New York DMV Form DS-449, the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Rehabilitation Program Summary, is a paper form your out-of-state treatment provider fills out to report your substance abuse assessment and treatment to the New York State DMV. It exists because New York providers submit that information electronically through a system out-of-state providers can’t access. If your New York license was revoked for alcohol or drug-related offenses and you completed treatment somewhere other than New York, this form is how that treatment gets on file with the DMV so your relicensing application can move forward.1New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Substance Abuse Assessment and Treatment
Who Needs to Submit DS-449
The DMV requires rehabilitation proof before it will approve a new license, learner permit, or clearance of driving privileges when two things are both true: your license was revoked, and your driving record shows two or more alcohol or drug-related violations within a 25-year period. That combination is what the DMV treats as a “history of alcohol or drug abuse” under Part 136.1(b)(3) of the Commissioner’s regulations.1New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Substance Abuse Assessment and Treatment Without the proof on file, the application will not be processed.
Acceptable proof must show two things: that you had an alcohol or drug assessment within one year of the date you reapply, and that either treatment was not recommended or you successfully completed every stage of a treatment program. A detoxification program by itself does not count, and Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous attendance by itself does not count.1New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Substance Abuse Assessment and Treatment
DS-449 is only for out-of-state providers. New York providers report through the OASAS Impaired Driver System, and the DMV receives their reports directly.2New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports. Impaired Driver System If you were treated in New York, you do not need this form.
How to Get a Copy of the Form
DS-449 is not in the DMV’s downloadable forms library. You request it from the Driver Improvement Unit:1New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Substance Abuse Assessment and Treatment
- Phone: (518) 474-0774, Option #5, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern
- Mail: Driver Improvement Unit, New York State DMV, 6 Empire State Plaza, Room 336, Albany, NY 12228
- Fax: (518) 474-6208
When you call, tell the unit that you completed treatment outside New York and need a DS-449. They can send the blank form to your provider directly, or send it to you so you can bring it in yourself. If your provider has never heard of the form, that’s expected. It’s a New York-specific document, and providers in other states won’t have it on hand.
What Goes on the Form
Your provider fills out the form; you don’t. The provider is summarizing the assessment and any treatment you completed, and will need the following to complete it:
- Your full legal name, date of birth, and New York DMV ID number so the form can be matched to your record
- Whether an alcohol or drug assessment was performed, and the date, which must fall within one year of when you reapply
- Whether treatment was recommended based on the assessment
- If treatment was recommended, confirmation that you completed every stage
- The provider’s name, credentials, facility information, and signature
Track down your New York DMV ID number before your provider sits down with the form. It’s on any previous New York license or permit and on DMV correspondence about your revocation. The Driver Improvement Unit can retrieve it by phone if you can’t find it.
Where to Send the Completed Form
Once your provider has completed and signed the DS-449, it goes back to the same Driver Improvement Unit:1New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Substance Abuse Assessment and Treatment
Driver Improvement Unit
New York State DMV
6 Empire State Plaza, Room 336
Albany, NY 12228
Fax: (518) 474-6208
Faxing is faster and gives you a transmission confirmation worth keeping. If you mail it, use a trackable method. The DMV does not send automatic receipts for paper submissions, so your own delivery record is the only confirmation you’ll have that the form arrived.
Where DS-449 Fits in Relicensing
The form is a prerequisite, not the whole process. Before the DMV will approve a new license, you also need to have finished the full revocation period and cleared outstanding DMV fees, unpaid Driver Responsibility Assessments, and open traffic tickets or court fines. Once those are handled and the DS-449 is on file, you can request relicensing approval online or by mail using Form MV-44, with a $100 fee payable to the “Commissioner of Motor Vehicles.” Mail applications can be sent starting 30 days before the revocation period ends.3New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Request Restoration After a Driver License Revocation
If your application is approved, the Driver Improvement Unit sends an approval packet with instructions specific to your record. Depending on the offenses on file, that may include installing and maintaining an ignition interlock device before you visit a DMV office to apply for the new permit or license.3New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Request Restoration After a Driver License Revocation
If You Were Never Licensed in New York
If you never held a New York license but had your privilege to drive in the state revoked, say after a DWI arrest while visiting, the restoration track is different. You submit a Request for New York State Driving Privileges (Form DS-115) with a $25 restoration fee payable to the “Commissioner of Motor Vehicles.”4New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Relicensing for Non-Participants If your record triggers the rehabilitation requirement, your out-of-state provider still needs to complete a DS-449 as part of that process.