15 Year and Lifetime Driver’s License Reinstatement

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A person whose driver’s license has been revoked for fifteen years as part of a sentence for drunk driving may apply for a reprieve from the Board of Pardons. There are specific criteria you must meet. Your application is made to the DMV, which reviews it and forwards it to the Board. If the Board grants a reprieve, you may reinstate your driver’s license with certain restrictions.

• Am I eligible for a pardon at all?
• Will anyone check the information I provide?
• What does the Pardon’s Board want to see from me?
• I think I qualify for a pardon. How do I apply?
• What will the DMV do with the application?
• What will the Pardon’s Board do with the recommendation?
• Does anyone ever actually get pardoned?
• What happens if I am granted a reprieve?

Am I eligible for a pardon?

You must have served at least seven years of a fifteen-year or lifetime revocation before you may apply for a pardon.

If you have served seven years of your revocation, the DMV might recommend the Board grant you a reprieve if you meet all of the following qualifications:

• You have completed a state-certified substance abuse program and are in recovery, or, you can show recovery without benefit of treatment. This requires a current substance abuse evaluation.
• You do not have any subsequent drunk driving convictions.
• You do not have any subsequent driving during revocation convictions.
• You have abstained from the consumption of alcohol and abstained from the illegal consumption of drugs for a significant period. The Pardon’s Board guideline is seven years.
• Your license is not under suspension or revocation for any other reason in this or any other state.

If you do not meet any one of these criteria, the department must recommend against reinstatement of your license.
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Will anyone check the information?

Of course we will. We have to be certain that restoring your driving privilege will not present a danger to public safety. After all, that is why you lost your license in the first place. This law is intended for people who have truly turned over a new leaf and can control themselves.

We check our computer records (and the records from other states) for driving infractions, especially DUI and DUS. And we check with the county attorney where you live to see if he knows anything about you (Do you get into trouble a lot? Has the county attorney or law enforcement had to deal with you when you were drunk?) And we may call the people that you list on your application as references, or counselors, or former probation officers.

Additionally, the Pardon’s Board will do a separate investigation which will also include a check of your criminal history.
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What Does the Pardon’s Board want to See from Me?

They want to see seven years of good clean living. That is, while the DMV must recommend against reinstatement if you have any subsequent conviction for DUS or DUI, the Board may still grant a reprieve if the conviction is more than seven years old. On the other hand, if it appears to the Board that you have been driving in the last seven years, the Board is unlikely to grant a reprieve (even if the traffic offence was minor, like a speeding ticket – it’s the fact that you drove at all that concerns the Board).
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I think I qualify for a Pardon. How do I apply?

Contact the Legal Division at the following:
Legal Department Attention: Ken Lackey
Dept. Of Motor Vehicles
PO Box 94699
Lincoln, NE 68509-4699
Phone: 402-471-9595

When you receive your application, fill it out completely. All questions must be answered fully and truthfully. If a question does not apply to you, you must say so. Any applications with unanswered questions will be returned to you.
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What Will the DMV Do with my Application?

After we check the information, we make a recommendation either for or against you to the Pardon’s Board. We send our recommendation, and your comments, to the Board. This may take several months to process, so be patient.
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What will the Pardon’s Board do after they receive the DMV recommendation?

First, the Board will also check your information, especially your criminal history, and process the application and recommendation.

The Board has meetings about every six weeks. At the first meeting after your application and our recommendation has been processed by the Board, they will decide whether to hold a hearing for you. If the Board declines to set a hearing, the file is closed. Regardless of the DMV recommendation, the Board does not have to listen to you, or to us. They can simply decide that they do not want to hear your case.

If the Board agrees to set a hearing, it will be scheduled for the next meeting. Be patient.

You may attend the first meeting at which the Board decides if they want to hear your case. You do not have to, however. But you must attend if the Board decides to have a hearing on your case at the meeting.
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Does anyone ever actually get pardoned?

The Pardon’s Board does pardon deserving individuals. In 2005, 55 applications were processed, and 21 resulted in reprieves.
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What happens if I get a reprieve?

The reprieve means that the 15 year license revocation remains in place, but you are given a restricted right to drive for the remainder of the 15 years.

The Board will require that you install an ignition interlock device and keep it for the remainder of the 15 years. There is some expense and inconvenience involved with this requirement. Additionally, the penalty for bypassing the device or for driving a vehicle without an interlock is serious: it is a Class IV felony. You can go to prison, and the law says you lose your drivers license for another fifteen years

For a list of Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles approved ignition interlock companies click here.
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Contact us.

To contact the legal division about any the above matters,call (402) 471-9593, or write us at PO Box 94699, Lincoln NE 68509. You may email the legal division. We do not accept any legal documents by email.