Legal Question in Traffic Law in North Carolina

I am a NH resident and got a speeding ticket in NC. I went to court, paid cash, lost receipt. Caring for my mom in NC for almost a year, I decided to update my address and requested my driving record and change of address (to register my vehicle and license here in NC - mom needed long-term care at home). Suddenly, I am served by pulling the driving record and no longer at my address in NH - for unpaid NC ticket. I hired a lawyer last August 2017 to go to court - which he did and all was taken care of. EXCEPT, I have a suspension on my driver's license per NH DMV who say NC put it on the National Drivers Registry - not even a government agency, by the way. NC lawyer, NC District Attorney SUPERVISOR, the NC Traffic Court, NOBODY can get this removed and NC says it does not exist. No suspension. Never was a suspension. But NH says OH YES there is. WHAT IN THE WORLD DO I DO?

NH DMV said if I don't get this off by next month, it will be a revocation. I'm dumbfounded.


Asked on 3/09/18, 1:01 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

You are the poster person for why you should never try and do your own legal work - not even a traffic ticket. So likely all of this stems from your poor choice to go to court and handle things yourself. If you had an NH license, NC does not have the authority to suspend you but NC can suspend your privilege to drive in NC and notify NH and NH can suspend you - which is what likely happened and if what you say is true, likely due to a clerical error. Thing is NC and NH DMV's know crap happens, mistakes get made etc. so NH would have notified you by mail of the pending suspension so you could take care of things before it became the big problem it is now. So if you moved and didn't update your address and didn't get the notice because of that - again this is kinda on you. So what do you do? It sounds to me like you were suspended in NH and simply have to go through NH's reinstatement procedures but basically you need to do what you should have done in the first place, hire an experienced traffic attorney. Only now its likely gonna be way more expensive and you may have to hire two - one in NH and one in NC. Best of luck.

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Answered on 3/09/18, 4:58 am


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