Quick answer: An MVA hearing is a separate administrative case about your driving privilege, run through the Office of Administrative Hearings before an Administrative Law Judge — it is not your criminal or traffic-court case, and winning one does not resolve the other. Points, a DUI arrest, a reexamination, a medical review, fraud, or unpaid child support can all trigger one. The deadline to request a hearing is short — often just 10 days — and missing it usually lets the suspension take effect automatically.
I’m David Waranch, and I’ve handled thousands of Maryland traffic and MVA matters, many for drivers in Silver Spring and across Montgomery County. This page covers what an MVA hearing actually is and the ground you’re on locally; the statewide mechanics are on my what to expect at a Maryland MVA hearing and MVA hearing lawyer pages, and whether you need counsel at all is answered on do I need a lawyer for my MVA hearing.
Your MVA case is not your court case, and the deadline is not 30 days. The costliest mistake I see is a driver who assumes that beating the ticket, or having a DUI dropped, ends the threat to the license. It does not — the administrative suspension runs on its own track and can take effect while the court case is still open, or even after it is dismissed. And the number that actually matters is usually 10 days, not the 30 printed as an outer limit. Wait past day 10 and, on a DUI notice, your temporary license is not extended; on a points notice, the request window can close entirely.
What an MVA Hearing Is — and Why It Runs on Its Own Track
An MVA hearing is a contested-case administrative proceeding. Most are conducted by the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), not by a District Court judge and not by the MVA clerk who mailed your notice. The only question in the room is your privilege to drive — not guilt, not a fine, not jail. Your criminal or traffic charge is decided separately in the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County, while the MVA moves in parallel to suspend, revoke, or restrict your license. The two can reach different results on the same facts: a DUI can be reduced or dropped in court and the administrative suspension can still stand, which is exactly why the hearing is often the only place left to save the license.
What Lands a Silver Spring Driver in an MVA Hearing
Far more than DUI. A hearing notice can follow from any of the grounds below, and each puts something different at stake.
| Ground for MVA action | What is at stake |
|---|---|
| Point accumulation — § 16-404 | Mandatory driver improvement program, suspension, or revocation |
| DUI arrest, test 0.08+ or refusal — § 16-205.1 | Suspension from 180 days to 2 years; interlock election |
| Reexamination on reasonable grounds — § 16-207 | Restriction, suspension, or revocation based on the result |
| Medical or fitness-to-drive review | Restriction or suspension pending evaluation |
| Fraudulent application or driving while suspended/revoked | Cancellation and further suspension or revocation |
| Failure to pay child support | Suspension until the support authority clears it |
Under § 16-207 the MVA may require you to be reexamined whenever it has reasonable grounds to believe you can no longer drive safely, and it may act on the result — with your right to a hearing preserved under Title 12, Subtitle 2 of the Transportation Article. Many Silver Spring searchers arrive here with a points problem or a medical hold, not a DUI at all.
The Point Thresholds That Trigger MVA Action
Points accumulate over any two-year period, and § 16-404(a) sets fixed lines. Each conviction reported to the MVA carries its own point value; when your running total crosses a line, the corresponding action follows.
| Points in 2 years | What the MVA does |
|---|---|
| 3 points | Warning letter |
| 5 points | Mandatory driver improvement program (§ 16-212) |
| 8 points | Suspension |
| 12 points | Revocation |
When the MVA proposes a suspension or revocation, the notice gives you 10 days to request a hearing under § 16-404(b)(2)(iii). The hearing is where you contest the count, argue for a lesser sanction, or ask for a work-and-school restricted license instead of a full suspension. Completing a driver improvement program is rehabilitation and can be a reinstatement condition — it does not erase points, which fall off on their own two-year schedule. The full ladder is on Maryland’s point system in a nutshell.
The DUI-Arrest Track (§ 16-205.1)
A DUI arrest sets off its own administrative suspension, entirely apart from the criminal charge. If you took the test and blew 0.08 or more, or refused, the officer confiscates the Maryland license, serves an order of suspension, and issues a 45-day temporary license. You then have 10 days to request a hearing and preserve that temporary license until the hearing date. Request on day 11 through 30 and you still get a hearing, but the temp is not extended — the suspension begins on day 46 regardless.
