How to Prepare for a DAAD/AHS Hearing in Michigan: A Substance Abuse Evaluator's Guide

If you are reading this, you are probably somewhere between hopeful and terrified. After years without a license — and likely after one or more denials — you are getting close to the moment that decides whether you get back on the road. I have sat across from hundreds of people in that exact spot. My name is Christine Sendek — most people call me Tina — and for over fifteen years I have conducted substance abuse evaluations for Michigan license restoration cases and watched people walk into those hearings prepared and unprepared.

The single biggest factor separating people who win their hearings from people who lose them is not the strength of their sobriety. It is preparation. People who have been truly sober for years still get denied because they walked in unprepared. People with shaky cases sometimes win because they understood exactly what hearing officers were looking for and presented their evidence accordingly.

This guide is meant to give you that understanding. It is not legal advice — I am a licensed therapist, not an attorney — but it reflects what I have learned from fifteen years of evaluations, attorney collaboration, and watching how hearing officers think.

First: Yes, the Name Keeps Changing

If you have noticed that different sources call this hearing different things, you are not losing your mind. The body that decides driver's license restoration cases in Michigan has been renamed twice. It used to be the Driver Assessment and Appeal Division (DAAD). Then it became the Administrative Hearings Section (AHS). The current official name is the Office of Hearings and Administrative Oversight (OHAO).

Most attorneys, evaluators, and even hearing officers still casually use "DAAD." When you see DAAD, AHS, or OHAO, they all refer to the same hearing process. I will use the terms interchangeably here, the way they are used in practice.

What the Hearing Is Actually About

Many people walk in thinking the hearing is about whether they have suffered enough or whether they are sorry. It is not. The hearing is governed by a specific administrative rule — commonly known as Rule 13 — and your job at the hearing is to prove specific things by clear and convincing evidence.

Clear and convincing evidence is a higher standard than "more likely than not." You are not just trying to nudge the hearing officer to your side. You have to leave them with no real doubt that:

1. Your alcohol or substance abuse problem is under control and likely to remain under control
2. You have a legitimate, low risk of using substances or driving impaired
3. You have the ability and motivation to drive safely and within the law
4. You meet the other technical requirements (proper paperwork, current evaluation, current drug screen, no other disqualifying issues)

Notice what is not on this list: feeling bad, having a sympathetic story, or having waited a long time. Hearing officers have heard every story. They are looking for a structured pattern of evidence that adds up to a recovered, low-risk person.

The Documents That Actually Decide Your Case

Your hearing is decided primarily on paper. Most people are surprised by this. The hearing itself is short — usually under an hour — and the hearing officer has already read your file before you ever speak. By the time you walk in (or log into Microsoft Teams for a virtual hearing), the case is largely already decided. Your testimony exists to confirm what the documents say, not to introduce new information.

The documents that matter most:

The Substance Use Evaluation (SOS-258)

This is the single most important document in your petition. It is a comprehensive clinical evaluation conducted on the state's required form by a qualified evaluator. It documents your full substance use history, your diagnosis, your prognosis, and the evaluator's professional opinion about your recovery. If this document is weak, vague, internally inconsistent, or inconsistent with the rest of your packet, your case will be denied no matter how strong your sobriety actually is.

The Request for Hearing (SOS-257)

This is the form you fill out. The information on it must match your evaluation precisely. I cannot tell you how many denials I have seen because someone wrote one sobriety date on the SOS-257 and a different date in the evaluation, or listed three prior offenses on one and four on the other. Hearing officers cross-check these documents line by line. Inconsistency reads as either dishonesty or carelessness, and both are fatal.

A current 10-panel drug screen (or 12-panel, depending on the lab)

This must be submitted within 30 days of your hearing request. Many people miss this window because they did not realize it was a rolling clock — get the screen too early, and you have to redo it.

Letters of support

You need at least three, no more than six. Each letter must be notarized, signed within the relevant window, and must independently confirm your sobriety, your recovery work, and what your support network looks like. Generic letters that say "she is a great person" will hurt you. Specific letters that reference your recovery work, your meeting attendance, your changed lifestyle, and dates that match your stated sobriety date will help you.

