Georgia Hardship License: Approved Hours, Routes & Weekend Driving

Weekend driving is allowed only if your job requires weekend shifts and your employer provides documentation confirming your weekend schedule. Georgia DDS does not grant general weekend driving privileges—you must prove the specific need. If you work Saturday and Sunday, your employer letter must state those days and the exact shift hours. The hearing officer reviews your employer documentation and approves weekend hours only for the shifts listed. If your employer letter says Monday-Friday and you later pick up a Saturday shift, you are not covered. You must return to DDS with updated employer documentation and request an amended permit. Medical appointments and DUI program sessions scheduled on weekends count as approved purposes and will be added to your permit if you provide appointment verification or program schedules showing weekend class times. Running errands, grocery shopping, attending church, or visiting family on weekends are not approved purposes and will result in permit revocation and extension of your underlying suspension if you're stopped.

Georgia's Limited Driving Permit restricts you to the most direct, practical route between approved locations. You're allowed to drive from home to work, work to home, home to medical appointments, home to DUI program, and between these locations if timing requires it—but only via routes that make geographic sense. Stopping for gas, dropping your child at daycare on the way to work, or making a brief stop for coffee on your direct route are generally considered practical necessities and are not treated as violations during traffic stops, provided the stop is brief and on your approved route. Detouring 15 minutes out of your way to pick up food, stopping at a friend's house, or running to the store between work and home are violations. If you're stopped outside your approved hours or off your reasonable route, the officer will likely contact DDS, your permit will be revoked on the spot, and your underlying suspension will be extended by the time remaining on your original suspension period. Georgia does not issue warnings for hardship license violations.

You apply for Georgia's Limited Driving Permit at a DDS Customer Service Center after serving the required waiting period—typically 30 days for a first DUI, 120 days for a second DUI within five years, and longer for third offenses or repeat suspensions. You must bring documentation proving your need for each approved purpose. For work commuting, you need an employer letter on company letterhead stating your job title, work address, shift hours including days of the week, and a statement that you cannot perform your job without driving. For medical appointments, bring appointment cards or a doctor's letter confirming recurring treatment and appointment schedule. For DUI Risk Reduction Program, bring your enrollment confirmation showing class dates and times. The hearing officer reviews your documentation and determines which purposes to approve and what hours to grant. If your documentation is incomplete or your employer letter is vague about hours, the officer may deny your application or approve fewer hours than you requested. Bring originals and copies—DDS keeps copies and returns originals. The permit fee is $25, and you must provide proof of SR-22 insurance filing before the permit is issued.

Georgia requires SR-22 filing for the entire period your hardship license is active and throughout your underlying suspension. The SR-22 is a certificate your insurance carrier files with DDS proving you carry at least Georgia's minimum liability coverage: $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage. SR-22 filing itself costs $15-$50 depending on the carrier, but the premium increase is significant. Drivers with a DUI or suspension pay $150-$350 per month for liability-only coverage with SR-22, compared to $80-$120 per month for drivers with clean records. The premium reflects your high-risk classification, not the SR-22 form itself. Your SR-22 must remain active without any lapse for three years from your license reinstatement date in Georgia, not from your suspension date. If your carrier cancels your policy or you let coverage lapse for even one day, the carrier notifies DDS electronically, your hardship license is revoked immediately, and your suspension clock resets to zero. You'll need to file a new SR-22 and restart the three-year filing period.

Violating your hardship license terms is treated as driving on a suspended license in Georgia, which carries a minimum $1,000 fine, up to 12 months in jail, and mandatory extension of your underlying suspension by the time remaining on the original suspension. If you're stopped outside your approved hours or purposes, the officer will verify your Limited Driving Permit restrictions via dispatch. Once confirmed as a violation, the officer typically arrests you, impounds your vehicle, and issues a citation for driving on a suspended license under O.C.G.A. § 40-5-121. DDS is notified electronically and revokes your hardship license within 24-48 hours. Your underlying suspension is extended by the full period remaining at the time of the violation. If you had 8 months left on a 12-month suspension and violated your permit after 4 months, DDS adds 8 months to your suspension starting from the violation date. There is no appeal process for permit violations documented by law enforcement.

Georgia's Limited Driving Permit remains active for the duration of your underlying suspension, provided you maintain SR-22 filing and don't violate permit terms. Once your suspension period ends, you must complete full license reinstatement before you can drive without restrictions. Reinstatement requires paying a $210 restoration fee ($200 suspension fee plus $10 license reissue), submitting proof of completion of the DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program if required, maintaining SR-22 filing for three years from reinstatement, and applying for a new license at a DDS Customer Service Center. If you had an ignition interlock device requirement, you must complete the full IID period before reinstatement. The three-year SR-22 filing period starts from your reinstatement date, not your suspension start date or hardship license issue date. If you were suspended for 12 months and then reinstated, you still owe three full years of SR-22 filing after reinstatement. Total insurance filing period for a first DUI in Georgia typically runs four years—one year suspended plus three years post-reinstatement.