun — before sentencing.
Attendance records.
Voluntary interlock installation, if applicable.
Letters: employer · supervisor · clergy · coach · family — specific, dated, about conduct.
Employment and financial documentation (for work release, payment plan, service scheduling).
Medical or mental health treatment documentation.
Clean driving record printout.
Community service already performed.
Brief, non-defensive statement prepared.

Phase 10 — After sentencing

Every ordered program completed and certificates filed.
All fines, costs, and reinstatement fees paid.
SR-22 or equivalent filed for the required period.
Interlock installed; reporting rules understood — a missed rolling retest can extend or restart the term.
Final reinstatement application actually filed. (People remain suspended for months after completing everything simply because the last form was never sent.)
Probation conditions calendared; every appointment attended.
Record relief eligibility and waiting period diaried.
Insurance re-shopped at 1 year and 3 years — carriers price the lookback differently.