The temporary driving permit is what a Montana officer hands you after taking your license for refusing a breath, blood, or oral fluid test. It becomes effective 12 hours after it is issued and is valid for 5 days following the date of issuance (MCA § 61-8-1016(4)(c)(ii)). After that, the refusal suspension applies unless a district court stays it. This page is part of our Montana DUI Guide.
When a Permit Is Issued, and When It Is Not
The permit exists because of a refusal. When an arrested person refuses a test the officer requested and designated, the officer must immediately forward the license to the Motor Vehicle Division with a certified report, and must issue a temporary driving permit on the Division's behalf, along with written notice of the suspension and of the right to a hearing (MCA § 61-8-1016(4)(c)).
If you took the test, that subsection does not apply to you. The implied consent statute does not direct the officer to seize the license of a person who submits to testing, whatever the result. For that person the license consequence comes later, from a conviction: the Motor Vehicle Division suspends the license on receiving a report of the conviction, and the period runs from the date of conviction (MCA § 61-5-208(2)(b), (3)(a)). That is why some people leave the jail with a license and some leave with a permit. Our page on test refusal explains the choice and its consequences.
The Timeline, Step by Step
| When | What the statute says | MCA |
|---|---|---|
| At the refusal | The officer takes the license, forwards it to the Motor Vehicle Division with a certified report, issues the temporary permit, and gives written notice of the suspension and the right to a hearing. | § 61-8-1016(4)(c) |
| First 12 hours | The permit is not yet effective. | § 61-8-1016(4)(c)(ii) |
| Through 5 days following the date of issuance | The permit is valid. | § 61-8-1016(4)(c)(ii) |
| After the permit ends | The suspension applies: 6 months for a first refusal, 1 year for a second or later refusal within 5 years, with no probationary license. | § 61-8-1032(2)(f), (4)(a) |
| Within 30 days of the officer's notice | A petition may be filed in district court, and the court may stay the suspension pending the hearing. | § 61-8-1017(1), (3) |
The 12-Hour Gap
The permit is not effective for the first 12 hours after it is issued. During that window you have no license in your pocket and no working permit. The statute does not explain the delay, but the effect is plain: a person released from jail a few hours after an arrest cannot lawfully drive home on the permit. Arrange a ride, and do not go to retrieve your vehicle yourself until the permit is in effect. See getting your car out of impound.
What the Permit Lets You Do
The statute calls it a temporary driving permit and puts no purpose restrictions in the text, such as work only or daytime only. Two cautions apply anyway. First, your court release conditions are separate, and a condition in a release order still binds you while the permit is valid. Second, the permit stands in for the license that was taken. It does not add privileges you did not have, and for a commercial license holder who refused in a commercial vehicle, the temporary permit is expressly noncommercial (MCA § 61-8-806(4)).
Keep the permit with you whenever you drive, along with the written notice of suspension. Those two documents are also what a lawyer will want to see first, because the date on the notice starts the 30-day clock.
What Happens When the Permit Ends
Once the permit is no longer valid, the suspension for the refusal applies. On receiving the officer's report, the Motor Vehicle Division must suspend the license for 6 months for a first violation, or 1 year for a second or later violation within 5 years of a previous refusal, in both cases with no provision for a restricted probationary license (MCA § 61-8-1032(4)(a)). The statute also says the duration of the suspension commences from the date of the violation (MCA § 61-8-1032(2)(d)).
This is the hardest part of a refusal for most people. A suspension that follows a DUI conviction can come with a court-recommended probationary license. A refusal suspension cannot. Compare the two on our pages about license suspension lengths and license suspension and hearings.
Driving after the permit ends is charged as driving while suspended. When the suspension is for a refusal, the penalty is imprisonment for not less than 2 days or more than 6 months, or a fine of up to $2,000, or both, and the Motor Vehicle Division extends the suspension by 1 year on a conviction (MCA § 61-5-212(1)(b)(iii), (2)(a)).
The Petition and the Stay
Within 30 days after the officer gave notice of the right to a hearing, you may file a petition in the district court of the county where the arrest was made (MCA § 61-8-1017(1)). On your request, that court may issue a stay of the suspension pending the hearing (MCA § 61-8-1017(3)). The word is "may." A stay is not automatic, and filing the petition does not by itself extend the permit. Until a judge signs a stay, plan as though the suspension is in effect once the permit runs out.
At the hearing the court decides only two things: whether the officer had a basis for requesting the test under the implied consent statute, and whether you refused (MCA § 61-8-1017(4)). Our page on challenging a refusal suspension goes through how those issues are argued.
Getting the License Back Afterward
Reinstatement after a refusal suspension involves two payments set by statute: a $300 administrative fee for the implied consent violation (MCA § 61-8-1032(3)(a)) and a $200 reinstatement fee (MCA §§ 61-2-107(1), 61-5-218(2)(a)). All reinstatement and administrative fees must be paid before the license is restored (MCA § 61-8-1032(2)(c)). If the criminal case also ends in a DUI conviction, that conviction carries its own suspension, which is a separate matter from the refusal.
This page explains Montana law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated. It is not legal advice about your specific case.