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Florida DUI Penalties

Reflects Florida Statutes as of the 2025 session. Every figure links to the official statute on Online Sunshine, which opens in a new window.

Florida DUI penalties escalate by prior record and by aggravating conditions such as blood- or breath-alcohol level, the presence of a minor, and injury or death. The controlling statute is § 316.193, Fla. Stat.

Base penalties — § 316.193(2)

ConvictionFineJailIgnition interlock
First$500 – $1,000up to 6 months
Second$1,000 – $2,000up to 9 monthsat least 1 year
Third within 10 yrs of a priorThird-degree felonyat least 2 years
Third after 10+ yrs$2,000 – $5,000up to 12 monthsat least 2 years
Fourth or subsequent (any time)Third-degree felony; fine not less than $2,000

Mandatory jail on priors — § 316.193(6)

Second within 5 yrs of a priorat least 10 days mandatory
Third or subsequent within 10 yrsat least 30 days mandatory

At least 48 hours of that confinement must be served consecutively. § 316.193(6)(b), (c).

Probation, community service, and vehicle impoundment — § 316.193(6)

These are imposed in addition to whatever fine or jail the court orders under subsections (2), (3), or (4). For a first conviction the court shall place the defendant on probation, and the statute caps the whole sentence: the total period of probation and incarceration may not exceed 1 year. § 316.193(6)(a).

Probation — first convictionnot to exceed 1 year, mandatory
Community service — first convictionminimum 50 hours of public service or a community work project, as a condition of probation
Probation and jail combinedmay not exceed 1 year in total

The court may allow payment of $10 for each hour of community service instead of performing it, but only on a finding that the defendant’s residence or location at the time the work would be required, or the defendant’s employment obligations, would create an undue hardship. It is not an election the defendant makes.

Subsection (6)(a)’s one-year cap is written for a first conviction. Where DUI is charged as a misdemeanor and the court does not specify otherwise, misdemeanor probation runs up to 6 months — but for any non-felony offense in which the use of alcohol or a controlled substance is a significant factor, the period may be up to 1 year. § 948.15(1), Fla. Stat.

Vehicle impoundment or immobilization

At every conviction level the court must order the vehicle impounded or immobilized as a condition of probation, and the impoundment may not run at the same time the defendant is in jail.

ConvictionPeriodWhat is impounded
First10 daysthe vehicle operated by or in the actual control of the defendant, or any one vehicle registered in the defendant’s name
Second within 5 yrs of a prior30 daysall vehicles owned by the defendant
Third or subsequent within 10 yrs90 daysall vehicles owned by the defendant

On a second or third conviction the impoundment must run concurrently with the driver license revocation. The order may be dismissed under § 316.193(6)(e)–(i) — a stolen vehicle, a good-faith purchaser after the offense, a family with no other private or public transportation, vehicles driven solely by the defendant’s employees, or proof that a functioning certified ignition interlock device has been installed on every vehicle the defendant routinely operates.

DUI school and the psychosocial evaluation — § 316.193(5)

This one is not discretionary and it is not limited to first offenses. The court shall place all offenders convicted of DUI on monthly reporting probation and shall require completion of a substance abuse course run by a DUI program licensed by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles under § 322.292. That course must include a psychosocial evaluation of the offender.

If the DUI program refers the offender to treatment, completion of the education, the evaluation, and the treatment is itself a condition of reporting probation. The offender pays for all of it. A treatment referral cannot be waived without an independent psychosocial evaluation by a court-appointed provider — which gets access to the DUI program’s evaluation first — and the court must review both before ruling on the waiver, again at the offender’s expense.

CourseLengthWho attends
Level Iminimum 12 hours of classroom instruction, including not less than 2 hours of drug abuse informationfirst offenders
Level IIminimum 21 hoursanyone who has already attended Level I, or who has been convicted two or more times of an offense requiring DUI program attendance

Course lengths are set by rule, not by statute: Fla. Admin. Code R. 15A-10.024 (Level I) and R. 15A-10.025 (Level II).

Failing to report for or complete the course or the treatment is not only a probation problem. The DUI program notifies the court and the department, and the department cancels the driving privilege — notwithstanding the terms of the court’s order or any suspension or revocation period already running. Reinstatement after a DUI revocation separately requires proof of enrollment in an approved course under § 322.291, Fla. Stat.

Driver license revocation — § 322.28

Revocation is imposed by the court at sentencing and runs from the date of conviction. The periods below are those set by § 322.28(2), Fla. Stat. The five- and ten-year windows are measured from the date of the prior conviction.

ConvictionMinimumMaximum
First (not resulting in death)180 days1 year
Second within 5 yrs of a prior conviction5 yearsnot capped by statute
Second outside 5 yrs180 days1 year
Third within 10 yrs of a prior conviction10 yearsnot capped by statute
Third outside 10 yrs180 days1 year
Fourth conviction (any time)Permanent revocation
DUI manslaughterPermanent revocation

Where the court does not specify a period at sentencing or within 30 days after, the department applies the maximum for a first conviction and the minimum for any subsequent conviction. § 322.28(2)(b). The driver may petition the court within 30 days to reopen and set the period.

A restricted license for business or employment purposes may be available in some circumstances under § 322.271, Fla. Stat. Eligibility and waiting periods depend on the conviction history and are not summarized here.

Enhanced — BAC 0.15+ or minor in vehicle — § 316.193(4)

ConvictionFineJail
First$1,000 – $2,000up to 9 months
Second$2,000 – $4,000up to 12 months
Third or subsequentnot less than $4,000

DUI causing damage, injury, or death — § 316.193(3)

Property or personal damageFirst-degree misdemeanor
Serious bodily injury (§ 316.1933)Third-degree felony
Death of a person or unborn childDUI manslaughter — second-degree felony
DUI manslaughter + left the scene / failed to render aidFirst-degree felony

DUI manslaughter carries a mandatory minimum of 4 years’ imprisonment.

Read § 316.193 in full →