Legal Question in DUI Law in Pennsylvania

DUI from 13 years ago returns!!

I received a DUI in PA in 1996. I was given a 12 month suspension and a fine. I paid the fine and served the suspension.

I moved to Ohio and had license in Ohio from 2005 with no issues. I went to renew my Ohio license in 2009 and I was told it was blocked by PA!

Upon calling PA, they told me that I never served my suspension and that I had to serve it now in 2009.

I effectively don't have a license and cannot get to work or take my daughter to daycare. They are telling me that I cannot get work priveleges and that they don't have records going back that far to show if I served the suspension or not.

This was literally 13 years ago! What should I do? The Ohio BMV cannot help, obviously, and the PA BMV is not helpful at all!

Please give me some direction!!

Thank you,


Asked on 6/01/09, 8:13 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Gibson John W. Gibson, Esquire

Re: DUI from 13 years ago returns!!

The DOT in Pennsylvania has been doing some real strange stuff over the past few years, especially with DUI cases. Probably you will have to spend some quality telephone time with them on several occasions to get this straightened out. The way it is supposed to work is that you are sent a license restoration letter at the conclusion of your suspension. You comply with that letter and you are sent back your Pennsylvania license. Then you can get another license in another state but you can only have one license at a time. I suspect that you did not restore the Pennsylvania license and you will have to find someone at PennDOT to figure that out if you do not just tell them that that is the case, if it is. If that is not the case and your PA license was restored, then you will have to figure out what the problem was.

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Answered on 6/03/09, 5:31 pm


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