7.3 Suspension & Revocation: Mandatory Suspensions, Criminal Offenses & Reinstatement
Key Takeaways
A Massachusetts Habitual Traffic Offender, with three major moving violations or twelve major or minor violations within five years, loses the license for four years and pays a $500 reinstatement fee.
In Massachusetts, motor vehicle homicide and vehicular manslaughter bring license suspensions of 15 years to lifetime.
Leaving the scene of a crash that injures a person brings a Massachusetts license suspension of one to two years.
After any Massachusetts suspension of two years or more, the driver must pass a learner's permit exam and a road test to reinstate.
The RMV may suspend a license for a fake ID offense for six months without a conviction, or one year after a conviction.
A suspension or revocation takes away driving privileges, either for a set time or indefinitely. The RMV acts under Massachusetts law, or when a driver threatens public safety. Some violations require immediate action, while repeated violations or at-fault crashes can also lead to suspension.
Discretionary Grounds
Besides the mandatory charts, the RMV may suspend or revoke in these cases:
| Ground | Rule |
|---|---|
| Immediate threat | If your driving is an immediate threat to public safety, the RMV can suspend your permit or license immediately |
| Improper operation | The RMV can suspend for operating a vehicle improperly |
| Fake ID | Even without a conviction, the RMV can suspend for six months, or one year after a conviction, for transferring, altering or defacing a license or ID; making, using, carrying, selling or distributing a false one; using someone else's; or giving false information to get one |
Section 12.2 adds that someone arrested for aggressive driving can have their license and registration suspended before the court date if the RMV finds them a threat to public safety.
Mandatory Suspensions: Drivers 18 and Older
| Situation | Definition | Suspension | Reinstatement fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three speeding violations | Three speeding violations or responsible findings within any one-year period | 30 days | $100 |
| Three surchargeable events | Any combination of moving violations and surchargeable crashes totaling three within two years | Complete Driver Retraining within 90 days or be suspended indefinitely until completed | $100 |
| Seven surchargeable events | Any combination totaling seven within three years | 60 days | $100 |
| Habitual Traffic Offender | Three major moving violations, or any combination of twelve major or minor moving violations, within five years | Four years | $500 |
| Out-of-state suspension | License suspended or revoked in another state | Until the out-of-state suspension is resolved | $100 |
Many of these offenses can also bring jail time. Extra suspensions apply when Junior Operators commit offenses involving alcohol or drugs (section 8.1). People serving a mandatory suspension for certain drug trafficking offenses may seek a hardship license at any time during it.
Suspensions Not Related to Driving
Because a license is a privilege, the law requires the RMV to suspend for some non-driving reasons, including:
- failing to pay child support;
- failing to register as a sex offender;
- conviction of certain drug trafficking offenses;
- failing to pay Massachusetts income tax;
- making a bad payment to the RMV, such as a bounced check or a reversed credit card charge.
To clear a bad-payment suspension you pay the original fee, a reinstatement fee and a $15 bad-payment fee, with cash or a certified bank check payable to MassDOT, by reservation at a full-service center.
Criminal Offenses and Suspensions
| Criminal conviction | Suspension | Reinstatement fee |
|---|---|---|
| Operating with a suspended or revoked license | 60 days – 1 year | $500 |
| Operating without the owner's authority / larceny of a motor vehicle | 1 – 3 years | $500 |
| Leaving the scene of a crash when a person is injured | 1 – 2 years | $500 |
| Leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage | 60 days – 1 year | $500 |
| Operating to endanger | 60 days – 1 year | $500 |
| Motor vehicle homicide | 15 years – lifetime | $500 |
| Vehicular manslaughter | 15 years – lifetime | $500 |
| OUI (alcohol or drugs) | 1 year (1st); 2 years (2nd); 8 years (3rd); 10 years (4th); lifetime (5th) | $500 / $700 / $1,200 / $1,200 / N/A |
| Any drug trafficking conviction, except a Class D substance (no vehicle needed) | 1 – 5 years | $100 |
| Drag racing (drivers over 18) | 30 – 180 days | $500 – $1,000 |
| Negligent operation and injury from mobile phone use | 60 days – 1 year | $500 |
Section 8.2 covers the OUI fines, prison terms and chemical-test suspensions in detail.
Out-of-State Suspensions
A suspension or revocation in another state suspends your Massachusetts license until it is cleared. When the other state reinstates you, bring its reinstatement letter or a current driving record, no more than 30 days old, to a full-service center.
Every state must report your traffic offenses there to Massachusetts. They are treated as Massachusetts offenses when they are "like" offenses. The RMV looks at what the other state's law prohibits, not at whether that state chose a heavier or lighter penalty or called it civil or criminal. The RMV must apply Massachusetts suspension rules even if the other state did not suspend you.
When Your License Is Suspended or Revoked
- Stop driving immediately. Your privileges are gone, and it is illegal to operate any motor vehicle, here or anywhere else.
- Driving without a license is illegal. Driving while suspended or revoked is a criminal offense, carrying a large fine, jail or both, plus further penalties.
Reinstatement
| Step | Rule |
|---|---|
| Hearing | You have the right to a hearing with a Hearings Officer, scheduled online and held by phone |
| What the hearing decides | Most suspensions are mandatory, so the hearing only checks whether the law is applied correctly. After a guilty or responsible finding, the facts of the case no longer matter, and the officer cannot prevent a valid suspension |
| Decision time | Up to ten business days |
| Fees | Most reinstatement fees are $100; serious offenses can cost up to $1,200 |
| Re-testing | For suspensions of two years or more, pass a learner's permit exam and road test, with identification documents |
Tip
Learn the chart by fee: $100 for record-based suspensions (speeding, surchargeable events, out-of-state, drug trafficking); $500 for criminal convictions and Habitual Traffic Offender; $700 and $1,200 for second and later OUI offenses.
A driver collects three major moving violations within five years. What does the mandatory suspension chart require?
A 60-day suspension for seven surchargeable events, with a $100 fee
A four-year suspension as a Habitual Traffic Offender, with a $500 reinstatement fee
A one-year suspension that a Driver Retraining course can shorten
A 30-day suspension for three speeding violations, with a $100 fee
After a three-year license suspension, what must the driver do to reinstate, in addition to paying the fee?
Nothing more, because re-testing applies only to lifetime revocations
Complete the eight-hour Driver Retraining course only
Pass a road test only; the written exam is waived for formerly licensed drivers
Pass a learner's permit exam and a road test, presenting identification documents
A driver is caught using a friend's license to enter a bar but is not convicted. What can the RMV do?
Nothing, because the RMV can act only after a criminal conviction
Revoke the license permanently and require a new driver education course
Suspend the driver's license for up to six months, even without a conviction
Issue a $25 civil citation that does not affect the license
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.