Sean P. Quinlan, Esq. monogramSean P. Quinlan, Esq.

ARD Program · Lancaster County, PA

ARD Program Lawyer in Lancaster County, PA.

Charged with a first-offense DUI in Lancaster County? ARD ends the case with no conviction, a shorter suspension, and an expungement at the end. Attorney Sean P. Quinlan handles ARD applications in Lancaster County personally — free consultation, flat fee.

(717) 724-7503 Schedule a consultation

Lancaster County · Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition

The fastest way out of a first Lancaster County DUI.

ARD is Pennsylvania's diversion program for first-time, non-violent offenders. It is not a plea and not a conviction: you complete supervision and conditions, the Commonwealth dismisses the charges, and the arrest is expunged.

Lancaster County runs a distinctive Central Court intake for DUI cases and its own ARD track. The DA screens ARD applications alongside the CRN evaluation and requires a completed application packet.

(717) 724-7503 Check ARD eligibility

Court & District Attorney

Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas — 50 North Duke Street, Lancaster, PA 17602. Applications are screened by the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.

From Lancaster County

Lancaster County is a 45-minute drive east of our Camp Hill office on Route 283. Elizabethtown, Mount Joy, and Columbia clients are even closer.

3425 Simpson Ferry Rd, Suite 100, Camp Hill, PA 17011

The Lancaster County ARD process, step by step.

  1. 1. Preliminary hearing or waiver

    Most ARD candidates waive the preliminary hearing once we confirm the evidence and the DA's screening posture — but only after we've reviewed the affidavit, BAC or lab work, and the stop.

  2. 2. CRN evaluation & drug-and-alcohol assessment

    Required before admission in every Central PA county. Scheduling it early is the single most common reason one applicant gets into ARD ahead of another.

  3. 3. ARD application to the District Attorney

    Filed with the DA's office, usually before formal arraignment. Late applications get the case listed for trial instead.

  4. 4. ARD hearing

    You appear in the Court of Common Pleas, the terms are placed on the record, and supervision begins.

  5. 5. Program compliance

    Alcohol Highway Safety School, supervision, any treatment condition, costs and restitution, and a clean record during the term.

  6. 6. Dismissal and expungement

    On successful completion the charges are dismissed and we file the expungement petition — the step people most often skip.

Related reading for Lancaster County

More Lancaster County ARD and DUI.

Lancaster County · practice areas

Start with the Pennsylvania ARD program lawyer hub.

Statewide ARD eligibility, cost, and timeline behind this Lancaster County page.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

ARD questions from Lancaster County drivers — eligibility, cost, deadlines, suspensions, and expungement.

  • ARD is generally available to first-time, non-violent offenders — most first-offense DUIs, plus many first-offense drug possession and theft cases. Lancaster County District Attorney's Office controls admission for Lancaster County cases. Lancaster County runs a distinctive Central Court intake for DUI cases and its own ARD track. The DA screens ARD applications alongside the CRN evaluation and requires a completed application packet. You may be excluded if a child was in the vehicle, there was a serious-injury accident, or you have qualifying priors. Under Act 58 of 2025, a prior ARD within 10 years now counts as a prior offense.

  • Lancaster County ARD cases are heard at the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas, 50 North Duke Street, Lancaster, PA 17602. Preliminary hearings in Lancaster route through the Central Court system rather than individual MDJs for most DUI arrests.

  • Lancaster ARD total costs typically range from $1,900 to $2,700 depending on BAC tier and any restitution. Those figures are program and court costs — our defense fee is a separate flat fee quoted before you hire us.

  • Applications are usually filed after Central Court and before the ARD hearing; late-filed packets can be denied on scheduling grounds.

  • Yes, when you complete it. ARD is not a conviction. On successful completion the charges are dismissed and the record is expungeable — which is why the expungement petition at the end matters as much as the admission at the beginning.

  • ARD suspensions are shorter than conviction suspensions and depend on BAC tier: no suspension for general impairment, 30 days at .10–.159, and 60 days at .16 or higher or for a controlled-substance DUI. Refusal cases carry a separate 12-month implied-consent suspension that ARD does not erase.

Related pages

Free Consultation

The sooner we talk, the more we can do.

Every hour matters in a DUI or criminal case. Call directly and speak with Attorney Quinlan — not an intake desk.

(717) 724-7503 Schedule a consultation
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