Alcohol and drugs
A driver under 21 has served a first Zero Tolerance suspension. What must the driver pay to be licensed again?
- A $100 suspension termination fee and a $125 civil penalty. Correct answer
- A $125 suspension termination fee and a $100 civil penalty.
- A fine of at least $300, the same as a first DWAI.
Why
A Zero Tolerance finding is made at a DMV hearing, not by a conviction in the penalty table. To get the license back after the six-month suspension, the driver pays two charges: a $100 fee to end the suspension and a $125 civil penalty. The second option simply swaps the two amounts, which is the usual way this question trips people up. The $300 figure is the minimum fine for a first DWAI conviction in the penalty table, a different offense decided by a court. The smaller amount, $100, ends the suspension; the larger one, $125, is the civil penalty.
Where this comes from
New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), April 2026 version. The correct answer is A $100 suspension termination fee and a $125 civil penalty.
More on alcohol and drugs
- An adult driver is convicted for the first time of driving while ability impaired by alcohol (DWAI). What license action does the penalty table list?
- Not counting surcharges and fees, what fine range does the penalty table give for a first DWI conviction?
- What minimum license action does the penalty table list for a first conviction of aggravated driving while intoxicated (Agg-DWI)?
- An 18-year-old driver already had one Zero Tolerance suspension and is now found to have committed a second Zero Tolerance violation. What happens to the license?