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DUI and DWI Charges

Driving under the influence is a criminal charge in every state, with a limit of 0.08 blood alcohol concentration nationwide — except Utah, which lowered its limit to 0.05. Two cases run in parallel after an arrest: the criminal prosecution, and a separate administrative case about your driver's license, which usually has a much shorter deadline and is lost by default more often than it is lost on the merits. Call 1-844-690-0555 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a licensed US attorney ($195, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

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The license case is the trap. Most states give you only a matter of days — often about ten — after arrest to request an administrative hearing, and missing that window means an automatic suspension regardless of what happens in the criminal case. Ask about it immediately.

DUI and DWI Charges at a glance

0.08 nationwide, 0.05 in Utah

And lower limits apply to commercial drivers and to drivers under 21

Two separate cases

The criminal charge and the administrative license action run on different tracks and different deadlines

Implied consent

Refusing a chemical test carries its own penalty, often a longer suspension than a failed test

You can be over without feeling drunk

Impairment charges do not require a specific reading in some states

The consequences outlast the sentence

Insurance, employment, professional licenses and travel to some countries

The two cases, and why people lose the license one

The criminal case moves through arraignment, motions, negotiation and possibly trial over months. The administrative case, run by the state motor vehicle agency, moves immediately: in most states you must request a hearing within days of the arrest or the suspension takes effect automatically. People concentrating on the criminal charge routinely let that window close and lose their license without a hearing they were entitled to. Ask at the first opportunity what the deadline is in your state and put the request in writing. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Where these cases are actually contested

Rarely on whether you drank, and usually on procedure: whether there was reasonable suspicion for the stop and probable cause for the arrest; whether field sobriety tests were administered as they are supposed to be; whether the breath machine was properly calibrated and maintained and the operator certified; whether the observation period before the test was kept; and whether a blood draw was lawful and the chain of custody sound. Rising blood alcohol, medical conditions and mouth alcohol are recognised technical arguments. None of this is available to someone who pleads guilty at the first hearing to get it over with. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

What follows a conviction

Fines and court costs, license suspension, an ignition interlock device in most states, mandatory alcohol education or treatment, probation, and jail exposure that rises sharply with prior offences and with high readings, injury or a child in the vehicle. Then the long tail: high-risk insurance for years, employment consequences where driving matters, professional license reporting obligations for some occupations, and refusal of entry by some countries, notably Canada. For non-citizens, a DUI can carry immigration consequences and needs specialist advice before any plea. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

If you are charged with DUI, step by step

Ask about the license hearing deadline todayOften around ten days, and missing it forfeits the hearing entirely.

Get the calibration and procedure recordsThis is where these cases are contested.

Do not plead at the first hearing to get it over withThe consequences run for years. Call 1-844-690-0555 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a licensed US attorney ($195, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

DUI and DWI Charges — your questions answered

Should I refuse the breath test?

Every state has implied consent laws, and refusing carries its own penalty — often a longer license suspension than failing the test would bring, and in some states refusal itself is a separate offence or can be used as evidence. There are situations where refusal changes the evidential picture, but it is not a free option, and it should not be treated as one. Ask for a lawyer at the earliest moment.

Can I lose my license before I am convicted?

Yes, and it happens constantly. The administrative suspension is a separate civil process run by the motor vehicle agency, and it proceeds on its own timetable regardless of the criminal case — which is why the short deadline to request a hearing matters so much. It is entirely possible to be acquitted criminally and still have lost your license administratively because nobody requested the hearing in time.

Is a DUI a felony?

Usually a misdemeanor for a first offence without aggravating factors, but it can be a felony where there are prior convictions within a lookback period, a serious injury or death, a very high reading in some states, a child passenger, or driving on an already suspended license. The thresholds differ by state, which is another reason a plea should not be entered before someone has looked at your record against your state's rules.