Refused the Breath Test in Mississippi? What Happens to Your License

Quick answer: In Mississippi, refusing a chemical test of your breath, blood or urine means your regular Class R license is suspended for 90 days. If you have previously been convicted or non-adjudicated for DUI, it is 1 year. A commercial license is suspended for 1 year. To avoid the suspension of a Class R license, a court may order an ignition-interlock restricted license. The refusal suspension is in addition to the other penalties in the DUI statute, so it does not replace the charge.

What counts as refusing?

The Department of Public Safety (DPS) describes it this way: a person refuses to submit to chemical testing of breath, blood or urine when a law enforcement officer requests it, and the officer has reasonable grounds and probable cause to believe the person has been operating a motor vehicle on Mississippi’s public highways, roads and streets while under the influence of liquor or another impairing substance.

Section 63-11-30(4) of the Mississippi Code adds that the penalty also reaches a person who was unconscious at the time of a chemical test and refused to consent to the introduction of the results in a prosecution.

If you are not sure whether what happened at your stop counts as a refusal, bring that question to a lawyer with whatever paperwork you were given. Only the details of your stop can answer it.

How long is the suspension?

It depends on the license you hold and your history.

Your situation	Suspension for refusing	Source
Regular Class R license, no prior	90 days	Section 63-11-23, per DPS
Regular Class R license, prior DUI conviction or non-adjudication	1 year	Section 63-11-23, per DPS
Commercial license (CDL)	1 year	Section 63-1-216, per DPS

Note the second row. A past non-adjudication counts the same as a past conviction here. If you used non-adjudication on an earlier DUI, you are in the 1-year row.

Can I avoid the suspension?

For a regular license, there is one route on the DPS page. It says that “to avoid a suspension of a Class R license, courts may issue an order to the driver for the ignition interlock-restricted license.”

That is a court order, so it has to be asked for. DPS also says the device is to be installed before the driver is suspended, and the driver must take the vehicle to DPS for verification to get the restricted license. Read the steps and fees in our guide to the ignition-interlock restricted license.

The DPS page does not offer the same route for a commercial license on a refusal. It does say that a CDL holder who surrenders the CDL and downgrades to a regular license keeps serving the suspension time on the CDL, and that any provisions available to a Class R holder remain available to the former CDL holder. If you drive for a living, raise that at your first conversation.

Which license counts if I hold more than one?

DPS says a driver can hold only one active credential at a time: a commercial license or a regular Class R license. Suspension time is determined by the active license status DPS has on file at the time of the traffic offense. So the question is what you held on the day of the stop, not what you hold now. If you changed your license after the arrest, or you are thinking about it, tell your lawyer before you do anything else, because a downgrade does not stop the time already running on a CDL suspension.

Does the refusal suspension replace the DUI charge?

No. Section 63-11-30(4) says the suspension is “in addition to the other penalties provided in this section.” The charge moves forward on its own track, and the first-offense penalties apply both where chemical tests were given and where results are not available. So a refusal does not by itself end a case, and it can add a license problem to one you already had.

It also sits beside the other license actions. The 30-day temporary permit still matters, because a lapse brings its own 90-day suspension. See the 30-day clock. A first-offense conviction brings a separate 120-day suspension of a regular license unless the court orders otherwise. See the fine, jail exposure and the class.

Does refusing affect anything later?

It can. Section 63-11-30(13) lets a person convicted of a first offense ask the circuit court to expunge the conviction at least five years after completing the sentence. One of the listed conditions is that the person “did not refuse to submit to a test of his blood or breath.”

The non-adjudication section reads differently. Its eligibility list in subsection (14) covers completing the court’s conditions, not holding a commercial license or permit at the time, having no prior conviction or pending charge, and giving the court a justification. It does not name a refused test, and the decision stays with the court. Talk it through with a lawyer before you assume either way.

What should I do this week?

1. Find the ticket and any paperwork from the stop.
2. Count 30 days from the arrest and write that date down.
3. Write down what you remember about the request for a test and what you said.
4. Call a lawyer before that date.

Attorney Mark A. Cliett has over 30 years of experience and has served as a prosecutor and judge. Read about first-offense DUI defense, or see the pages for Columbus and Starkville. Call (662) 494-4999 or contact the office for a free consultation, by appointment.