Will I Lose My License After an OWI Arrest in Indiana?

Most people arrested for operating while intoxicated in Indiana ask about jail first. It is the wrong first question. For the majority of clients we see in Porter, Lake, and LaPorte Counties, the consequence that actually upends daily life arrives long before any trial: the loss of a driver's license.

Here is the part that surprises people. In Indiana, your driving privileges can be suspended before you are convicted of anything . No verdict. No plea. And there is a narrow window, measured in days, where the right move can keep you on the road while your case works its way through the system.

Two different suspensions, two very different outcomes

Indiana operates under an implied consent law. Under Indiana Code 9-30-6-1, driving on an Indiana road means you have already agreed to submit to a certified chemical test if an officer has probable cause to believe you are operating while intoxicated. You do not sign anything. The consent is automatic.

What happens to your license next depends largely on one decision you made at the roadside.

If you took the test and the result was .08 or higher

A court or the Bureau of Motor Vehicles may suspend your license for a period of up to 180 days without any finding of guilt. This is an administrative suspension, and it runs while your criminal case is still pending. How that period interacts with any suspension imposed later at sentencing depends on the specifics of your case, which is one of several reasons to have counsel involved early.

If you refused the test

Refusing carries its own separate penalty under Indiana Code 9-30-6-9: a one-year suspension for a driver with no prior OWI conviction, and two years for a driver with at least one prior. That suspension is administrative and applies on top of whatever the criminal case produces.

The 10-day window most people never hear about

This is the single most useful thing on this page, and it is the reason calling an attorney before your initial hearing matters so much.

Historically, the sequence was brutal. You appeared at your initial hearing, the judge found evidence of intoxication, your license was suspended on the spot, and only then could you begin assembling insurance documentation and filing a petition to get limited privileges back. That process could stretch a month or two, and you could not legally drive during any of it.

A change to Indiana Code 9-30-16-1 altered that. If you tell the court at your initial hearing that you intend to file a petition for a specialized driving privileges hearing, the court is directed to stay the suspension and hold back the probable cause affidavit rather than sending it to the BMV for automatic suspension.

The catch is the deadline. Under Indiana Code 9-30-16-1(g), you must actually file that petition within ten days of the initial hearing . Miss it, and the court lifts the stay and forwards the affidavit to the BMV. File it in time, and the stay holds until a judge hears the matter and rules.

One more trap worth knowing: if you ask for a continuance of that hearing and the court grants it over the prosecutor's objection, the stay is lifted anyway.

What specialized driving privileges actually give you

Specialized driving privileges, sometimes still called a hardship license, are not a restored license. They are a court-defined permission to drive under specific conditions. A judge has broad discretion to shape them, and an order commonly addresses things like:

• Which hours of the day you may drive
• Which destinations are permitted, such as work, school, medical appointments, or childcare
• Whether a certified ignition interlock device must be installed
• Proof of insurance, typically including an SR-22 filing

If the court does require an ignition interlock device, that installation period is credited toward your suspension under Indiana Code 9-30-16-1(e), which is worth raising early.

Violating the terms of an order is treated seriously and can affect your eligibility going forward.

Who cannot get them

Indiana Code 9-30-16-1(a) sets out the categories of drivers who are not eligible, including:

• A person who has never been an Indiana resident
• A person whose suspension is based on refusing a chemical test, subject to the ignition interlock exception noted above
• A person whose privileges were suspended or revoked because the BMV determined the driver is incompetent or unfit
• Certain suspensions arising from reckless driving or from failing to stop for a school bus

Outside those categories, eligibility is broad. Many drivers assume their situation is hopeless when it is not, including some drivers carrying habitual traffic violator suspensions.

Where the petition gets filed matters

Filing in the wrong court costs you time you may not have. The general rule turns on the source of the suspension. If a court ordered it, the petition belongs in that court, and if more than one county has suspended you, each one needs to be addressed. If the BMV issued the suspension administratively, the petition is filed in a court in the county where you live.

For Northwest Indiana drivers this comes up constantly. An arrest on the Indiana Toll Road or on I-65 can easily mean a case in one county while you live in another, and plenty of our clients commute into Illinois for work, which raises its own questions about how an Indiana suspension travels.

What to do right now

If you have been arrested for OWI and your initial hearing has not happened yet, you are in the best possible position and you should not waste it. Talk to a defense attorney before you walk into that hearing so the request to stay your suspension is made correctly and the petition is filed inside the ten-day window.

If your initial hearing has already passed, do not assume the door is shut. Depending on where your case stands, there may still be a path to limited privileges.

Patton Law has defended clients facing alcohol-related charges in Porter, Lake, and LaPorte Counties for more than twenty-five years. If you want to understand what your specific suspension looks like and what can be done about it, request a consultation or call 219-462-0597.

About the author. Clay M. Patton is the founder of Patton Law in downtown Valparaiso, Indiana. He earned his J.D. from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1999 and has spent over twenty-five years handling criminal defense matters, including OWI and alcohol-related charges, throughout Northwest Indiana.

This article is general information about Indiana law and is not legal advice. Statutes change and every case turns on its own facts. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are facing an OWI charge, speak with a licensed Indiana attorney about your specific situation. Last reviewed: August 2026.