Michigan Restricted Licenses - How to Avoid Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID) Violations

If your Michigan driver's license has been revoked due to two alcohol-related driving convictions within seven years or three within ten years, you may be eligible to request the reinstatement of your driver's license with the Michigan Department of State, Office of Hearings and Administrative Oversight ("OHAO"), after serving your mandatory revocation period. Depending on your circumstances, you may receive a restricted license with a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device ("BAIID") after your hearing. A BAIID is also a requirement of any treatment court (i.e., sobriety court) restricted license. Understanding how the interlock system works - and how to avoid violations - is critical to protecting your driving privileges and staying on the road.

At Bondy Law, PLLC, we represent clients across Michigan seeking to restore their driver's licenses after a second or third OWI conviction, as well as protecting clients from losing their licenses for major or minor interlock violations. Below is a guide to help you understand the interlock requirements, avoid common pitfalls, and take action if something goes wrong with your interlock device.

Understanding the BAIID Requirement

A BAIID is an in-car breathalyzer that prevents a vehicle from starting if alcohol is detected on a driver's breath. Before starting a car with an interlock device, a driver must submit a clean breath sample known as a "start-up test." If the BAIID registers a BAC of 0.025 or higher, the vehicle will not start. The driver must continue to provide clean breath samples when prompted by the device, which are called as "rolling retests." The BAIID records every event - including start-up attempts, test results, missed rolling retests, tampering, and power interruptions - and transmits this data to the interlock vendor and the Michigan Secretary of State. Any recorded violation can jeopardize your restricted license, either resulting in immediate reinstatement of your license revocation or extending the duration of your interlock requirement and restricted license. As of 2025, Michigan’s approved BAIID vendors include:

• Smart Start, Inc.

• Intoxalock

• LifeSafer of Michigan

• Guardian Interlock

• Alcohol Detection Systems (ADS)

• Draeger, Inc. (Nationwide Interlock LLC)

• Alcolock USA, Inc.

Each vendor offers installation and monthly monitoring through licensed service centers statewide.

Minor Interlock Violations

Minor interlock violations usually include non-alcohol related problems or minor lapses in compliance. Even though minor violations may not trigger automatic revocation of your license, repeated issues can draw scrutiny at your hearing to fully restore your license in addition to extending the minimum time you are required to have an ignition interlock device in your vehicle. Examples of Minor Interlock Violations include:

• 3 start-up failures after the BAIID has been installed for at least 2 months. A start-up failure occurs when the BAIID detects a BAC of 0.025 or higher. Multiple unsuccessful attempts to provide an acceptable breath sample at one time during a start-up test are treated as 1 start-up test failure, however unsuccessful attempts 1 hour or more apart are start-up as separate start-up test failures.

• Failing to report to your BAIID manufacturer, installer, or service provider for service, calibration, or data downloads within 7-days after your scheduled service date.

Major Interlock Violations

Major interlock violations are serious as they result in the automatic reinstatement of your driver's license revocation, and require you to start the license-appeal process all over again if the violation is not dismissed at a hearing with the OHAO. If your interlock device detects a major violation, or a major violation is otherwise reported to the Michigan Secretary of State / OAHO, you will be given only 5-days notice of the automatic license revocation. You will then have only 14-days to request a hearing to contest the violation(s). It is extremely important that you immediately contact a skilled license restoration attorney if you receive notice of a revocation for a major violation. If you do not submit a request for a hearing to contest the major violation within that 14-day window, you will have to restart the license-appeal process after another revocation period. Examples of Major Interlock Violations include:

• A rolling retest violation. There are two types of rolling retest violations: (1) the BAIID detects a breath sample with a BAC of 0.025 or higher and a breath sample with a BAC under 0.025 is not provided within 5 minutes of the positive sample; or (2) the driver fails to take a rolling retest when prompted to do so by the BAIID.

• Servicing of your interlock device indicates that it has been tampered with or circumvented, or there has been an attempt to tamper/circumvent the device. Tampering with a BAIID includes physically altering or disabling the device, disconnecting the device from its power source, or removing, altering, or defacing the physical anti-tampering measures on your device. Circumvention includes the act or attempt to start the vehicle without taking and passing a start-up test by using a bogus or filtered breath sample, using an electronic bypass or override mechanism to start the vehicle, using a push start or hot wiring a vehicle, or any other method intended to bypass or override the BAIID.

• You are arrested for a driving offense and issued a 625g permit.

• You are convicted of an offense in MCL 257.625 (drunk driving / OWI).

• Three or more minor violations.

• You remove the BAIID from your vehicle without an order from OHAO authorizing the removal.

• Operating any motor vehicle without a BAIID.

How to Prevent Interlock Violations

Staying proactive is the key to avoiding violations and preserving your restricted license. Here are practical tips to protect yourself:

• Always get an Independent Alcohol Test for any Error / Violation Notice on your BAIID. Although it can be time consuming and frustrating, the best way to show that you did not have any alcohol in your system is to submit to an ETG urine test within 24-hours of any error/violation notices or issues you experience with your BAIID. You can also submit to a breath test (PBT) within 1-hour of the error/violation notice at a local police department. Make sure to collect the results of the ETG or PBT test and share these results with your attorney.

• Avoid all Products Containing Alcohol. Mouthwash, hand sanitizer, cough medicine, breath fresheners and sprays can contain alcohol and should be avoided.

• Avoid Certain Food Products. Food products that contain yeast can produce alcohol as a byproduct of fermentation. You should avoid eating or drinking products with high sugar and yeast, fermented foods like kombucha, alcohol-based products like energy drinks or vanilla extract, and spicy foods before submitting a breath sample on your BAIID. These products can either ferment or release gases that can cause a false positive BAC reading on your device.

• Always Rinse your Mouth with Water After Eating or Drinking Anything. In addition to rinsing your mouth, you should not eat any food for at least 15-minutes before operating a vehicle with a BAIID.

• Never Leave your Car Running Unattended. The BAIID will request rolling rests once the vehicle is started. A skipped rolling retest will result in a major violation.

• Make Sure that Your Car Battery is Charged. A dead car battery can cause your BAIID to lose power, resulting in a tamper/circumvent major violation.

• Document Everything and Submit Documentation Immediately. Prior to any service or repair work to your vehicle, you should call your interlock company and tell them what kind of work is being done, when, and where. You should document all service for your vehicle, collect receipts, mechanic notes, and take photographs when you drop off / pick up your vehicle from service. You should also email receipts / documentation of service and a notarized letter signed and dated by you, explaining the work to your vehicle, to MDOS-BAIIDDocumentation@michigan.gov, within 5-days of repairs/service.

• Limit who Drives your Vehicle. You are responsible for all violations, even if someone else was driving.

What to Do if You Get an Interlock Violation Notice

If you receive notice from the Michigan Secretary of State / OHAO that your license is being re-revoked due to a major interlock violation, you have limited time to act. An experienced Michigan driver’s-license-restoration attorney can file an ex parte petition for an order staying the reinstatement of the revocation under MCL 257.323 in the circuit court for the county you live in while your request for a hearing to contest the violation is pending. You only have 14-days to request a hearing to contest a major violation. Acting quickly is critical - these deadlines are short and strictly enforced.

Get Help Protecting Your License

BAIID violations can be confusing, stressful, and expensive - but they do not have to result in you losing your license. Bondy Law, PLLC has helped Michigan drivers navigate restricted-license compliance, challenge false violations, and restore full driving privileges. If you’ve received a violation notice or need guidance on your restricted license, contact Bondy Law, PLLC today for experienced representation in driver’s-license-restoration matters throughout Michigan

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