After an Arkansas DWI, the state requires you to complete two DUI classes before it will reinstate your license: the Drug and Alcohol Safety Education Program, known as DASEP, and a Victim Impact Panel. DASEP runs 12 to 15 contact hours and costs up to $150; the Victim Impact Panel is a single session that costs $40. Both must be taken through a provider approved by the Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services (DAABHS), and both completion certificates have to be filed with the Office of Driver Services at the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA).
What DASEP Is and What It Covers
DASEP is the core education requirement for anyone whose license has been suspended or revoked under Arkansas DWI law. The program is delivered by providers contracted through DAABHS, inside the Department of Human Services.1Justia Law. Arkansas Code 5-65-115 – Alcohol Treatment or Education
You start with a screening and assessment. The provider reviews your substance use history and decides whether you belong in the standard education track or need a referral to a licensed treatment program instead. If you stay in the education track, the class runs 12 to 15 contact hours and covers how alcohol and drugs affect the body, driving ability, and your legal exposure.2Arkansas Department of Human Services. Drug and Alcohol Safety Education Program Guidelines If the screening points to a more serious issue, you’ll be referred to a state-licensed treatment program, which takes longer and costs more than the statutory DASEP fee.
You can enroll before your court case resolves, but the fee is not refundable if your charges are later dismissed. When you finish, the provider gives you a DASEP completion certificate. That certificate is what the DFA wants to see before it will lift the suspension.1Justia Law. Arkansas Code 5-65-115 – Alcohol Treatment or Education
The Victim Impact Panel
The Victim Impact Panel, or VIP, is the second mandatory class. It is not substance abuse education. It is a session where victims of impaired driving and their family members describe how drunk or drugged driving affected them.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 5-65-121 – Victim Impact Panel Attendance – Fee
It is a single session, typically two to three hours. The panel has to be run by an organization approved by DAABHS, and in practice that organization is one of the DASEP contractors.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 5-65-121 – Victim Impact Panel Attendance – Fee You receive proof of attendance at the end, and that document also goes into your reinstatement file with the DFA.
What the Classes Cost
Arkansas caps the fees for these programs by statute:
- DASEP: up to $125 for the program plus up to $25 in administrative reporting costs, for a statutory maximum of $150.1Justia Law. Arkansas Code 5-65-115 – Alcohol Treatment or Education
- Victim Impact Panel: $40 per enrollee, reduced to $10 if you are in the custody of the Department of Corrections.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 5-65-121 – Victim Impact Panel Attendance – Fee
- License reinstatement fee paid to the DFA: $150, payable online, by mail, or in person at any State Revenue Office.4Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Refusals
If your screening sends you to a licensed treatment program rather than the standard DASEP education track, treatment costs are higher and depend on the length and intensity of the program. Those fees sit outside the statutory DASEP cap.
Finding an Approved Provider
The DFA keeps an Alcohol Education Directory listing approved DASEP and VIP providers around the state.5Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Alcohol Education Directory Every name on that list is contracted through DAABHS, which is the only body authorized to approve these programs. A class taken through a provider that is not on the directory will not satisfy the requirement.
How the Classes Fit Into Getting Your License Back
Finishing the two classes is necessary, but on its own it is not enough. To actually reinstate your license, you submit a packet to the Office of Driver Services containing:
- Your original signed DASEP completion certificate, or proof of treatment program completion if you were referred for treatment
- Your VIP proof of attendance and completion
- Proof of financial responsibility (an SR-22 on file through your insurer)
- Payment of the $150 reinstatement fee4Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Refusals
- Verification that an ignition interlock device has been installed, where that requirement applies
If your license was revoked for a fourth offense, you also have to pass every phase of the Arkansas driver’s license exam before reinstatement.4Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Refusals The DFA will not process a partial file. Any missing piece simply extends the suspension until you provide it.
The underlying suspension period itself is set by how many offenses you have within a five-year lookback: six months for a first offense, 24 months for a second, 30 months for a third, and a four-year revocation for a fourth.6Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. DUI, DWI, BUI, BWI Offenses Completing the classes does not shorten that period. It unlocks reinstatement once the period and the other requirements are satisfied.
If You Don’t Complete the Classes
Two things happen. First, your suspension continues. The DFA has no mechanism to reinstate without the DASEP certificate and the VIP proof in the file, so the license stays suspended for as long as the paperwork is missing, even past the statutory suspension period.
Second, if DASEP and the VIP were conditions of your probation or a deferred sentence, failing to complete them is a probation violation. That puts you back in front of the sentencing judge and exposes you to additional penalties, including jail time.
Other Requirements That Run Alongside the Classes
Two reinstatement pieces often catch people off guard because they are not classes but still have to be in place before you drive again. Arkansas requires an ignition interlock device on the vehicle of every DWI offender, starting with the first offense, unless the DWI involved only a controlled substance and no alcohol, or a court grants one of the narrow statutory waivers.7Justia Law. Arkansas Code 5-65-118 – Additional Penalties The state also requires an SR-22 filing from your insurance company confirming you carry the minimum liability coverage, typically maintained for three years after a DWI conviction. Neither of these is a class, and neither replaces the DASEP and VIP requirements. All of them have to be satisfied together.