Out-of-State Drivers and Pennsylvania DUI Arrests

If you've been arrested for a PA DUI and have a driver's license issued in another state, your arrest can jeopardize your driving privileges both here and in the state that issued your license. A knowledgeable PA DUI lawyer from Levow & Associates is ready to do everything possible to safeguard your driving privileges both here and in your home state.

Your driver's license is the property of the state that issued it, so the Commonwealth has no power to suspend your out-of-state driver's license after a Pennsylvania DUI arrest. However, Pennsylvania can and will suspend your driving privileges within the Commonwealth for the prescribed amount of time if you're convicted of driving under the influence.

Unlike many states, Pennsylvania doesn't have a separate administrative process to suspend your driver's license after a DUI arrest. However, Pennsylvania DUI law does allow for driver's license suspensions as a result of certain driving under the influence convictions, and will share news of your conviction with your home state, which may then suspend your license as a result.

How your Pennsylvania DUI arrest impacts your driving privileges in your home state will depend on whether the state that issued your license is a party to the Interstate Driver's License Compact, an agreement between 45 states to share information about DUI and other driving-related offenses. Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Georgia, Tennessee, and Michigan are the only states that do not participate in the IDLC, though these states will suspend that home state license if they learn of the out-of-state conviction.

A Pennsylvania DUI arrest has the potential to impact your driver's license, your reputation and your freedom, regardless of where your license was issued. A Pennsylvania DUI attorney from Levow & Associates can fight to protect your driving privileges both within the Commonwealth and in your home state if you were driving with an out-of-state license.