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What Does It Mean To Have a Suspended License in DC?

Peter Odom: The DC Department of Motor Vehicle is the only agency that has the ability to suspend a driver’s license. The DC criminal court, where a criminal case is heard, does not have the legal authority to suspend a driver’s license.

So, in the event you have a case that could result has a possible penalty of a suspended license, the court would not have the power to do that. The results from the criminal case could be transferred over to the DC DMV and the DC DMV could make the decision to suspend your driver’s license which means that they would impose a period of time in which you could not drive.

That could mean that you only can drive inside the District of Columbia or it could also mean that you can’t drive anywhere. In the event that you have suspended DC driver’s license,  you cannot drive anywhere for the period of time in which you’re suspended.

If you have an out of state license, like in Maryland or Virginia, then if the DC DMV suspends your license, all that means is that you can’t drive inside the District of Columbia. That information could potentially transfer out to your home state and then the state that issued your driver’s license could then also suspend your license. In that case you wouldn’t be able to drive anywhere.

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