FAQ: Massachusetts OUI Arrests, Breathalyzers, and RMV License Suspensions

If you refuse the chemical breath test (the Draeger Alcotest 9510) at the police station, the RMV will instantly suspend your license. For a first offense, the refusal triggers an automatic 180-day suspension. This suspension is independent of your criminal case; even if you are found "Not Guilty" in court months later, the 180-day RMV suspension remains in effect unless successfully appealed.

No. A failed breathalyzer is simply a piece of evidence, not a conviction. If you fail the test, the RMV will suspend your license for 30 days. However, breathalyzer machines are notoriously sensitive and can be inaccurate. A judge can exclude breath test results based on improper police administration, expired machine calibration logs, and physiological factors (like GERD or mouth alcohol). These same factors can convince your trial jury that your results are unreliable and do not amount to proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Field Sobriety Tests are the roadside physical exercises the officer asks you to perform (e.g., the Nine-Step Walk and Turn, the One-Leg Stand). You are not legally required to perform these tests in Massachusetts, and there is no RMV penalty for politely refusing them. These tests are highly subjective, designed for failure, and are used solely to build probable cause for your arrest. Most juries in Serpa Law Office's experience have not trusted FST results.

Yes, but you only have 15 days from the date of your arrest to do so. This is the strictest deadline in Massachusetts OUI law. You must appear in person at the RMV in Boston to appeal a chemical test refusal. The appeal is highly technical and limited to three specific legal grounds, primarily focusing on whether the police had reasonable suspicion for the traffic stop and probable cause for the arrest. You should never attempt this hearing without a lawyer. Even with a lawyer, it is difficult to succeed in these hearings.

Yes, but under limited circumstances. Massachusetts law strictly permits the RMV to grant a hardship license for a CTR refusal (1) only after you have resolved your case and begun the drivers education course and (2) only for a first offense for a breath test refusal. If you took the breathalyzer and failed (the 30-day suspension), you are also generally ineligible for a hardship license during that specific 30-day window unless your resolve your case immediately. Hardship licenses typically only become available after a case is resolved in court. These waiting periods become longer for subsequent offenses.

First, you must qualify by having enrolled in the drivers' education program and having no other license suspensions except a first-offense breath test refusal and/or a qualifying breath test failure suspension. Next, you must demonstrate, preferably on letterhead from an employer, education facility or medical provider that reasonable public transportation is not available to you.

The Section 24D disposition is the standard alternative resolution for a first-time OUI in Massachusetts. If you accept this disposition, you receive a Continuance Without a Finding (CWOF) rather than a guilty conviction, and you are placed on probation for one year. You must complete a 16-week alcohol education program, and your license is suspended for an additional 45 to 90 days. However, upon completion, the OUI is formally dismissed and you can explore a petition to seal the case from your criminal record. IMPORTANT: A dismissed OUI after a CWOF will still count as a first offense if you are charged with subsequent offenses.

Yes. This is a drawback of the CWOF. While it is not a conviction for standard background checks, the Massachusetts RMV and the courts treat a prior OUI CWOF as a regular conviction for enhancement purposes. If you accept a 24D disposition and are arrested for OUI ten years later, you will be charged with an OUI Second Offense, which carries mandatory inpatient treatment and a multi-year license suspension, depending or breathalyzer factors.

For a standard First Offense OUI, no. However, Melanie's Law mandates that any driver convicted of an OUI Second Offense or greater must install an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) in every vehicle they own or operate for the duration of their hardship license, plus for an additional two years after their full license is reinstated. Again, these periods expand for multiple subsequent offenses.