Thousands could now qualify for hardship licenses

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - Thousands or more Alabamians with revoked or suspended licenses may be able to qualify for hardship licenses.

A hardship license is a temporary license the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency can give to people. Currently, there are thousands of Alabamians who have their licenses suspended or revoked for not paying fines like court fees or traffic violations. Now, they can qualify for a hardship license after an Alabama law went into effect Sunday.

“And these hardship licenses will allow people to drive to work, to school, to the doctor, to take their kids and their family members to those places and to do all their basic necessities of daily life,” said Dev Wakeley, a policy analyst for Alabama Arise.

Wakeley said to qualify, the person would need to prove to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency that they are not going to be a danger on the roads.

Before this change, only people on work release or through administrative supervision could receive a hardship license.

“People who have had their licenses suspended for administrative reasons that aren’t just related to an inability to pay could also get these licenses. So we’re looking at tens of thousands of people at a minimum,” Wakeley said.

This is a one-year hardship license, but people can re-apply for it no more than three times.

To apply for a hardship license you can visit ‪alea.gov.

If your license was suspended for a DUI, you could not receive a hardship license.