Clearwater Bureau of Administrative Review (BAR)

The Clearwater Bureau of Administrative Reviews  (BAR) Office is located at the following address:

The hearing officers with the B.A.R. Offices preside over formal review hearings after an administrative suspension related to DUI for driving with a BAL over .08 DUBAL or refusal to submit to chemical testing.

Attorneys for Hearings at the BAR in Clearwater, FL

At Sammis Law Firm, our DUI defense attorneys in Clearwater, FL, help our clients demand a “Formal Review Hearing” within ten (10) calendar days of their arrest. Demanding the formal review hearing is the ONLY way to challenge the administrative suspension.

We appear for hearings at the Clearwater BAR several times a week. Our office is located in the same office complex just a few buildings away. We are experienced in fighting to get the administrative suspension invalidated.

If you waive all your rights at a waiver hearing in exchange for hardship driving privileges, you are essentially stipulating to the DUI administrative suspension. Unless you win the formal review hearing, that suspension remains on your driving record for 75 years – even if you avoid a DUI conviction in court.

Before you decide whether to demand a formal review hearing or waive your right, call the DUI defense attorneys at Sammis Law Firm.

Visit our office at 14010 Roosevelt Blvd Suite 701, Clearwater, FL 33762-3820. Our office is located near the CJC Courthouse in Clearwater, FL, and in the same office complex as the Clearwater Bureau of Administrative Reviews (BAR). 

Call 813-250-0500.

Coverage Areas for the Clearwater B.A.R.

The State of Florida recently reduced the sixteen (16) Bureau of Administrative Review (B.A.R.) Offices into eight (8) BAR offices. If your DUI arrest occurred in one of the following counties, your formal review hearing would be heard at the Clearwater B.A.R. Office:

• Pinellas County
• Charlotte County
• DeSoto County
• Highlands County
• Hardee County
• Manatee County
• Sarasota County

The hearing officer also helps customers with a suspended driver’s license, obtaining a hardship license, or showing cause why a suspension or revocation was entered in error.

Click here to find directions to the Clearwater B.A.R. Office. The office is located in the middle of an office complex. The office hours of the Bureau of Administrative Reviews are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. unless otherwise posted.

The Clearwater Office of Sammis Law Firm is located nearby.

The Restructuring Plan for the Clearwater B.A.R. Office

The restructuring plan was partly the result of a research report concerning the “Statewide Reorganization of the Bureau of Administrative Reviews.” The report was prepared for the DHSMV by a gubernatorial fellow, Joshua Winograd, Class XIII.

In addition to closing half of the BAR offices, the report found that hiring and training were inadequate. As a result, the report recommended that only “attorney hearing officers” should be conducting formal review hearings.

Additional Resources

Bureau of Administrative Reviews in Clearwater – Visit the website of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to find a list of offices located in Pinellas County, including the Bureau of Administrative Reviews (BAR) Office, Driver License and Motor Vehicle Service Centers for driver license services only and due services centers located in Clearwater, Largo, St. Petersburg, the Florida Highway Patrol Stations, and Bureau of Dealer Services.

Lawyers for Hearings at the BAR Offices in Clearwater, FL

If you need to schedule a formal review hearing at the Bureau of Administrative Reviews office in Clearwater, FL, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at Sammis Law Firm.

We attend these hearings in person to represent our clients. We also work with DUI defense attorneys in the surrounding counties if they need in-person coverage at the hearing.

Let us put our experience to work for you.

Call 813-250-0500 today.

This article was last updated on Friday, March 17, 2023.