Hewitt tells WZZM about FREE drivers license reinstatement

Michigan Auto Law attorney Brandon Hewitt talks to WZZM of Grand Rapids about free drivers license reinstatement after waiver of Driver Responsibility Fee 

Michigan Auto Law attorney Brandon Hewitt recently appeared on WZZM 13 of Grand Rapids to talk about Michigan’s elimination of the Driver Responsibility Fee, how it affects drivers and how drivers with fee-related suspensions can get reinstated for free through December 31, 2018.

As I noted in my October 11, 2018, blog post, “No more…Michigan Driver Responsibility Fee Waived in 2018,” the elimination of the Michigan Driver Responsibility Fee on October 1^st means that never again will a driver have to pay the fee:

• “No more Michigan Driver Responsibility Fee: Starting October 1, 2018, the fee has been eliminated.”
• “You don’t have to pay your outstanding fee: Drivers can no longer be forced to pay the Driver Responsibility Fee, nor can they be held liable for outstanding, unpaid fees. You don’t have to go into a Secretary of State office to fill out forms or sign anything. You can just stop paying.”

During his recent appearance on WZZM’s “Just Drive” program, Brandon elaborated on these points:

• “[I]f you have driver responsibility fees that you are responsible for, you’re not responsible . . . . They’re gone . . . . You don’t have to do anything. They’re just gone.”

Brandon also went deeper into the ramifications of eliminating the Driver Responsibility Fee, discussing the logistics of how people can go about getting their drivers licenses reinstated and, especially, how they can do so for FREE if they act by December 31, 2018.

Brandon Hewitt tells WZZM about free drivers license reinstatement for suspensions due to non-payment of Driver Responsibility Fees 

Brandon explained that drivers who have had their licenses suspended due to non-payment of the Michigan Driver Responsibility Fee can get their driving privileges reinstated for free through December 31, 2018.

 Specifically, Brandon made the following important points:

• Drivers license reinstatement after a suspension for failure to pay a Driver Responsibility Fee is going to “be free until December 31^st.”
• “If your license has been suspended because you hadn’t paid them, get to the Secretary of State right away before December 31st 2018 and you can get your license reinstated without having to pay the $125 [reinstatement] fee.”
• “After December 31st – on January 1^st 2019 – you can go get your license reinstated, but you have to pay that hundred $125 reinstatement fee.”
• To get a drivers license reinstated after a Driver Responsibility Fee-related suspension, “[j]ust go online [to the Secretary of State’s website], get an application for license reinstatement. Very, very simple. You can just send that in. You can also go to the Secretary of State branch and just go in there and fill out the application and you should be all set.”