Bureau of Administrative Reviews Office in Tampa, FL

After your arrest for DUI, you only have 10 days to demand a “Formal Review Hearing.” Demanding the formal review hearing is the ONLY way to contest the administrative suspension of your driver’s license after the DUI arrest.

An attorney can make this request for you and obtain your 42-day driving permit so that you can drive for hardship purposes while your attorney challenges the administrative suspension.

People who cannot afford a private attorney willing to challenge the administrative suspension during the formal review hearing might decide to waive all their rights during the so-called “waiver review hearing.”

If you waive your rights by seeking “early reinstatement of hardship privileges” then the notation of the DUI administrative suspension will remain on your driving record for the next 75 years (even if your DUI criminal charge is eventually dropped or dismissed).

By agreeing to the “waiver review hearing,” you agree to:

• waive your rights to contest the administrative suspension; and
• stipulate that the notation that you were DUI for administrative purposes will remain on your driving record for the next 75 years.

Before requesting the “waiver review hearing” you must also enroll in DUI school and present proof of enrollment.

Attorney for Hearings at the Tampa BAR Office in Tampa, FL

Instead of waiving all your rights, find out more about hiring an attorney who will FIGHT the administrative suspension by attending a formal review hearing to argue why the suspension should be invalidated or set aside.

The attorneys at Sammis Law Firm personally appear at the formal review hearing in Tampa or Clearwater (usually with a court reporter) to question the witnesses we subpoena to the hearing. We also personally appear at the hearings in order to present evidence and arguments to the hearing officer about why the administrative suspension should be invalidated.

Call 813-250-0500.

Location of the Bureau of Administrative Reviews (BAR) Office

For any arrest in Hillsborough County, the formal review hearing occurs at the following location:

In addition to Hillsborough County, the formal review hearings for a DUI in other counties will be funneled to the BAR Office in Tampa, FL, including:

• Hernando County
• Citrus County
• Marion County
• Pasco County
• Polk County
• Sumter County

The BAR Office in Clearwater, FL, covers several other counties besides Pinellas County including:

• Charlotte County
• De Soto County
• Hardee County
• Highlands County
• Manatee County
• Sarasota County

At the formal review hearing, your attorney can present evidence and question witnesses about why your administrative suspension should be invalidated or taken off your record.

The formal review hearing also gives your attorney the chance to cross-examine the DUI enforcement officer that performed the stop and made the arrest, as well as the breath test machine technician and those involved with the calibration and inspection of the machine.

During the formal review hearing, your lawyer can subpoena documents and witnesses. Exploring these defenses might help you avoid the administrative suspension. That information can also be used to fight criminal charges in court.