TLDR: Driving while license suspended (DWLS, MCL 257.904) is a misdemeanor in Michigan: up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine for a first offense, up to a year and $1,000 for any offense after that. The sentence is rarely the real problem. The conviction itself triggers a second suspension from the Secretary of State equal in length to the one you were already serving, two points, a $125 reinstatement fee, and often a cancelled plate. If the drive hurt someone it is a felony. Many Dearborn drivers charged at the 19th District Court did not know they were suspended, because the notice went to an old address. The two outcomes worth working for are a reduction to No Ops, which carries no add-on suspension and no points, or a dismissal after the license is reinstated before the court date, and both start with pulling your driving record this week.
The stop is usually for something else. A plate light, a rolling stop on Ford Road, a speed on Telegraph. The officer runs the license and comes back with a charge the driver did not expect, and sometimes did not know was possible: driving while license suspended. In Wayne County it is one of the most common misdemeanors on the district court docket, and a surprising share of the people charged with it had no idea their license was suspended until that moment.
Here is what the charge carries, what the Secretary of State does to your license on top of whatever the court does, why the “I didn’t know” problem is real, and the two outcomes that avoid the worst of it.
The Short Version
Driving while license suspended, revoked, or denied is charged under MCL 257.904. Lawyers and court clerks call it DWLS (or DWLR when the license was revoked). The criminal penalties are modest for a traffic crime. The administrative penalties are what change people’s lives.
| Charge | Classification | Maximum jail or prison | Fine | What the Secretary of State adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DWLS, first offense | Misdemeanor | 93 days | Up to $500 | Additional suspension equal to the original; 2 points; $125 reinstatement fee |
| DWLS, second or later | Misdemeanor | 1 year | Up to $1,000 | Same, plus likely plate cancellation and vehicle immobilization |
| DWLR (revoked license) | Misdemeanor | Same as above | Same | A new 1-year or 5-year revocation |
| DWLS causing serious impairment of a body function | Felony | 5 years | $1,000 to $5,000 | Revocation |
| DWLS causing death | Felony | 15 years | $2,500 to $10,000 | Revocation |
There is no time window on the prior. A DWLS from eight years ago makes today’s charge a second offense.
Why the Conviction Costs More Than the Sentence
Jail on a first-offense DWLS is uncommon in the Wayne County district courts for a driver with a clean record. The reason to fight the charge sits in the right-hand column of the table.
When a DWLS conviction is reported to the Secretary of State, the state imposes an additional suspension of the same length as the one you were serving when you were stopped. A driver three months into a six-month suspension who pleads guilty to get it over with is now suspended for another six months after the first one ends. Two points go on the record. The $125 reinstatement fee has to be paid before the license comes back. The plate on the car can be cancelled unless the car was being used without the owner knowing the driver was suspended, and for repeat offenses the court can order the vehicle immobilized.
For a revoked license, the add-on is worse. Revocations in Michigan run one year, or five for repeat offenders, and a DWLR conviction starts that clock over. A person a year into a five-year revocation who is caught driving is looking at five more.
Then there is the ordinary damage: a conviction that insurers see, a record that employers with driving duties see, and the rolling problem of a suspended driver who still has to get to work and keeps driving, which is how a first offense becomes a second.
Why So Many People Did Not Know
The statute requires that you were notified of the suspension, and the Secretary of State notifies by mail, to the address on your driving record. People move. The notice goes to the old apartment, the license in the wallet still looks valid, and the first time the driver learns about the suspension is from an officer at the window.
Two things follow from that. First, the notice is an element the prosecution has to prove, and an attorney can require the state to show the notice was generated and mailed. Second, it is on you to find out your status before the next drive, because “I didn’t know” works once at most.
It is also worth knowing why licenses get suspended in the first place, because the reason controls how fast it can be fixed. The common ones in Wayne County:
- An OWI or impaired driving conviction, which carries its own suspension schedule. Our guide to when an OWI becomes a felony in Michigan covers those.
- Points. Twelve points in two years triggers a Secretary of State reexamination that can end in suspension.
- Failure to appear or pay on a driving-related case. Since October 1, 2021, Michigan no longer suspends licenses for unpaid fines or missed court dates on most non-driving matters, and the state cleared roughly 73,000 of those suspensions when the law took effect. Suspensions connected to actual driving offenses still happen, and cleared suspensions still appear as entries on the record.
- No insurance, a lapsed registration tied to an insurance problem, or a child support enforcement action.
Each of those has a different cure, and the cure is the case.
How a DWLS Case Moves in Dearborn
A Dearborn stop means the 19th District Court at 16077 Michigan Avenue. Dearborn Heights goes to the 20th, Detroit to the 36th. For a misdemeanor DWLS you are usually released at the scene with a citation that sets an arraignment date, though the car may be towed if no licensed driver is available, and the plate may be pulled.
The arraignment is a short hearing where the charge is read and bond is set; our guide to what happens at an arraignment in Michigan walks through it. Plead not guilty. A guilty plea to DWLS at the arraignment is the one decision in the case that locks in the add-on suspension, and it cannot be undone the next week when you learn what it cost.
What happens between the arraignment and the pretrial conference decides the case, and most of it happens at a Secretary of State branch rather than the courthouse.
