Hardship licenses are not obtained by the courts, from the courts; they’re obtained from the Registry of Motor Vehicles. It’s an administrative hearing that you get. They are available only to people who are actively, currently enrolled in the first offenders program, and the first offenders program is a sentencing disposition that’s ordered by the judge at the end of a case. They’re only available to first offenders, but they’re a precondition to you obtaining a hardship license.

And then, the Registry looks at the other factors that are required to obtain a hardship license. Hardship licenses are licenses that allow a person to drive seven days a week for the same 12-hour period. It’s the same 12-hour period every day, during the time of license suspension. There are a number of factors that go into that determination, but you can’t get it if you’re not in the first offenders program.