Pick your state and see what a first-offense DUI actually carries in 2026: jail time, fines, license suspension, ignition interlock rules, the lookback period, and the point where DUI becomes a felony. Or compare two states side by side.
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Compiled from each state's statute and DMV rules, cross-checked against the Nolo 50-state survey (February 2025), the NCSL felony-status table (September 2024), and the MADD and IIHS interlock lists. Conflicting rows were re-verified at statute level in June 2026; the lookup card above shows the citation for every state.
| State | Jail (1st offense) | Fine (base) | License suspension | Ignition interlock | Lookback | When DUI becomes a felony |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | None mandatory; up to 1 year | $600 to $2,100 | 90 days | Required to drive during suspension | 10 years | 4th offense in 10 years |
| Alaska | 72 hours minimum | $1,500 minimum | 90 days minimum | Mandatory for all first offenders | 10 years | 3rd offense in 10 years |
| Arizona | 24 hours minimum served (10-day sentence, 9 suspendable) | $250 base; roughly $1,500+ with surcharges | 90 days | Mandatory for all first offenders | 7 years | 3rd offense in 7 years; aggravated DUI (suspended license or child under 15) is a felony even on the 1st |
| Arkansas | 24 hours to 1 year | $150 to $1,000 | 6 months | Mandatory for all first offenders | 10 years | 4th offense in 10 years |
| California | 96 hours to 6 months; probation with no jail is common | $390 to $1,000 base; roughly $2,000+ with assessments | 6 months | Choice or conditional | 10 years | 4th offense in 10 years, or any DUI with injury |
| Colorado | Up to 1 year (DUI); up to 180 days (DWAI) | Up to $1,000 (DUI) | 9 months (none for DWAI) | Choice or conditional | Lifetime for the felony count | 4th offense, lifetime lookback |
| Connecticut | 2 days, or 100 hours community service | $500 to $1,000 | 45 days, then 1 year IID | Mandatory for all first offenders | 10 years | 2nd offense in 10 years (one of the few felony-on-2nd states) |
| Delaware | None mandatory; up to 6 months | $500 to $1,500 | 12 to 24 months | Mandatory for all first offenders | 10 years | 3rd offense |
| District of Columbia | None mandatory; up to 180 days | Up to $1,000 | 6 months | Required to drive during suspension | 15 years | No felony DUI; all offenses are misdemeanors |
| Florida | None mandatory; up to 6 months | $500 to $1,000 | 180 days to 1 year | High-BAC cases only | 5 years (2nd); 10 years for the felony 3rd | 3rd offense in 10 years |
| Georgia | 24 hours to 1 year | $300 to $1,000 | Up to 1 year (120 days typical) | High-BAC cases only | 10 years | 4th offense in 10 years |
| Hawaii | 48 hours to 5 days, or community service | $250 to $1,000 | 1 year to 18 months revocation | Mandatory for all first offenders | 10 years | 4th offense in 10 years |
| Idaho | None mandatory; up to 6 months | Up to $1,000 | 90 to 180 days | Mandatory for all first offenders | 10 years | 3rd offense in 10 years; 2nd with BAC .20+ is a felony |
| Illinois | None mandatory; up to 1 year | Up to $2,500 | 1 year revocation minimum (6-month summary suspension; BAIID permit to drive) | Required to drive during suspension | Lifetime; priors always count | 3rd offense, lifetime lookback |
| Indiana | Up to 60 days (Class C misd.); up to 1 year if BAC .15 or higher | $500 to $5,000 | Up to 1 year (court discretion) | Discretionary (no mandate) | 7 years | 2nd offense in 7 years (Level 6 felony); 1st with a minor passenger is a felony |
| Iowa | 48 hours to 1 year | $625 to $1,250 | 180 days revocation | Required to drive during suspension | 12 years | 3rd offense in 12 years |
| Kansas | 48 hours, or 100 hours community service | $750 to $1,000 | 30 days, then 180 days IID | Mandatory for all first offenders | 10 years (felony 3rd); lifetime for 4th | 3rd offense in 10 years |
| Kentucky | 48 hours to 30 days | $200 to $500, plus a service fee around $375 | 6 months (reducible with IID) | Mandatory for all first offenders | 10 years | 4th offense in 10 years |
| Louisiana | 10 days to 6 months; probation with 48 hours or community service is typical | $300 to $1,000 | 12 months on conviction (90-day administrative suspension is a separate track) | Required to drive during suspension | 10 years | 3rd offense |
| Maine | None mandatory; 48 hours if BAC .15 or higher or refusal; up to 1 year | $500 minimum | 150 days | Required to drive during suspension | 10 years | 3rd offense in 10 years |
| Maryland | None mandatory; up to 1 year (DUI) or 2 months (DWI) | Up to $1,000 (DUI) or $500 (DWI) | 6 months minimum | Required to drive during suspension | Roughly 5-year enhancement window | No felony DUI; all offenses are misdemeanors |
| Massachusetts | None mandatory; up to 30 months (the 24D probation disposition is typical) | $500 to $5,000 | 1 year (45 to 90 days with the 24D program) | High-BAC cases only | Lifetime (Melanie's Law) | 3rd offense, lifetime lookback |