The suspension lengths are steep: 180 days for a first test result of 0.08 or more, longer at 0.15+, and 270 days for a first refusal (two years for a subsequent one). The trap most drivers never hear about: for a refusal or a result of 0.15 or more, there is no modified suspension and no restricted license — participating in the Ignition Interlock System Program is the only way to keep driving. A work-and-school restricted license is on the table only for a result in the 0.08 to 0.14 range. This is the whole fight for a DUI client, and it is covered in depth on my Maryland DUI MVA per se hearing page.
What the Administrative Law Judge Can Do
At the hearing the ALJ reviews the MVA’s evidence, hears your testimony and argument, and issues a written decision, often the same day. The judge has a real range of outcomes, which is why showing up prepared matters. An ALJ can:
- take no action and let you keep the license unrestricted;
- impose the proposed suspension or revocation;
- modify the suspension to a shorter term or a lesser sanction;
- grant a restricted license for work, school, or medical needs; or
- order participation in the Ignition Interlock System Program.
Where the evidence is weak or the process was defective — a bad stop, a defective advice-of-rights form, a missing certification — the ALJ can decline to act at all. That is the difference between walking in and letting the suspension run by default.
Where a Montgomery County MVA Hearing Is Actually Held
This surprises Silver Spring drivers: your MVA hearing is generally not held in Silver Spring, and often not in a courtroom at all. Hearings are scheduled by OAH, whose offices are in Hunt Valley in Baltimore County, and many are conducted by remote video rather than in person. Your criminal or traffic case tied to the same incident is what stays local — the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County sits in Rockville and Silver Spring, and a down-county stop is ordinarily heard here. So you can have a Silver Spring court date and a video MVA hearing for the same arrest. I represent drivers from Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Wheaton, and the rest of the county wherever the hearing is set; see also Montgomery County MVA hearings.
How I Handle a Silver Spring MVA Hearing
First I read the notice to find the real deadline and the exact ground, file the hearing request in time, and pull your full MVA driving record. From there the work depends on the track: challenging the point count and the underlying convictions on a § 16-404 case; attacking the stop, the test, and the advice-of-rights paperwork on a § 16-205.1 case; or marshalling medical documentation on a fitness review. Where a suspension is likely, I build the case for a restricted license or interlock so you keep driving. If you already missed a date, read what to do if you missed your MVA hearing. Related local matters often ride along with these cases — DUI, driving while suspended, and general Montgomery County traffic defense. Call before your deadline runs.
Common Questions
No. An MVA hearing is a separate administrative proceeding about your privilege to drive, usually held by the Office of Administrative Hearings before an Administrative Law Judge. Your criminal or traffic charge is decided separately in the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County. The two run in parallel and can reach different results, so a DUI can be reduced or even dropped in court while the administrative suspension still takes effect. That is why the MVA hearing is often the only place left to protect the license.
Usually 10 days, even though the notice may also mention 30. On a proposed points suspension or revocation under Transportation Article 16-404, you have 10 days to request a hearing. On a DUI-arrest suspension under Transportation Article 16-205.1, requesting within 10 days preserves the 45-day temporary license until your hearing; a request on day 11 through 30 still gets you a hearing but does not extend the temporary license, so the suspension begins on day 46. Treat 10 days as the real deadline.
Often not. MVA hearings are scheduled by the Office of Administrative Hearings, whose offices are in Hunt Valley, and many are conducted by remote video rather than in person. The related criminal or traffic case is what stays local, since the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County sits in Rockville and Silver Spring. You can end up with a Silver Spring court date and a video MVA hearing for the same incident, so read your hearing notice for the format and location.
Law Offices of David R. Waranch — 301-563-9575 · toll-free 1-877-566-2408. Hablamos Español.
Last updated: August 2026. Statutory references: Md. Code, Transp. §§ 16-205.1, 16-207, 16-212, 16-404; Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. §§ 10-302 through 10-309. This page is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.