Alcohol and drugs
You are arrested on an alcohol-related driving charge and refuse to take the chemical test. When does your license get suspended for the refusal?
- When you are arraigned in court on the alcohol-related charge. Correct answer
- Only if you are later convicted of the alcohol-related charge.
- Never; refusing the test has no effect on your license.
Why
Under New York's Implied Consent law, driving in the state counts as agreeing to a chemical test if you are arrested for an alcohol or drug violation. Refusing is treated as its own issue, apart from whether you are guilty of the charge, and it has a fast consequence: your license is suspended when you are arraigned on that charge. It does not wait for a conviction, and it is certainly not free of consequences. It can get worse later: if a DMV hearing confirms the refusal, the license is revoked even if you are found not guilty, and the refusal itself can be brought up at trial. The license goes at the arraignment, before any court has decided whether you were guilty.
Where this comes from
New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), April 2026 version. The correct answer is When you are arraigned in court on the alcohol-related charge.
More on alcohol and drugs
- After refusing a chemical test, a driver is found not guilty of the alcohol-related charge. A DMV hearing, however, confirms that the driver refused. What happens to the license?
- You refused a chemical test after an arrest and are now on trial for the alcohol-related charge. Can the prosecution mention that you refused?
- At a DMV hearing, a 19-year-old is found to have driven with a BAC of .03 percent. It is a first Zero Tolerance violation. What happens to the license?
- A driver under 21 has served a first Zero Tolerance suspension. What must the driver pay to be licensed again?