Quick answer: Refusing a breath test in Maryland does not keep your license safe. Under Maryland’s implied-consent law (Transp. § 16-205.1) a refusal of the evidentiary test triggers an automatic 270-day suspension for a first offense and 2 years for a second — imposed by the MVA whatever happens in your criminal case. At the stop you get a 45-day temporary license and just 10 days to request a hearing that keeps you driving.
I’m David Waranch, and I’ve handled thousands of Maryland traffic and DUI cases. This page covers the administrative side of a refusal — the suspension, the interlock, and the deadlines. If you’re still deciding which requests you can even decline, read can you refuse a breathalyzer in Maryland: the roadside handheld and the field sobriety tests carry no license penalty. The one that does is the evidentiary test at the station.
Refusing is not the safe choice. A refusal suspends your license longer than almost any test result — 270 days, against 180 days for blowing anything up to 0.14 — and the MVA imposes it whether or not you are ever convicted of DUI. Refusing protects nothing on its own. Only a timely hearing request or an interlock election does, and the window is 10 days.
What the DR-15 Advice of Rights Actually Told You
Before you were asked to blow at the station, the officer read you the DR-15 Advice of Rights — the trigger for everything that follows. Section 16-205.1(b)(2) requires the officer to advise you of four specific things before requesting the test:
- the administrative sanctions that will be imposed for a result of 0.08 or more, and separately for a refusal;
- that you will be ineligible for a modified or restricted license unless you join the Ignition Interlock Program if you refuse or blow 0.15 or more;
- the additional criminal penalty under Transp. § 21-902(g) if you are later convicted and found to have knowingly refused;
- that a court must order interlock participation as part of any sentence.
Keep whatever copy you were handed. Whether the DR-15 said everything it was supposed to is often where a refusal case is won.
How Long Is Your License Suspended for Refusing a Breath Test in Maryland?
A first refusal costs you 270 days. A second refusal costs you two years. Compare that to what actually taking the test costs, and the point of the statute is obvious — refusing is punished harder than most readings:
| At the station you… | First offense | Second offense |
|---|---|---|
| Blow 0.08 – 0.14 | 180 days | 180 days |
| Blow 0.15 or higher | 180 days | 270 days |
| Refuse the test | 270 days | 2 years |
These suspensions run separately from the criminal court — the statute says the disposition of the criminal charge does not affect them. If a website quoted you 120 days for a refusal, that number changed with Noah’s Law in 2016. For how the periods compare to a straight DUI conviction, see how long a Maryland DUI suspension actually lasts.
The 45-Day Temporary License and the 10-Day Deadline
Everything runs off one short clock, and it started the night you were stopped:
- The officer took your Maryland license and issued a temporary paper license good for 45 days.
- Within 10 days you can request a hearing before the Office of Administrative Hearings. A request in that window keeps you driving on the paper license until you are heard.
- A request made between day 11 and day 30 is still accepted, but it does not extend the 45-day license. You can be suspended on day 46, before your hearing is ever held.
- After 30 days you lose the right to a hearing on the suspension entirely.
So the outer limit is 30 days, but the deadline that matters is 10. What happens at that hearing, and what the MVA has to prove, is covered in the Maryland MVA per se hearing.
Can You Keep Driving After Refusing?
Yes — through the Ignition Interlock Program. Section 16-205.1(g) lets you elect to participate instead of serving the suspension. For a refusal, the election is for one full year with the device on your car.
| Serve the suspension | Elect the interlock |
|---|---|
| 270 days with no license at all | 12 months driving, with a device on your car |
| No work commute, no school run, no medical trips | You blow into it to start the engine — that is the trade |
Here is the part that catches people out: for a refusal, interlock is the only way to keep driving. The MVA can modify a refusal suspension or issue a restricted license only if you are in the program. The ordinary work-hardship license — available to a driver who blew 0.08 to 0.14 — is not on the table after a refusal. To elect, surrender your license (or certify you no longer have it) and elect in writing, inside the same 10-day window.
The Paperwork the Officer Had to Complete
When you refused, § 16-205.1 required the officer to do a specific series of things. Each one is a step where the case can fail:
- confiscate your Maryland license;
- personally serve you with an order of suspension;
- issue the 45-day temporary license;
- tell you that you may request a hearing at that moment or within 10 days;
- explain the Ignition Interlock Program and how to join it;
- send your license, the order, and a sworn statement to the MVA within 72 hours.
Bring me that paperwork. What it says — and whether it says everything it was supposed to — is very often where the case is decided.
The Hearing Defense: “Were You Fully Advised?”
At the hearing the issues are narrow and fixed by statute. One of them is whether the officer requested the test after you were fully advised, as § 16-205.1(b)(2) requires, of the sanctions that would follow. If the DR-15 warnings were incomplete, rushed, garbled, or skipped, the case for the suspension has a hole in it — being fully advised is an element, not a formality.
The flip side is that the officer’s sworn statement counts as prima facie evidence of the refusal — which is exactly why the paperwork is what gets examined. Whether to fight the suspension, elect interlock, or both is a judgment call that turns on the criminal case too; I walk through the trade-offs on how I defend Maryland DUI charges.
You May Be Able to Withdraw a Refusal
Almost nobody knows this one. Section 16-205.1(h) says an initial refusal that is withdrawn is not a refusal at all:
“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 first says no can withdraw that refusal and consent, if the consent is unequivocal, does not stall the process, and comes within two hours of arrest (four hours for a drug test). If you said no and then changed your mind, tell me exactly what happened and when — it may not be a refusal at all.
If You Hold a CDL, the Stakes Are Higher
A refusal disqualifies you from driving commercially for one year — three years if you were hauling placarded hazardous materials — and for life on a second. That disqualification runs alongside the suspension of your ordinary license, and there is no restricted or hardship commercial license to fall back on. See Maryland DUI and commercial drivers’ licenses.
Related Questions
- Can you refuse a breathalyzer in Maryland?
- The Maryland MVA per se hearing
- First-offense DUI penalties in Maryland
- Plea options and PBJ in a Maryland DUI case
Frequently Asked Questions
270 days for a first refusal and 2 years for a second, imposed by the MVA under Transp. § 16-205.1. That is longer than the 180-day suspension for blowing anything up to 0.14. The suspension is administrative and runs separately from the criminal case, so it applies even if the DUI charge is dropped or reduced.
Ten days. A hearing request within 10 days of the stop keeps you driving on the 45-day temporary license until you are heard. A request between day 11 and day 30 is still accepted but does not extend that paper license, so you can be suspended before the hearing. After 30 days you lose the right to a hearing on the suspension.
Yes, but only through the Ignition Interlock Program. Electing interlock lets you drive for one year with the device instead of serving the 270-day suspension. For a refusal it is the only route to keep driving — the ordinary work hardship license is not available. You must elect in writing within the same 10-day window.
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, 21-902. This page is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.