Driving While License Suspended in the Third Degree, usually written as DWLS 3, is one of the most commonly charged misdemeanors in Kittitas County. It is also one of the most fixable. Many DWLS 3 cases that look bad on paper end in dismissal, but only because the driver took specific steps to get relicensed before the case resolved. If you have been charged with DWLS 3 in Ellensburg or anywhere else in Kittitas County, the work that determines your outcome happens outside the courtroom as much as inside it.

 

What DWLS 3 Is and How It Is Different From DWLS 1 and DWLS 2

Washington divides driving while license suspended into three degrees. The differences matter because the consequences are very different.

 

DWLS in the First Degree is the most serious. It applies when a person is classified as a habitual traffic offender or when the underlying suspension is for very serious reasons. It is a gross misdemeanor and carries mandatory jail time on conviction.

 

DWLS in the Second Degree applies when the person is not eligible to have the license reinstated at the time of driving. It is also a gross misdemeanor and exposes the driver to a maximum of nearly a year in jail.

 

DWLS in the Third Degree is the one most people see. It applies when the person is eligible to be relicensed, they just have not done it yet. The suspension might be from unpaid traffic tickets, a missed court date that triggered a Failure to Appear hold, an unpaid fine, or a procedural problem like lapsed insurance documentation. DWLS 3 is a simple misdemeanor and does not carry mandatory jail time.

 

The category your charge falls into is determined by what the Department of Licensing's records show at the time of the stop. An attorney can request that record and confirm the degree is charged correctly. Sometimes a DWLS 2 case gets dropped to a DWLS 3 once the underlying records are clarified.

 

Why Relicensing Is the Whole Strategy

The reason DWLS 3 cases are so often dismissible is that the prosecutor's interest is usually in getting people back on the road legally. Prosecutors in Kittitas County are familiar with this pattern. If a defendant walks into court at the next hearing with a valid driver's license in hand, the case is much more likely to resolve favorably than if they show up still suspended.

 

Some prosecutors will offer to amend a DWLS 3 to a non-criminal infraction in exchange for proof of relicensing. Others will agree to a continuance and outright dismissal if the driver maintains a valid license through the dismissal date. Either outcome is better than a criminal conviction, and either requires you to actually do the work of relicensing.

 

What Relicensing Actually Involves

Getting relicensed is the part most people underestimate. It is rarely just one form. Depending on why the license was suspended, you may need to do several of the following:

 

Pay outstanding fines or reinstatement fees. The DOL charges a reinstatement fee on top of whatever you owe to the court that originally suspended you. If multiple courts triggered separate suspensions, each one has to be cleared.

 

Clear Failure to Appear or Failure to Pay holds. If you missed a court date in any Washington court, that court has to lift the hold before DOL will issue a license. Often this means appearing on a walk-in calendar in the original court, or having an attorney file a motion to quash the warrant or recall the hold.

 Resolve DUI alcohol or drug requirements. If a prior DUI is part of why the license was suspended, you may need to complete an alcohol or drug evaluation, file an SR-22 certificate of insurance, and complete an ignition interlock period before DOL will reinstate.

 

Coordinate with another state. If you have an out-of-state suspension or an out-of-state license, the holds have to be cleared in that state before Washington DOL will issue. This is the slowest part of the process and the most commonly overlooked. People assume Washington can fix it. Washington cannot. The other state has to act first.

 

Provide proof of insurance. If your suspension involved lapsed insurance, the SR-22 has to be filed by your insurance carrier directly to DOL.

 

An attorney who handles these cases regularly can map the specific path for you, identify what is going to be slow, and help you sequence the steps so that you have a valid license in hand by your next court date.

 

Why the Local Court Matters

DWLS 3 cases in Kittitas County are heard in Kittitas County District Court in Ellensburg or in Ellensburg Municipal Court depending on where the stop occurred. Cle Elum has its own municipal court for stops in city limits. Each court has its own pace, its own prosecutor, and its own informal practice on how relicensing-conditional dismissals are handled.

 

What works in one Washington county does not always work the same way in Kittitas County. A defense attorney who appears in these courts every week is going to know which prosecutors prefer amendments to infractions, which prefer outright dismissals after the license is back, and which judges expect to see real documentation rather than verbal assurances.

 

What to Do Now

If you were charged with DWLS 3 in Kittitas County, the most useful first call is to a defense attorney who can pull your driving record, identify every active hold on your license, and lay out the relicensing path before your first court date. The earlier you start, the more time you have to clear the holds and walk into court with a valid license.

 

Tony Swartz handles criminal defense and traffic offenses in Kittitas County and Yakima County and has worked on thousands of misdemeanor cases including DWLS 3, hold quashes, and relicensing coordination. His Ellensburg office is at 422 N Pine Street.

 

Talk Through Your Case

Call Tony Swartz at (509) 293-7593 for a free consultation. The earlier you get the relicensing process moving, the better the result.

 

All cases are different. Hire an attorney to discuss your specific case details.