Rochester MN License Plate Impoundment Lawyer

Whiskey Plate Attorney Minnesota

License Plate Impoundment is the second of three administrative sanctions that may stem from a DUI arrest or conviction. In order for this sanction to apply, there must be a driving-while-intoxicated incident, plus an additional aggravating factor. Any of the following qualifies as an aggravating factor:

• a prior impaired driving violation occurring within ten years of the current violation,
• an alcohol concentration of .16 or more,
• the presence of a child under the age of 16 in the vehicle, or
• incident occurring while the person's license is cancelled as inimical to public safety.

It is very important to note that plates for all the vehicles owned by the offender are subject to cancellation. This includes vehicles that are solely or jointly titled in the offender’s name, regardless of who actually drives that vehicle.

A plate impoundment order is issued by the arresting officer at the time of arrest and is effective immediately. The officer also seizes the plates and issues a temporary vehicle permit that is valid for seven days, or for 45 days if the violator is not the owner. If you are facing the possibility of having all your license plates impounded, contact our Rochester Minnesota license plate impoundment attorney, to see how we can help.

Challenging License Plate Impoundment in Minnesota

Just like vehicle forfeiture or driver’s license revocation, a license plate revocation can be challenged by the driver. Again, however, there is a limited time period to challenge the revocation. Failure to act within the time limits will preclude the ability to challenge the plate impoundment on all the vehicles.

Minnesota Whiskey (WX, WY, WV) Plates

Once the plates are impounded, there is a minimum term of one year during which time the violator may not drive any motor vehicle unless the vehicle displays specially-coded plates and the person has a valid license to drive. These special plates begin with the letter W, hence “whiskey plates,” and are often in WX, WY, WV, WX form. If the vehicle bears a whiskey plate, it is a sign that the vehicle was involved in a DUI case. This enables the police to keep a closer eye on these vehicles, thus subjecting them to greater scrutiny.
The whiskey plates may be issued once the following conditions are met:

• the driver has a properly-licensed substitute driver,
• a member of the driver's household is validly licensed,
• the driver has been validly relicensed, or
• the owner is not the violator and is validly licensed.

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