Alabama License Reinstatement Online: Fees, Holds, and Steps

To reinstate your Alabama driver’s license online, go to the ALEA portal at alabamadl.alea.gov, enter your driver’s license number, Social Security number, and date of birth, and pay the reinstatement fee, which runs from $100 to $275 depending on why your license was suspended.¹ The payment itself takes a few minutes. The work is everything you have to finish first: clearing tickets, filing insurance, completing court-ordered programs, and resolving any other holds on your record. ALEA will not restore your driving privileges until every item on your checklist is done.

Check Your Status Before You Pay Anything

Log into the ALEA portal and pull up your record before you touch the payment screen. You need all three pieces of identifying information — license number, SSN, and date of birth — or the system cannot locate your file.²

Your results will show you as either eligible for reinstatement or ineligible. If you’re ineligible, the system lists what’s blocking you. Common holds include unpaid traffic citations, an unresolved court case, missing proof of insurance, or a time-based suspension that hasn’t run out yet. Read the checklist carefully. Paying the reinstatement fee before every hold is cleared is a waste of money, because ALEA still won’t restore your license.²

What the Reinstatement Fee Will Be

Alabama Code Section 32-6-17 sets three fee tiers based on the reason for the suspension:

$275 for any cancellation, suspension, or revocation tied to a DUI or other drug or alcohol offense.
$175 for a revocation unrelated to drugs or alcohol.
$100 for a suspension or cancellation that does not involve substances.

Add a $50 surcharge if you did not voluntarily surrender your license within 30 days of the suspension or revocation notice.³ No fee is charged if your license was suspended for medical reasons.

The online portal takes credit cards. If you reinstate by mail or in person, you can also pay with a money order, cashier’s check, or cash. Personal checks are not accepted.¹

Holds You Have to Clear First

The fee is the last step, not the first. Most drivers have one or more of the following to resolve before ALEA will accept payment.

SR-22 Insurance

If your suspension involved a DUI, driving without insurance, or certain other violations, ALEA will require an SR-22 certificate. Your insurance company files this form directly with the state to prove you carry at least the minimum liability coverage. Alabama generally requires you to keep SR-22 coverage for three years after reinstatement. Insurance companies typically charge a one-time filing fee of roughly $15 to $50, but the larger cost is the premium increase driven by the underlying violation.

Court Clearances and Unpaid Tickets

If unpaid citations or an open court case caused the suspension, settle them and get official clearance from the court that handled the case. The clearance has to be processed by the issuing court so that it shows as resolved in the state’s electronic system. ALEA’s reinstatement checklist flags outstanding citations and requires proof they’ve been addressed.²

Child Support Holds

Alabama can suspend your license if you fall six or more months behind on child support. To get the hold lifted, work with the Department of Human Resources by paying the full support debt, entering an approved payment plan, or complying with outstanding paternity or support subpoenas. You have 60 days from the date you receive the suspension notice to take one of those steps. If you disagree with the suspension, you can request an administrative hearing within 15 days of the notice.⁴

Out-of-State Suspensions

Alabama participates in the National Driver Register, a federal database that tracks drivers whose licenses have been suspended or revoked in any state.⁵ An unresolved suspension or serious traffic conviction from another state will surface when ALEA checks your record, and you’ll need to clear it with that state’s motor vehicle agency before Alabama will act.

Extra Steps for DUI Suspensions

DUI reinstatement involves the most requirements and the highest total cost. On top of the $275 fee, expect a mandatory program, an ignition interlock in most cases, and stacked additional fees.

Substance Abuse Program

Alabama law requires every person convicted of DUI to complete a substance abuse court referral program approved by the Administrative Office of Courts. ALEA will not reissue your license without proof you’ve finished it.⁶ Finishing this early in your suspension prevents delays later.

