How to Find North Carolina DUI Records

Driving under the influence or while impaired by the presence of alcohol or drugs in your system can result in devastating consequences. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the North Carolina DUI laws are particularly harsh when dealing with cases of drunk driving. The penalties are strictly enforced as well with both the law enforcement authorities as well as the judicial system of the state ensuring that no offender gets away by jeopardizing the lives of innocent pedestrians as well as the motorists traveling across the state of North Carolina.

The law necessitates an individual to take a chemical test by providing the law enforcement officer with blood or breath samples required for analyzing the amount of alcohol concentration in the body. Although you are free to refuse, such an action may result in temporary withdrawal of your driving privileges. The driving license is immediately revoked by the Department of Motor Vehicles for an initial period of 30 days which may well be extended up to a year if your BAC report exceeds the limit of 0.08.

The law is even more severe on the drivers operating commercial vehicles and they have the same penalties imposed on them if the blood alcohol concentration levels show an increase beyond the acceptable levels of 0.04. The BAC evidence is also admissible in a court of law and may be used to prove a case of North Carolina DUI offense conclusively.

Instances of drinking while driving as well as transporting alcoholic beverages in the passenger seats of a commercial vehicle or having open containers of alcohol beside the driver while driving through the motorways and public highways of the state can all amount to a North Carolina DUI offense.

Penalties for North Carolina DUI Offenses

Withdrawal of the driving privileges is the immediate action that follows if you are found to be guilty of violating the North Carolina DUI laws. The period of revocation of the license, depends on the actual nature as well as the frequency of the DUI offense. First time offenders and underage offenders are both refused driving rights for a period of one year which goes up to 4 years in case of a second time DUI conviction.

Third or fourth instances of DUI are treated with severity with the driving license being revoked permanently. Penalties imposed by the court of law consist of both incarceration as well as the imposition of hefty fines. The amount as well as the period of imprisonment varies according to the severity of the offense as well. Any person found to abet an underage in committing a DUI offense is also liable to be punished under the zero tolerance law of North Carolina.

North Carolina Driving Records

Details of your driving history including violations of the traffic law and suspensions are reflected in your motor vehicle record. The records can be obtained by clicking on the online services of the Department of Motor Vehicles: https://edmv-dr.dot.state.nc.us/DrivingRecords/DrivingRecords. Both certified as well as the non certified records can be obtained by ordering it over the Internet.

There are three types of driving licenses available in the state of North Carolina, the limited extract as well as the complete extract of the records are normally accessed by the employers and the insurance companies respectively while the certified copies are required for court appearances.

The reason for requesting a driving record also needs to be mentioned in the order. The records are not made public unless the person making the request can provide a legitimate reason for the requirement of the driving information. This is done in accordance with the Federal Driver Privacy Act and NCGS 20-43.1.

The attorneys, various law enforcement agencies and insurance companies can have unrestricted access to the details of all the driving records. It is, therefore advisable to read the Driver Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) before ordering a record from the concerned department. The reason along with the order details are also maintained as a part of the DMV records. You need the following information in exactly the same format as that of the DMV records in order to retrieve them from the data base.

•    Last and the First Name
•    Driver License Number or number of any ID card
•    ITIN or U.S. Visa or SSN
•    Date of Birth

You will also be able to get a certified driving record from the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 business days by paying $11. A non-certified record, on the other hand, is available immediately and can be obtained for a fee of $8.

If you cannot provide the DMV with a valid reason for obtaining the driving records of other individuals you need to obtain consent from the subject of the record. The consent needs to be recorded on a specific form known as the Driver Privacy Protection Act Form 2 (DL-DPPA-2) which can be accessed from: http://www.ncdot.org/dmv/forms/driverslicense/download/dl_dppa_2.pdf.

While it is possible to make the monetary transaction by credit cards online, you can also mail the order form along with the relevant documents to the Division of Motor Vehicles, 3148 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-3148.

The North Carolina Department of Motor vehicles can also be contacted over the telephone: 919-715-7000. The Headquarters of the Department can be visited: NCDMV Headquarters Building, 1100 New Bern Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27697-0001 for obtaining the records by hand.