1. (a) The DMV shall suspend, in accordance with the requirements of § 50-1301.38, the license and registration of any person who was convicted or adjudicated a juvenile delinquent by a final order or judgment for, or who forfeited any bond or collateral given to secure their appearance for trial for a violation of, the following offenses:

   1. (1) Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or a drug, as described in § 50-2206.11;
   2. (2) Driving under the influence of alcohol or a drug; commercial vehicle, as described in § 50-2206.12;
   3. (3) Operating a vehicle while impaired, as described in § 50-2206.14;

   4. (4) Any homicide resulting from a person being struck by a motor vehicle, including:

      1. (A) Murder in the first degree, as described in § 22-2101;
      2. (B) Murder in the second degree, as described in § 22-2103;
      3. (C) Manslaughter; and
      4. (D) Negligent homicide, as described in § 50-2203.01;
   5. (5) Leaving after colliding, as described in § 50-2201.05c;
   6. (6) Aggravated reckless driving, as described in §50-2201.04(b-1);
   7. (7) Any felony in the commission of which a motor vehicle is used; or
   8. (8) Any offense committed in another state which, if committed in the District of Columbia, would constitute one of the offenses listed in paragraphs (1) through (7) of this subsection.

2. (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the DMV shall not suspend registrations as described in subsection (a) of this section in cases where the conviction was based on:

   1. (1) A person's operation of a vehicle owned by or leased to the United States, the District of Columbia, another state, or a political subdivision thereof; and
   2. (2) The person was acting as an agent of the United States, the District of Columbia, another state, or a political subdivision thereof.

3. (c)

   1. (1)

      1. (A) Whenever a judgment of conviction for any offense listed in subsection (a) of this section has become final, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia shall transmit a record of the conviction to the DMV.

      2. (B) A judgment of conviction shall be deemed to have become final for the purposes of this subsection if:

         1. (i) No appeal is taken from the judgment upon the expiration of the time within which an appeal could have been taken; or
         2. (ii) An appeal is taken from the judgment, the date upon which the judgment, having been sustained, can no longer be appealed from or reviewed on a writ of certiorari.
   2. (2) If the DMV receives a record of a conviction of a nonresident, the DMV shall transmit the record to the state or territorial agency that issued the nonresident's license.
4. (d) Nothing in this section shall limit the power of a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to limit or restrict a defendant's driving privileges as a condition of a pre-trial release or as a component of the defendant's sentence.

History

May 25, 1954, 68 Stat. 130, ch. 222, § 37

Aug. 28, 1958, 72 Stat. 955, Pub. L. 85-792, § 9

Sept. 8, 1960, 74 Stat. 862, Pub. L. 86-730, § 5

Aug. 5, 1981, D.C. Law 4-29, § 604(b)(2), 28 DCR 3081

Sept. 14, 1982, D.C. Law 4-145, § 9, 29 DCR 3138

Mar. 9, 1983, D.C. Law 4-174, § 13, 29 DCR 5753

May 24, 1994, D.C. Law 10-122, § 5, 41 DCR 1658

Apr. 13, 1999, D.C. Law 12-212, § 3, 46 DCR 5

Mar. 2, 2007, D.C. Law 16-195, § 7, 53 DCR 8675

Apr. 27, 2013, D.C. Law 19-266, § 306, 59 DCR 12957

June 8, 2013, D.C. Law 19-316, § 4, 60 DCR 1713

Apr. 20, 2024, D.C. Law 25-161, § 3(e)

May 21, 2026, D.C. Law 26-122, § 2

Editor's Notes

Section 8 of D.C. Law 19-316 provided that the act shall apply as of June 1, 2013.

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 4 of the Reckless Driving Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-75, May 23, 2013, 60 DCR 7597, 20 DCSTAT 1428).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 306 of the Comprehensive Impaired Driving and Alcohol Testing Program Second Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-51, April 17, 2013, 60 DCR 6344, 20 DCSTAT 1360).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 306 of the Comprehensive Impaired Driving and Alcohol Testing Program Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-3, January 29, 2013, 60 DCR 2762, 20 DCSTAT 410).

For temporary amendment of (a), see § 306 of the Comprehensive Impaired Driving and Alcohol Testing Program Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-508, October 26, 2012, 59 DCR 12774).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 7 of Anti-Drunk Driving Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-6, January 16, 2007, 54 DCR 1452).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 7 of Anti-Drunk Driving Clarification Second Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2006 (D.C. Act 16-518, October 27, 2006, 53 DCR 9104).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 4(d) of Anti-Drunk Driving Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2006 (D.C. Act 16-469, July 31, 2006, 53 DCR 6764).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 4 of the Driving Under the Influence Repeat Offenders Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2000 (D.C. Act 13-437, October 20, 2000, 47 DCR 8737).

For temporary (90-day) repeal of expiration date of section, see § 4 of the Driving Under the Influence Repeat Offenders Emergency Amendment Act of 2000 (D.C. Act 13-382, July 24, 2000, 47 DCR 6697).

Temporary Legislation

For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 4 of Driving Under the Influence Repeat Offenders Temporary Amendment Act of 2000 (D.C. Law 13-198, October 21, 2000, law notification 47 DCR 8988).

For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 4 of Underage Drinking Temporary Amendment Act of 1993 (D.C. Law 10-12, September 11, 1993, law notification 40 DCR 6834).

For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2 of STEER Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2026 (D.C. Law 26-122, May 21, 2026, 73 DCR 5073).

Effect of Amendments

The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-316 substituted “aggravated reckless driving” for “reckless driving involving personal injury” in (a)(4).

The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-266 substituted “person is intoxicated as defined by § 50-2206.01(9)” for “person’s alcohol concentration is 0.08 grams or more either per 100 milliliters of blood or per 210 liters of breath or is 0.10 grams or more per 100 milliliters of urine” in (a).

D.C. Law 16-195, in subsec. (a), substituted “person’s alcohol concentration is 0.08 grams or more either per 100 milliliters of blood or per 210 liters of breath or is 0.10 grams or more per 100 milliliters of urine” for “individual’s blood contains .08% or more, by weight, of alcohol, or while .38 micrograms or more of alcohol are contained in 1 milliliter of defendant’s breath, consisting substantially of alveolar air, or while defendant’s urine contains .10% or more, by weight, of alcohol”.

Prior Codifications

1973 Ed., § 40-453.

1981 Ed., § 40-437.

Applicability

Applicability of D.C. Law 25-161: § 8 of D.C. Law 25-161 provided that the change made to this section by § 3(e) of D.C. Law 25-161 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.

Section 2 of D.C. Law 26-122 provided that the amendments made to this section by section 3(e) of D.C. Law 25-161 shall apply as of March 4, 2026. Therefore those amendments have been implemented.