Can You Drive After a DUI Arrest in Wyoming?
The Short Answer: Yes, for 30 Days
When the arresting officer confiscates your physical driver's license during a Wyoming DUI arrest, they hand you a temporary driving permit valid for exactly 30 days. This paper permit is your legal authorization to drive — no restrictions, no limitations — for the next month.
You can drive to work Monday morning. You can drive to pick up your kids. The permit works the same as your regular license for those 30 days.
What the Temporary Permit Actually Is
The temporary permit does double duty. It's both your license to drive and your official notice of administrative suspension from WYDOT. That second function is the important one, because it starts the clock on the 20-day hearing deadline.
Keep this document somewhere safe. It contains the arrest details, your temporary license number, and the information you need to file a hearing request. Losing it doesn't stop the deadline — it just makes filing harder.
The 20-Day Action Item Inside the 30-Day Permit
The permit says 30 days. But buried in the fine print is the fact that you only have 20 days to file a written request for a contested case hearing with WYDOT. This hearing is your chance to challenge the administrative license suspension.
If you file by day 20, your ability to drive is stayed — WYDOT can't suspend your license while the hearing is pending. You keep driving past day 30 until the Office of Administrative Hearings issues a ruling.
If you don't file by day 20, the suspension begins automatically on day 31. Your 30-day permit expires, and you have no legal driving privileges until you either serve the full suspension period or qualify for a restricted license.
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What Happens After the 30 Days
This depends entirely on whether you filed that hearing request:
Filed within 20 days: You continue driving under the stay. The OAH must hold a hearing within 45 days of receiving the request. If you win, you keep your license. If you lose, the suspension starts from the hearing date.
Didn't file: On day 31, your driving privileges end. A 90-day suspension begins (6 months if you refused the chemical test). Driving during suspension is a separate misdemeanor carrying 7 days to 6 months of mandatory jail time.
Restricted Driving Options During Suspension
If the suspension does take effect, Wyoming provides two pathways back behind the wheel:
A probationary license allows essential travel (work, school, medical, court) if your BAC was between 0.08% and 0.14%. A record review ($15) and probationary license issuance ($55) are required, along with SR-22 insurance and a substance abuse assessment.
An Ignition Interlock Restricted License allows unrestricted driving with an interlock device installed. This is the only option for BAC of 0.15% or higher, or test refusals. Refusal drivers must serve 45 days of hard suspension first.
The Bottom Line
You can drive after a Wyoming DUI arrest. But only for 30 days — unless you take action within 20. The difference between losing your license automatically and keeping it through the hearing process comes down to filing one form with a $25 fee.
Our Wyoming First-Offense DUI Guide includes a day-by-day first-30-days timeline that separates what you need to do for the administrative track from the criminal court track, so nothing falls through the cracks.
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