The 10 suspension cause classes
Restoration depends on the cause of the suspension. The decoder uses these 10 classes as its primary axis.
- DUI / DWI conviction
Conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicant. Triggers an administrative DMV suspension plus, on conviction, a court-ordered criminal-side suspension that may overlap or stack. Many states attach IID, SR-22, DUI school, and treatment as conditions of restoration.
- SR-22 trigger (no-insurance / at-fault accident)
Suspension triggered by an at-fault accident without insurance, repeated moving-violation accumulations, or other financial-responsibility events. Restoration typically requires the carrier to file an SR-22 (or alternate FR form in SR-22-forbidden states like Florida and Virginia).
- Child-support arrears
Suspension for unpaid child support. Federal preemption layer is PRWORA — 42 USC §666(a)(16) — mandates state authority to suspend licenses for non-payment. Reinstatement is typically conditional on a payment plan, current compliance, or full arrears clearance.
Federal layer: 42 USC §666(a)(16) - Failure to appear (FTA)
Failure to appear (FTA) at a court hearing related to a traffic citation triggers an administrative DMV hold. Reinstatement requires clearing the court hold first, then the DMV.
- Failure to pay court debt (FTPay)
Failure to pay fines / court debt. Multiple states reformed FTPay-driven suspensions during 2023–2025 civil-rights litigation cycles; the per-state matrix flags states where reform has changed the procedural path.
- No-insurance / lapse of coverage
Suspension for driving without liability insurance or for an insurance-coverage lapse reported by the carrier. May trigger a downstream SR-22 / FR-44 filing requirement in addition to reinstatement fees.
- Drug conviction
Suspension for a drug conviction. The federal Anti-Drug Abuse Act historically tied state license suspension to drug convictions; many states have opted out. Per-state primary-source verification is required.
- Juvenile alcohol/drug
Alcohol or drug suspension for drivers under the legal drinking age. State-statutory variants typically include lower BAC thresholds and longer waiting periods proportional to age.
- Medical / vision suspension
Vision-screening failure or medical-condition suspension. Restoration runs through a state administrative process and may require a physician evaluation rather than a fee schedule.
- Administrative point accumulation
Accumulation of moving-violation points above a state-set threshold. Restoration typically requires the points to age off or completion of a state-approved driver-improvement course.
How the cause maps to procedural conditions
The decoder layers per-cause data with per-state IID, SR-22, and hardship-license matrices. A DUI in California produces a different verdict than a DUI in Georgia. A child-support suspension in Illinois produces a different verdict than an FTPay suspension in Texas. The same state can produce different verdicts for different causes. The state pages show every cause class as a row of the matrix.