| Michigan | None mandatory; up to 93 days | $100 to $500 | 30 days, then 150 days restricted | High-BAC cases only | 7 years (2nd); lifetime for the felony 3rd (Heidi's Law) | 3rd offense, lifetime lookback |
| Minnesota | None mandatory; up to 90 days | Up to $1,000 | 30 to 90 days | Choice or conditional | 10 years | 4th offense in 10 years |
| Mississippi | Up to 48 hours | $250 to $1,000 | 120 days (90 with IID) | Required to drive during suspension | 5 years | 3rd offense in 5 years; 4th lifetime |
| Missouri | None mandatory; up to 6 months | Up to $1,000 | 30 days, then 60-day restricted | Discretionary (no mandate) | 5 years (prior offender); persistent offender has no time limit | 3rd offense (persistent offender, no time limit) |
| Montana | 2 days to 6 months | $600 to $1,000 | 6 months | Discretionary (no mandate) | Lifetime for the felony count | 4th offense, lifetime lookback |
| Nebraska | 7 to 60 days | Up to $500 | 6 months (60 days, then IID permit) | Required to drive during suspension | 15 years | 4th offense in 15 years |
| Nevada | 2 days to 6 months, or 48 to 96 hours community service | $400 to $1,000 | 185 days | Mandatory for all first offenders | 7 years | 3rd offense in 7 years |
| New Hampshire | None mandatory (class B misdemeanor) | $500 to $1,200 | 9 months (reducible to 90 days with program) | Discretionary (no mandate) | 10 years | 4th offense |
| New Jersey | None typical; up to 30 days | $250 to $400 | Minimal until the IID is installed (post-2019 tier system) | Mandatory for all first offenders | 10 years (step-down rule) | Never a felony: DUI is a traffic offense, not a crime |
| New Mexico | None mandatory; up to 90 days | Up to $500 | Up to 1 year revocation | Mandatory for all first offenders | Lifetime for the felony count | 4th offense, lifetime lookback |
| New York | None mandatory; up to 1 year | $500 to $1,000 | 6 months revocation minimum | Mandatory for all first offenders | 10 years | 2nd offense in 10 years (class E felony); 1st with a child under 16 is a felony |
| North Carolina | 24 hours minimum (Level 5) up to 60 days; aggravated Level 1 runs far higher | $200 (Level 5) up to $4,000 (Level 1) | 60 days to 1 year revocation | High-BAC cases only | 7 years (sentencing factor); 10 years for habitual DWI | Habitual DWI: a 4th offense with 3 priors in 10 years |
| North Dakota | None mandatory (2 days if BAC .16 or higher); up to 30 days | $500 minimum ($750 if .16 or higher) | 91 to 180 days | Discretionary (no mandate) | 7 years | 4th offense in 15 years |
| Ohio | 3 days minimum, or a 3-day driver intervention program | $565 to $1,075 (raised by Liv's Law, effective April 9, 2025) | 1 to 3 years | Choice or conditional | 10 years | 4th offense in 10 years |
| Oklahoma | 10 days to 1 year | Up to $1,000 | 180 days revocation; IDAP/IID modification lets you keep driving | Required to drive during suspension | 10 years | 2nd offense in 10 years (one of the few felony-on-2nd states) |
| Oregon | 2 days, or 80 hours community service | $1,000 minimum | 1 year | Mandatory for all first offenders | 10 years | 3rd offense in 10 years (Class C felony, 90-day minimum) |
| Pennsylvania | None for general impairment (under .10); 48 hours to 6 months in higher tiers | $300 minimum (tier 1); $500 to $5,000 in higher tiers | None for tier 1 (under .10); 12 months if .10 or higher | High-BAC cases only | 10 years | Felony only at a 3rd offense in the highest-BAC tier |
| Rhode Island | None mandatory; up to 1 year | $100 to $500, plus assessments | BAC-tiered: 30 to 180 days (.08 to .10), 3 to 12 months (.10 to .15), 3 to 18 months (.15+ or drugs) | Choice or conditional | 5 years | 3rd offense in 5 years |
| South Carolina | 48 hours to 30 days, or community service | $400 base; roughly $1,000 with assessments | 6 months | Mandatory for all first offenders | 10 years | 4th offense in 10 years |
| South Dakota | None mandatory; up to 1 year | Up to $2,000 | 30 days to 1 year revocation | Discretionary (no mandate) | 10 years | 3rd offense in 10 years |
| Tennessee | 48 hours minimum (7 days if BAC .20 or higher) | $350 to $1,500 | 1 year revocation | Required to drive during suspension | 10 years | 4th offense in 10 years |
| Texas | 3 to 180 days | Up to $2,000, plus a state superfine up to $3,000 (2019 law replaced the old surcharges) | 90 days to 1 year | High-BAC cases only | Lifetime; priors always count | 3rd offense, lifetime lookback |
| Utah | 48 hours minimum, or community service or home confinement | $700 base minimum; roughly $1,400 with the surcharge | 120 days | Mandatory for all first offenders | 10 years | 3rd offense in 10 years |
| Vermont | None mandatory; up to 2 years | Up to $750 | 90 days | Required to drive during suspension | Lifetime; priors always count | 3rd offense, lifetime lookback |