The Two Outcomes Worth Working For
Reinstate first, then negotiate
Prosecutors in the Wayne County district courts regularly reduce or dismiss a first-offense DWLS when the driver shows up to the pretrial with a valid license. The logic is simple: the purpose of the charge is to keep unlicensed drivers off the road, and a driver who has cleared the suspension, paid the reinstatement fee, and is legal again has solved the problem the charge exists for. Doing that before the court date is the most useful move in the case, and it is why the first meeting with a defense attorney on a DWLS charge is mostly about the driving record rather than the police report.
The No Ops reduction
Where reinstatement is not possible in time, or the prosecutor will not dismiss, the common negotiated outcome is a plea to operating without a valid license in your possession, usually called No Ops, under MCL 257.301. It is still a misdemeanor, but it is not a conviction under section 904, so it carries no add-on suspension and no points. For most first-offense drivers it is the difference between a fine and a year without a license.
Whether either outcome is available depends on the record, the reason for the suspension, and the courtroom. Neither happens on its own; someone has to ask, and ask with the paperwork in hand.
The Reinstatement File
Before the pretrial, these are the documents that move a DWLS case. Clients who arrive with them get a different conversation than clients who arrive with the citation alone.
- Your complete Michigan driving record from the Secretary of State, which shows every suspension, its reason, and its end date.
- Proof that the underlying problem is resolved: receipts for paid fines, proof of appearance or a cleared warrant from the court that imposed the suspension, proof of insurance, or the child support release.
- The $125 reinstatement fee receipt, and the reinstated license itself if the branch issued it.
- The citation and the arraignment notice.
- The address history. If the suspension notice went to an address you had left, the lease or utility records that show when you moved.
- If the car was towed or the plate cancelled, the tow receipt and the registration.
Bring the file to the first meeting even if it is incomplete. The attorney’s job is to finish it before the prosecutor sees the case.
If the License Was Revoked
A revoked license cannot be reinstated at a branch. Getting it back means a hearing before the Secretary of State’s Office of Hearings and Administrative Oversight, with evidence of sobriety or changed circumstances depending on why it was revoked, and a waiting period that a DWLR conviction extends by one or five years. That is why a DWLR charge is handled differently from the start: the goal is to keep the conviction off the record entirely, because the add-on revocation is the whole case.
Will It Come Off My Record?
A DWLS conviction is generally eligible to be set aside by petition under Michigan’s Clean Slate law, which since 2021 covers most traffic misdemeanors other than drunk driving and offenses that caused injury or death. The driving record entry with the Secretary of State is separate from the criminal record and is not affected by a set-aside. The better path, as with most misdemeanors, is the outcome that never becomes a conviction. Our expungement practice handles the petitions for the ones that did.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is driving on a suspended license a misdemeanor or a felony in Michigan?
A misdemeanor in almost every case. A first DWLS carries up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine; a second or later offense carries up to a year and $1,000. It becomes a felony only when the driving causes serious impairment of a body function to another person (up to 5 years) or a death (up to 15 years).
What happens to my license if I am convicted of DWLS in Michigan?
The Secretary of State imposes an additional suspension equal in length to the one you were already serving, adds two points to your record, and charges a $125 reinstatement fee before you can drive again. If your license was revoked rather than suspended, the conviction restarts the revocation for another one or five years. The plate on the car you were driving can be cancelled, and repeat offenses can bring vehicle immobilization.
I did not know my license was suspended. Is that a defense?
It can be. The statute requires that you were notified of the suspension, and the Secretary of State notifies by mailing to the address on your record. If you moved and never updated it, your attorney can require the prosecution to show the notice was mailed. Michigan also stopped suspending licenses for most unpaid tickets and missed court dates on non-driving matters in October 2021 and cleared about 73,000 of those suspensions, but older entries and suspensions tied to driving offenses still catch people who never received the letter.
Can a DWLS charge be reduced or dismissed?
Often, and two outcomes matter. A reduction to No Ops (operating without a valid license in your possession) is still a misdemeanor but carries no add-on suspension and no points. A dismissal or reduction is also common when you clear the underlying suspension and reinstate the license before the pretrial, which is why the first move in a DWLS case is fixing the license before arguing the stop.
How do I check whether my Michigan license is suspended?
Order your driving record from the Michigan Secretary of State online or at a branch. It lists every suspension, the reason, the dates, and what has to happen to clear it. Do this before you drive anywhere else, because a second stop while the first case is open turns a first-offense charge into a second-offense charge.
What is the difference between DWLS and DWLR in Michigan?
Suspended means the license is temporarily withdrawn and comes back when the suspension period runs and conditions are met. Revoked means it is taken away for at least one year (five for repeat offenders) and you have to apply for it back through a hearing. Driving on a revoked license is charged under the same statute with the same penalties, but the add-on consequence is a fresh one- or five-year revocation, which is far more costly than an extended suspension.
Where is a Dearborn DWLS case heard?
At the 19th District Court on Michigan Avenue if you were stopped in Dearborn; Dearborn Heights stops go to the 20th, Detroit stops to the 36th. It is a misdemeanor, so the case starts and ends in that district court unless someone was injured. You will usually be released with a citation that sets an arraignment date rather than arrested.
Conclusion
LegalSolv is a Dearborn, Michigan law firm whose criminal defense practice, led by Hassan K. Bazzi, handles DWLS, DWLR, and the other traffic misdemeanors that fill the 19th District Court’s docket, along with the OWI cases that cause many of the suspensions in the first place, in English and Arabic. Our office on Garrison Street is about ten minutes from the courthouse.
If you have a DWLS citation, pull your driving record today and talk to us before the arraignment date on it. The license can usually be fixed faster than the case can.
