Learn More About Oklahoma DUI Records

DUI are serious criminal offenses. Upon conviction, the incident is added to the DUI records of that driver. Oklahoma DUI laws are strict ones like rest of the country. With the recklessness of one, many lives are endangered at a time. Hence, law making authorities take special care in designing the penalties for this offense. The penalties of DUI in Oklahoma includes hefty amount of monetary fine, jail time, suspension or revocation of license, community service, probation, counseling, attending DUI schools and installation of ignition interlock device in the car at own expense. On the top of it, the driver’s name is registered in the DUI records. When he or she repeats the offense within five to ten years, the penalties keep on increasing. First two repeat offenses of Oklahoma DUI are misdemeanor but subsequent repeat offenses or DUI resulting in death or serious injuries are considered to be third degree felonies. Reports of more than one felony or more than two misdemeanor convictions stay in DUI records forever. They cannot be expunged.

Oklahoma DUI Records

The Oklahoma DUI records are a part of driving records of an individual. It consists of  the history of all violations made of traffic or moving ordinances, suspension of license owing to different reasons, mainly due to DUI or DWI, as well as other details of the cases that have taken place in last three years. The records are maintained by Oklahoma Department of Public Safety or ODPS. To get the record, you need to fill out a form and send it to Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, Attn: Driving Records, P.O. Box 11415, Oklahoma City, OK 73136. You will get the request form from the website http://www.dps.state.ok.us/recm/record_request.pdf. You will need to enclose the fee for the records. Charge for certified copy is $13 and for uncertified $10. You must also mention which kind of documentation you need.

If you are requesting for someone else’s driving record or you have authorized someone else to request for your records, filling up a ‘consent to release’ form is necessary. You can download the form from the website http://www.dps.state.ok.us/recm/consent_to_release.pdf. This is as per the Federal Law of Driver Protection Privacy Act where the DPS or MLA (Motor License Agent) is not allowed to disclose the records without the consent of the individual. Certain agencies like insurance companies or potential employer can also access your record, but in that case they need to prove that they are permissible users. Any law enforcement agency and DMV itself has immediate access to your Oklahoma DUI records. The private agencies or general public cannot view your record once you succeed in sealing it, yet it will remain accessible to the Division of Motor Vehicles and the law enforcement bodies in action.

Expungement of Oklahoma DUI Records

The record of Oklahoma city DUI or the entire state includes information about the arrest, detention, arraignment, bond, type of pleas been entered, probation, conviction, details of the trial and description of the sentence given. Apart from Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, other agencies that are responsible for the maintenance of Oklahoma DUI records are eighteen Municipal Courts and District Courts. Even if the driver had not been convicted, yet the case history is entered in both agencies- the criminal databases of Oklahoma and Department of Public Safety. The records can be expunged but it does not happen automatically with time. It requires several legal steps and only when the requirements are met. An Oklahoma DUI record cannot be expunged if there is any prior conviction. Also, the expungement would not have any impact for the repeat offenders. If the driver is arrested for DUI after getting the records expunged, even then the offense would be considered a second offense of DUI and will be penalized accordingly.

Whether an Oklahoma DUI record can be expunged or not is determined by State Bureau of Investigation. A record can be expunged if the case filed against you had been dismissed within a year of arrest. Otherwise, it will take ten years to seal the record. Title 22 § 991C permits to expunge the record from the file of District Court. To qualify here, your case must meet certain criteria. One such requirement is receiving deferred sentence which implies that after finding you guilty of Oklahoma DUI, the sentence has been postponed for a span. In the mean time, you are ordered to pay the fine, attend Alcohol Abuse or Education Program, initiate and complete treatment if required and even get an evaluation from the DUI School. If you comply with these conditions successfully, then the judge of the District Court may dismiss the case by the end of deferment. This dismissal under Title 22 §991C, results in omission of your arrest or sentence records from all online sources.  Your record with Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation remains there until it is expunged under Title 22 §18.

Under this statute, an expungement is possible but only after meeting the essential requirements. To get Oklahoma DUI record expunged, the person must be already acquitted. The arrested driver had no other charges filed against him or her. If there were any, they had been dismissed in one year. At the time of the offense, he or she was under 18 and has completed all the penalties. If the offense had been a misdemeanor DUI and the person has not re-offended in next ten years, have completed the penalties and evaluation courses and have no pending charges.

If an Oklahoma DUI case qualifies under these requirements, it can be sealed from the view of general public and private agencies. To get the record expunged, a petition has to be filed in the District Court where the charge had been filed originally. The arresting agency, prosecuting attorney, State Bureau of Investigation and other agencies that might have relevance are notified, stating a hearing date. On hearing, if court determines that the defendant had been a disciplined driver all through these years and that the defendant is eligible to have the record sealed, it orders for the process to be initiated. This gives you an opportunity to deny any charge of Oklahoma DUI conviction to your prospective employers.