| Virginia | None mandatory for a standard 1st (5 days minimum if BAC .15 or higher) | $250 minimum (up to $2,500) | 1 year (restricted license with IID available) | Mandatory for all first offenders | 10 years (5- and 10-year windows) | 3rd offense in 10 years |
| Washington | 24 hours minimum, or 15 days electronic home monitoring | $350 minimum; roughly $990 with fees | 90 days to 1 year | Mandatory for all first offenders | 7 years | 4th offense in 10 years |
| West Virginia | None mandatory; up to 6 months | $100 to $500 | 6 months (15 to 45 days with the Test and Lock IID program) | Required to drive during suspension | 10 years | 3rd offense |
| Wisconsin | No jail: a 1st offense is a civil forfeiture, not a crime | $150 to $300 forfeiture, plus a surcharge around $435 | 6 to 9 months revocation | High-BAC cases only | 10 years (2nd); lifetime for the felony 4th | Never on a 1st (not even criminal); felony at 4th |
| Wyoming | None mandatory; up to 6 months | Up to $750 | 90 days | High-BAC cases only | 10 years | 4th offense in 10 years |
The legal limit is 0.08 percent BAC in every state except Utah, which moved to 0.05 in 2018 and saw fatal-crash rates fall by roughly a fifth, according to the NHTSA evaluation.
The ranges shown are the statute's numbers for a standard first offense. Court costs, assessments, classes, towing, and supervision fees usually push the real cost far above the fine, which is why realistic first-DUI totals start around $6,500.
Most states suspend your license administratively at arrest (an implied-consent action) and again on conviction. Louisiana is the classic example: a 90-day administrative suspension and a 12-month conviction suspension are both real, separate tracks.
Mandatory for everyone, required only if you want to drive during suspension, a choice between IID and waiting out a suspension, high-BAC cases only, or fully discretionary. Thirty-four states plus DC now have some form of all-offender law.
A prior DUI inside the lookback window upgrades the next one. Windows run from 5 years to lifetime: in Illinois, Massachusetts, Texas, Vermont, and a handful of others, priors never age out.
Most states make the 3rd or 4th offense a felony. Connecticut, Indiana, New York, and Oklahoma make the 2nd a felony, while Maryland, New Jersey, Wisconsin (1st), and DC have no felony DUI at all on simple repeat counts.
AI Lawyer explains your state's DUI process in plain English, drafts hardship-license requests, character references, and employer letters, and helps you prepare the questions a defense lawyer will ask. Free to try, no credit card.
Try AI Lawyer freeA standard first offense is a misdemeanor (or less) in every state. It becomes a felony on the first offense only with aggravators such as serious injury, a child passenger (Arizona, Indiana, New York), or driving on a DUI-suspended license in Arizona.
Driving-record and criminal-record rules differ by state, from 5 years to forever. Illinois and Washington keep DUI convictions on the record permanently, and lifetime-lookback states treat old priors as countable no matter how old.
In most states, no jail is mandatory for a standard first offense, and probation or community service is the typical outcome. About 20 states do impose short mandatory minimums, from 24 hours in Arizona and Washington to 10 days in Oklahoma and Louisiana on paper.
Different states use different labels: DUI (driving under the influence), DWI (driving while intoxicated or impaired), OUI, or OWI. Some states use two labels for different impairment levels, like Maryland's DUI and DWI, but the penalty logic in the table is the same.
Arizona, by most rankings: mandatory jail, a mandatory 12-month interlock for every first offense, and aggravated felony triggers that other states reserve for repeat offenders. Utah has the lowest BAC limit at 0.05.
In many states, yes, after a waiting period and a clean record, though several (including some lifetime-lookback states) exclude DUI from expungement. Even an expunged DUI can still count as a prior for sentencing in some states.
Penalty ranges compiled June 2026 from each state's statute (cited in the lookup card), the Nolo/DrivingLaws 50-state survey (attorney-reviewed, February 13, 2025), the NCSL criminal-status table (September 4, 2024), and the MADD, Intoxalock, and IIHS all-offender interlock lists. Nine states where secondary sources conflicted (AL, IN, LA, MO, NE, OH, OK, RI, SC) were re-verified against the current statute text in June 2026.
Cite or reuse this data with attribution and a link: AI Lawyer, "DUI Penalties by State," June 2026, https://ailawyer.pro/tools/dui-penalties-by-state.
This tool is general legal information, not legal advice, and is not a substitute for a licensed attorney in your state. Penalties shown are for a standard adult first offense; aggravating factors, local court practice, and recent amendments can change the outcome. Verify with your state's statute or a local attorney before acting. Related guides: what a DUI lawyer costs and handling a DUI case online, step by step.