Ignition Interlock

Alabama requires an ignition interlock device, a breathalyzer wired to your vehicle’s ignition, for most DUI convictions. How long it stays on depends on your history:

First conviction, BAC under 0.15: 90 days. Voluntary — installing the device stays the entire 90-day suspension, letting you drive during that period.
First conviction, BAC 0.15 or higher (or if you refused testing, had a child under 14 in the vehicle, or injured someone): 1 year, mandatory.
Second conviction: 2 years, after serving 45 days of your one-year suspension.
Third conviction: 3 years, after serving 60 days of your three-year suspension.
Fourth or later conviction: 4 years, after serving one year of your five-year suspension.

Refusing a chemical test adds one year to the interlock requirement for second and later offenses.⁷

The Fees That Come With It

Beyond the $275 reinstatement fee, ALEA can charge up to $150 to issue a restricted license noting the interlock condition, and the court collects a separate $200 interlock fee that can be paid in installments. When your interlock period ends, ALEA charges up to $75 to reissue a regular license without the restriction.⁶ The device provider charges its own monthly lease fee on top of all that.

Paying Online, Step by Step

Once every prerequisite is cleared, go to alabamadl.alea.gov and select the reinstatement option. Enter your driver’s license number, SSN, and date of birth. The system displays the fee based on your specific violation history. Enter your credit card information on the secure payment screen, review the summary, and submit. Save or print the confirmation page. It’s your proof of payment and reinstatement until you have a physical license in hand.¹

You can also reinstate by mail. Send a money order or cashier’s check to the ALEA Driver License Division at P.O. Box 1471, Montgomery, AL 36102-1471.² Mail takes longer.

Paying the Fee Doesn’t Give You a Card

Reinstatement online restores your legal driving status in ALEA’s system, but it doesn’t put a license card in your wallet. To get a physical license, visit a local ALEA Driver License Office or a county probate office that handles licensing. Bring your reinstatement confirmation and standard identification. For a STAR ID (Alabama’s REAL ID-compliant credential), you have to go to an ALEA Driver License exam office specifically and bring additional identity documents.⁸

If You Can’t Wait: Hardship License

If you can’t wait out your suspension and have no other way to get around, Alabama offers a hardship license, but the restrictions are significant. Anyone convicted of DUI is automatically ineligible, along with drivers suspended for serious traffic offenses such as vehicular homicide, fleeing police, or any felony involving a motor vehicle. A hardship license limits your driving to specific purposes like commuting to work, school, medical appointments, court-ordered programs, grocery shopping, religious services, and voting. Applications go by email (hardship.license@alea.gov), fax, or mail, not in person, and you have 60 days after approval to pick up the license at an ALEA office.⁹

Staying Reinstated

Alabama uses a point system with a rolling two-year window, and the thresholds are lower than most drivers expect:

12–14 points: 60-day suspension
15–17 points: 90-day suspension
18–20 points: 120-day suspension
21–23 points: 180-day suspension
24 or more points: 365-day suspension

Convictions drop off the point calculation after two years, but they stay on your driving record permanently.¹⁰ Right after reinstatement, the margin for error is thin. A couple of speeding tickets can put you back where you started.

Driving before you’ve completed reinstatement makes things worse. Driving on a suspended or revoked license in Alabama is a misdemeanor with a fine of $100 to $500, up to 180 days in jail, and a mandatory additional $50 penalty the court must impose. The Director of Public Safety can also add a six-month revocation on top.¹¹ A conviction here doesn’t just delay reinstatement. It makes the whole process longer and more expensive the second time.

1
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Driver Records, Crash Reports, and Driver License Reinstatements
2
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Alabama Law Enforcement Agency – Request for Reinstatement Requirements
3
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 32-6-17 – Cancellation, Suspension, or Revocation – Reinstatement; Fees
4
Alabama Administrative Code. Chapter 660-3-9 License Withholding, Restriction, Suspension and Revocation
5
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. National Driver Register (NDR)
6
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 32-5A-191 – Driving While Under Influence of Alcohol, Controlled Substances, Etc.
7
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Ignition Interlock Laws
8
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Star ID
9
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Hardship Driver License
10
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Driver License Point System
11
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 32-6-19 – Penalties – Violation by Person Whose License Has Been Cancelled, Suspended, or Revoked