The limited driving privilege in North Carolina

Two kinds of limited privilege

Before trial: during the 30-day civil revocation. A person whose license was revoked for 30 or 45 days under § 20-16.5 can apply for a limited driving privilege if:

• they held a valid license (or one expired less than a year) at the time;
• they have no other unresolved impaired driving charge;
• the license has been revoked for at least 10 days of a 30-day revocation, or 30 days of a 45-day revocation; and
• they have obtained a substance abuse assessment from a mental health facility and agreed to any recommended training or treatment (§ 20-16.5(p)).

After a conviction. Under § 20-179.3, a person convicted of DWI is eligible if, among other things:

• they held a valid license (or one expired less than a year) at the time of the offense;
• they had no impaired driving conviction in the seven years before the offense;
• the judge imposed Level Three, Four, or Five;
• they have had no impaired driving conviction or unresolved charge since; and
• they have obtained and filed a substance abuse assessment of the type required for restoring a license.

The application can be made when judgment is entered, or later by filing with the clerk.

What the privilege allows

A limited privilege allows only essential driving for work, household maintenance, education, court-ordered treatment or assessment, probation community service, emergency medical care, and religious worship (§ 20-179.3(a)). Standard working hours are 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (§ 20-179.3(f1)). Driving at other times for work needs documentation and specific terms. Any driving outside the order's purposes is unlawful.

Ignition interlock

If the alcohol concentration was 0.15 or more, the judge must restrict the driver to a designated vehicle with an ignition interlock set to prevent driving above 0.02 (§ 20-179.3(g5)). In other cases the judge may require one (g3). Separately, when a license is restored after certain DWI revocations, NCDMV requires an interlock for one, three, or seven years, for example after an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more or a prior conviction within seven years (§ 20-17.8).

The assessment and ADETS

North Carolina requires a DWI substance use assessment, and completion of the recommended program, before a license is restored after a DWI conviction (§ 20-17.6). The program may be the Alcohol and Drug Education Traffic School (ADETS) or treatment. NCDHHS explains the process and keeps a provider list where you can search for authorized DWI service providers by county.

Where to apply

The privilege is issued by a judge in the district where the case is pending or was decided. Ask your lawyer or the clerk of court in Dare County how to file. The directory lists local DWI lawyers.

Laws, penalties, and requirements can change. This page is general information, not legal advice.