What Happens If You Refuse a Breath Test in Maryland?

Quick answer: A first refusal suspends your licence for 270 days — not 120, whatever else you’ve read. A second is two years. But you don’t have to take the suspension. Under § 16-205.1(g) you can elect the Ignition Interlock Program for one year instead — and keep driving the whole time. You have 10 days to make that election, and almost nobody tells people it exists.

I’m David Waranch. If you refused a breath test and you’re reading this in the first ten days, this page may be the most useful thing you read all week.

First, the Real Numbers

Refusing is an administrative matter. It’s not a criminal charge in itself — the MVA acts against your licence whatever happens in court. Under Md. Code, Transp. § 16-205.1:

What you did	First offence	Second
Blew 0.08 – 0.14	180 days	180 days
Blew 0.15 or higher	180 days	270 days
Refused the test	270 days	2 years

Read that carefully. Refusing is punished more harshly than blowing a 0.14.

People refuse because they think they’re protecting themselves. On the licence side, they are usually doing the opposite. Nine months off the road for refusing; six for a reading that would have proved the case against them.

If you were told 120 days, that figure is a decade out of date — it changed with Noah’s Law in 2016.

You Can Keep Driving. Here’s How.

This is the part that changes lives and almost nobody writes about.

Section 16-205.1(g) says that instead of requesting a hearing — or instead of taking the suspension — you may elect to participate in the Ignition Interlock System Program. For a refusal, that election is for one year.

So the real choice in front of you is:

Do nothing	Elect the interlock
270 days with no licence at all	12 months driving, with a device on your car
No work. No school run. No hospital visits.	You blow into it to start the engine. That’s the price.

For anyone who has a job, that isn’t a close call.

And note this, because it matters: for a refusal, the interlock is the only way to drive. Section 16-205.1(p) allows the MVA to modify a suspension or issue a restricted licence after a refusal only if you’re in the programme. The ordinary hardship route — “I need my car for work” — is available to someone who blew 0.08 to 0.14. It is not available to you.

To elect it, you must, within the same 10 days, surrender your licence (or certify you no longer have it) and elect in writing. Miss the window and the choice is gone.

The Paperwork You Were Handed

When you refused, the officer was required to do a specific series of things. Each one is a place the case can fail.

• Confiscate your Maryland licence.
• Personally serve you with an order of suspension.
• Issue you a temporary licence, good for 45 days.
• Tell you that you may request a hearing at that moment or within 10 days.
• Tell you about the Ignition Interlock Program and how to join it.
• Send your licence, the order and a sworn statement to the MVA within 72 hours.

One nuance that catches people out badly: you can request a hearing between day 11 and day 30 — but a late request does not extend your 45-day temporary licence. You can end up suspended before your hearing is even heard. Ten days. Not thirty.

The Defence: “Were You Fully Advised?”

Here is where refusal cases are won, and it’s written into the statute.

Among the issues the hearing officer must decide is this one: whether the officer requested the test after the person was fully advised, as required by § 16-205.1(b)(2), of the administrative sanctions that would be imposed.

“Fully advised” is doing a great deal of work in that sentence. The officer was required to advise you of:

The Defence: “Were You Fully Advised?”

Here is where refusal cases are won, and it’s written into the statute.

Among the issues the hearing officer must decide is this one: whether the officer requested the test after the person was fully advised, as required by § 16-205.1(b)(2), of the administrative sanctions that would be imposed.

“Fully advised” is doing a great deal of work in that sentence. The officer was required to advise you of:

• the sanctions that shall be imposed for refusing;
• that you will be ineligible for any modified or restricted licence unless you join the Ignition Interlock Program;
• the additional criminal penalties under § 21-902(g) if you’re convicted and found to have knowingly refused;
• that a court shall impose interlock participation as part of any sentence.

That’s a lot to get right at 2 a.m. on the side of a road. If the advice was incomplete, rushed, garbled, or not given at all, the State’s case for the suspension has a hole in it — because being fully advised is an element, not a formality.

The other thing worth knowing: the officer’s sworn statement is prima facie evidence of the refusal. So the paperwork carries the case — which means the paperwork is what gets examined.

You May Be Able to Take It Back

Almost nobody knows this one. Section 16-205.1(h):

“An initial refusal to take a test that is withdrawn as provided in this subsection is not a refusal to take a test.“

A driver who initially refuses may withdraw that refusal and consent to the test, subject to conditions in the statute. If you said no and then changed your mind — even minutes later — tell me exactly what happened and when. It may not be a refusal at all.

And If You Hold a CDL

Different rules, and much worse. A refusal disqualifies you from driving commercially for one year — three years if it happened while you were transporting placarded hazardous materials — and for life on a second. That runs alongside the suspension of your ordinary licence, not instead of it.

If you drive for a living, call me today. Not next week.

Related Questions

• The MVA hearing — and the 10-day deadline
• Maryland DUI penalties: jail, fines, points
• What a PBJ is — and what it doesn’t protect

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is your licence suspended for refusing a breath test in Maryland?

270 days for a first refusal. Two years for a second. The 120-day figure you’ll find on a lot of websites has been wrong since 2016.

Can I drive at all after refusing?

Yes — if you elect the Ignition Interlock Program within 10 days. One year with the device, driving the whole time, instead of 270 days off the road entirely. It is the only route to driving after a refusal; the ordinary hardship licence is not available to you.

Should I have refused?

Generally, no — refusing costs you more licence time than blowing a 0.14 would have, and it adds a further 2 months and $500 to any conviction. But it is done now, it is very much defensible, and there are things I can do with a refusal case that I cannot do with a breath reading.

How long do I have to act?

10 days. That is the window for both a hearing request and an interlock election. You can request a hearing up to day 30, but it won’t extend your 45-day paper licence — so you could be suspended before you’re heard.

Is refusing a crime?

Not by itself — it’s an administrative action against your licence. But if you’re convicted of DUI or DWI and the court finds you knowingly refused, § 21-902(g) adds a further 2 months and $500 on top. The State’s Attorney has to serve notice of that at least 5 days before your District Court trial, and I check that deadline every time.

Ten Days. Starting Now.

The hearing, the interlock election, the whole thing — it all runs off the same ten-day clock, and it started the night you were stopped.

Call me. Bring the paperwork the officer handed you. What it says, and whether it says everything it was supposed to, is where this case is decided.

Toll-free 1-877-566-2408. Free consultation. Hablamos Español. More on how I defend Maryland DUI charges.

Last updated: July 2026