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Clearances – Losing by Administrative Appeal From out-of-State

Home Blog Driver's License Restoration Clearances – Losing by Administrative Appeal From out-of-State

If you hire our firm, we guarantee to win your clearance back the first time around. 

This simplifies a lot of things, and answers a lot of questions. There are no “what if” scenarios to go over, nor do we need to post a running summary or tally of the cases we win because we essentially win them all, and back that up with our guarantee. 

The bottom line is that if we file your case, we’ll get you back on the road. 

That said, there are some people who are determined to first try it on their own…

In the earlier section about clearances for those who now reside outside of Michigan, we observed that an accumulation of DUI convictions results in either a revocation of a person’s Michigan driver’s license, or, if they did have a license from another state, the revocation of their privileges to drive on that license within the state of Michigan, which then becomes a hold on their driving record. 

No matter where a person did or does live, he or she will be revoked and unable file a Michigan driver’s license restoration or clearance appeal as follows:

  • 1 year for 2 DUI convictions within 7 years
  • 5 years for 3 (or more) DUI convictions within 10 years

Once the revocation period has passed, he or she can then begin the license appeal procedure before the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office of Administrative Hearings and Oversight (OHAO) to have the “hold” (revocation) cleared from their record so that they can get (or renew) a license in their new state.

Technically speaking, a person can  file an “administrative review” which is really an “appeal by mail.” 

This usually winds up to be nothing more than a quick and easy way to lose. 

The Michigan Secretary of State denies 3 out of every 4 administrative review appeals it receives. 

That translates to a 75% losing rate, which means that only 1 out of every 4 “appeals by mail” actually succeeds. 

Administrative reviews may be convenient, but they’re also pretty much doomed.

A 75% loss rate is horrible odds. Gambling on 1 out of 4 chance of winning in any case where you need a license back is just crazy. 

If you live in New York, or Chicago, and you rely upon the subway system to get around, and only “want” a license for convenience, that’s one thing. 

If you really need a license in order to get to work or school without being dependent on everyone else, that’s another thing altogether, and a 3 out of 4 chance of being denied seems to be a foolish, losing bet.

For all of that, many people will still take the gamble and try on their own.

Our firm will never try to dissuade them. We have always believed that anyone wanting to take this risk should go for it: There is, after all, a 1 out of 4 chance that it will work. 

If it doesn’t, then call us next year. Many of our out-of-state clients have tried an administrative review before, on their own. By the time they call us, they don’t want to waste any more time mulling over the odds of losing again versus hiring our firm for a guaranteed win. 

Because of our first-time win guarantee, all they want to do is get the ball rolling as soon as they can so they can win their “clearance” and get back on the road.

Moreover, my team and I make everything easy and convenient.

As noted before, the entire clearance appeal process can now be handled remotely. This means you don’t  have to come back to Michigan for any reason.