Your driving record

Not something you produce, but something the hearing officer reviews carefully. Make sure you know what is on it.

The Timing Pitfalls That Quietly Sink Cases

Two clocks run at the same time, and people miss them constantly:

• Your drug screen must be dated within 30 days of when your hearing request is submitted to the state.
• Your substance abuse evaluation must be dated within 3 months of when your hearing request is submitted.

If either document falls outside its window, your packet is technically incomplete. You can also schedule the evaluation too early and have it expire before your hearing date is assigned, which means redoing it.

The right order, in plain terms: get clean, build your support network and recovery history, attend recovery meetings consistently for at least the timeframe needed for your case, gather your support letters and have them notarized within the appropriate window, complete your drug screen, complete your evaluation, then submit your hearing request — all in a coordinated sequence so every document is current.

What Hearing Officers Are Really Looking For

After years of working alongside attorneys and reading hearing decisions, I can tell you that hearing officers consistently focus on three big things, even though their specific questions vary widely.

The first is consistency — your story needs to be the same across every document and every answer you give. Different sobriety dates, different relapse histories, or different versions of your past in different places will sink an otherwise strong case.

The second is genuine recovery, not just abstinence. Hearing officers want to see that you have built something — a program, a structure, a support network — that supports your sobriety, rather than relying on willpower alone.

The third is honesty about your full history, including the parts you would rather not discuss. Officers can usually tell when someone is hiding or minimizing, and the consequences of being caught are far worse than the consequences of disclosing.

What this looks like in practice — the specific patterns hearing officers reward, the language they listen for, the credibility signals they evaluate, and how to demonstrate each of these in a way that builds a strong record — is something I cover in much more depth in my Michigan Driver's License Restoration Preparation Manual.

Preparing for Your Testimony

The hearing itself is short, but it is also where most people undo months of preparation in five minutes. A few things to remember:

Practice telling your story chronologically and consistently. Know your offense dates, your sobriety date, your meeting frequency, your sponsor's name, the steps you have completed (if AA), your treatment history, and your relapse history if any. You should be able to give these answers smoothly without searching your memory.

Do not memorize a script. Hearing officers can spot rehearsed answers immediately, and they raise suspicion. Know your facts, then speak naturally.

Keep your answers focused. Long, rambling answers create opportunities for inconsistency. Answer what was asked, then stop.

Do not get defensive. If a hearing officer asks you a hard question, it is because they need to test something. Answer honestly and calmly.

If you do not know an answer, say so. "I do not remember the exact date" is much better than guessing wrong and creating an inconsistency later.

Virtual Hearings: A Few Practical Notes

Most hearings are now conducted virtually through Microsoft Teams. This is generally good for petitioners — it is more convenient and less intimidating than appearing in person — but it introduces its own pitfalls:

Test your technology the day before. Know how to mute, unmute, and turn on your camera. A failed connection at the start of your hearing is a stressful, terrible way to begin.

Find a quiet, professional setting. No driving, no public spaces, no distracting backgrounds. A plain wall behind you is fine. Dress as you would for an in-person hearing.

Have your full document packet printed and in front of you. You will be referenced to specific items, and fumbling for them on screen is disorienting.

Look at the camera, not at the screen, when you are speaking. It feels unnatural but it reads as eye contact to the hearing officer.

The Most Common Reasons People Get Denied

After fifteen years, the patterns are clear. Most denials trace back to one of four broad areas:

• Documentation problems — a weak evaluation, missed deadlines, or paperwork that contradicts itself
• Insufficient or unconvincing recovery — sobriety that's too short, too recent, or not supported by an active program
• Credibility gaps — inconsistencies, defensiveness, or hidden information that surfaces during the hearing
• The wrong evaluator — someone without specific DAAD experience producing a clinically thin report

Each of these has specific patterns that I see again and again, and each is preventable with the right preparation. My Preparation Manual covers each of these denial categories in detail — what they look like, why hearing officers respond to them the way they do, and exactly how to avoid them.

Where to Go From Here

If you are months away from your hearing, you have time. Use it. Build your recovery record, gather your support, document everything, and prepare carefully. If you are weeks away, focus on document consistency and testimony preparation.