Mississippi Traffic Laws: Points, Tickets, License Suspension and DUI

Some courts allow drivers to attend 'defensive driving school' or another class to keep a citation from appearing on the driving record. This is not available to holders of a commercial driver's license or commercial learner's permit, because federal and state law prohibit deferring judgments of driving offenses for CDL/CLP holders.

For license status questions, call the Driver Service Bureau at 601-987-1224. Reinstatement fees: suspension citation, failure to appear (FTA), failure to pay (FTP) and judgment reinstatements $100 each; DUI and drug reinstatements $175 each; child support reinstatement $25; CDL medical downgrade reinstatement $100 (payable only at a CDL driver license station). You may reinstate online only if all citations have been cleared by the court. Fees cannot be paid by phone: pay online, at a local driver license station, or by mail with a certified cashier's check or money order (no personal checks) to Driver Records Division/Reinstatement, P.O. Box 1459, Canton, MS 39046. If your license has been expired or suspended for over 60 months, you must retake the written test. Reinstatement questions: 601-487-7028.

The Driver Service Bureau lists the most common suspension reasons as: refusing a breath, blood or urine test; testing over the legal limit and not getting a court order extending driving privileges; a DUI conviction or non-adjudication; owing a court fee for a citation issued before July 1, 2019; failing to appear on an out-of-state citation; an unsatisfied civil judgment; noncompliance with a child support order; and convictions such as vehicular manslaughter or a felony involving a vehicle. To find which citations caused a suspension, contact the court that issued them or the Driver Service Bureau.

0.08 for drivers of legal drinking age; 0.02 for drivers under the legal drinking age; 0.04 for commercial motor vehicle drivers.

First DUI: fine of $250 to $1,000, up to 48 hours in jail, or both, plus completion of an alcohol safety education program (MASEP) within six months; the court may substitute a victim impact panel for the 48 hours in jail. A qualifying first offense may be non-adjudicated (once only, and not for CDL/CLP holders). The regular license is suspended for 120 days unless the court orders an ignition interlock-restricted license for the 120 days; proof of insurance for three years is also required. Suspensions start 21 days after the court order.

Refusing a breath, blood or urine test results in a 90-day suspension of a regular (Class R) license, or 1 year if the person has a prior DUI conviction or non-adjudication. A court may instead order an ignition interlock-restricted license. Separately, the temporary permit given at arrest is valid for 30 days; if the driver does not get a court order extending it, the license is suspended for 90 days.

5 years for second and third offenses: a second DUI within five years is a misdemeanor with a $600–$1,500 fine and at least 5 days in jail, and a third within five years is a felony. A fourth DUI is a felony regardless of when the earlier offenses occurred.

The Driver Service Bureau does not issue hardship licenses for drivers affected by DUI. Instead, a court may order an ignition interlock-restricted license, which lets the driver keep driving a vehicle with an interlock device in place of a suspension (fees: $56 license, $175 installation verification).

A driver of a moving motor vehicle may not write, send or read a text message, or access, read or post to a social networking site, using a hand-held mobile phone. Voice-operated or hands-free devices are not covered. A violation is a civil violation with a $100 penalty.

DUI is a felony when: (1) it is a third conviction with the offenses committed within 5 years ($2,000 to $5,000 fine and 1 to 5 years); (2) it is a fourth or later conviction, regardless of when the earlier offenses happened ($3,000 to $10,000 and 2 to 10 years); (3) it is 'aggravated DUI' — negligently causing the death, mutilation, disfigurement or permanent disability of another person (5 to 25 years for each victim); (4) it is DUI child endangerment that is a third or later conviction, or that results in the serious injury or death of a child (5 to 25 years); or (5) a commercial driver's license holder operates a commercial vehicle at .08 or more.

A person convicted of a first-offense DUI who did not hold a commercial license or permit can petition the circuit court to expunge the conviction at least 5 years after completing the sentence, if they did not refuse a breath or blood test, tested below .16 (if results exist), have no other DUI conviction or pending charge, and have never had a DUI nonadjudication or expunction. Only one expunction is allowed, and the Department of Public Safety keeps a permanent confidential registry of expunctions to check eligibility and first-offender status later. A qualifying first offense can instead be nonadjudicated by the court. How long a DUI stays on the driving record was not found on an official page.

Yes, they are used. The Mississippi Office of Highway Safety funds local agencies to conduct impaired-driving enforcement checkpoints during national 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' periods and reports the number of checkpoints conducted.