A 625g permit in Michigan is the temporary paper driver’s license an officer hands you after taking your physical license during an impaired driving investigation. It’s named for Section 257.625g of the Michigan Vehicle Code, and it lets you keep driving legally while your case moves through the system.1Michigan Legislature. MCL Section 257.625g – Michigan Vehicle Code If your permit was issued because you refused a chemical test, the clock that matters most is 14 days: that’s how long you have to request a hearing before your license suspends automatically.
Why You Have This Permit
Two situations produce a 625g permit. You refused a breath, blood, or urine test the officer requested under Michigan’s implied consent law, or you took the test and the result came back over the legal limit. In either case, the officer takes your physical license at the scene and issues the paper permit in its place.1Michigan Legislature. MCL Section 257.625g – Michigan Vehicle Code
You don’t apply for it. The officer generates it as part of the arrest paperwork and reports the incident to the Secretary of State. The permit doesn’t add restrictions to your driving; it stands in for the license you had, nothing more.
How Long the Permit Is Valid
The permit’s expiration depends on what happens with the case.
If the prosecutor declines to file charges, the permit is valid for the earlier of 90 days after issuance or until your license is suspended under the implied consent law. If the case is prosecuted, the permit stays valid until the criminal charges are dismissed, you’re acquitted, or your license is suspended, restricted, or revoked by the court or the Secretary of State.1Michigan Legislature. MCL Section 257.625g – Michigan Vehicle Code
Most OWI cases are prosecuted, so the permit typically stays good until the court takes action. That can mean weeks or months depending on the pace of your case.
The 14-Day Hearing Deadline
This is the deadline people miss and regret. If the officer confiscated your license because you refused a chemical test, you received a Notice of Suspension along with the 625g permit. You have 14 days from receiving that notice to request an administrative hearing with the Secretary of State. Miss the window and your license is suspended automatically, with no hearing and no way to contest it.2Michigan Secretary of State. Officer’s Report of Refusal to Submit to Chemical Test
The hearing request form is attached to the officer’s report you got at the time of arrest. Mail the original, not a photocopy, to the Department of State within those 14 days. At the hearing itself, the issues are narrow. The hearing officer looks at whether the officer had reasonable grounds to believe you were impaired, whether the arrest was lawful, and whether you actually refused the test. This proceeding is separate from your criminal case and runs on its own timeline.
What Happens If the Suspension Goes Through
The suspension for refusing a chemical test comes from the Secretary of State and is independent of any court penalties for the underlying OWI.
- A first refusal within seven years: one-year license suspension and six points added to your driving record.
- A second refusal within seven years: two-year suspension, and no eligibility for hardship driving privileges during that period.
Six points is heavy. For comparison, an OWI conviction adds six points and an impaired driving or under-21 alcohol offense adds four.3Michigan Secretary of State. Chapter 2 – Your Driving Record Points accumulate and can trigger additional license actions on their own.
Drivers facing a first implied consent suspension can seek a hardship appeal in the circuit court of the county where the arrest happened. If the court grants it, the suspension converts to a restricted license for driving to and from work, school, medical appointments, and court. That option disappears for a second refusal within seven years. Where a restricted license is tied to an OWI conviction rather than the implied consent suspension, the court may require an ignition interlock device; interlocks aren’t automatic for a first-offense OWI, but courts commonly order them for repeat offenses, high-BAC cases, or as a condition of restricted driving.
If You Hold a CDL
The 625g permit does nothing to protect a commercial driver’s license. Under federal rules, an OWI conviction or chemical test refusal in any vehicle, including your personal car, triggers commercial disqualification.
- First offense: one-year disqualification from operating any commercial vehicle.4eCFR. 49 CFR 383.51 – Disqualification of Drivers
- Second offense: lifetime disqualification.4eCFR. 49 CFR 383.51 – Disqualification of Drivers
The federal rules count incidents from any vehicle. A CDL holder who gets an OWI in a personal car on a weekend faces the same one-year commercial disqualification as someone stopped in a semi.
What the Permit Won’t Do
The 625g permit keeps you legal to drive in Michigan, but it’s a plain piece of paper with no photo and no security features, and that creates limits outside the car.
The TSA does not accept temporary paper driver’s licenses as valid identification for air travel. If you need to fly while holding a 625g permit, bring a passport, military ID, or another federally accepted photo ID. Starting February 1, 2026, travelers who can’t produce acceptable ID at the checkpoint can pay a $45 fee for TSA’s ConfirmID service, which attempts to verify identity electronically, but it’s a fallback rather than something to plan around.5Transportation Security Administration. Acceptable Identification at the TSA Checkpoint
Interstate driving is a gray area. Most states honor valid out-of-state licenses under reciprocity, but a paper permit without a photo can draw skepticism from officers elsewhere, and no other state is required to treat the 625g permit the way Michigan does. If you’ll be driving outside Michigan while it’s in your wallet, carrying additional identification is a sensible precaution.
Getting Your License Back
When the suspension period ends, whether from the implied consent refusal or a court-ordered suspension after conviction, your license doesn’t return on its own. You need to pay a $125 reinstatement fee to the Secretary of State, provide proof of SR-22 insurance if required, and complete any court-ordered programs such as substance abuse treatment or a driver improvement course.6Michigan Legislature. MCL Section 257.320e – Michigan Vehicle Code
An OWI conviction also usually means an SR-22 filing for about three years and a significant premium increase; industry data puts the average bump around 88% after a single impaired driving conviction. Driving after the 625g permit expires but before you finish reinstatement counts as driving on a suspended license, which carries its own criminal penalties.