DUI Laws in Alaska: Penalties, BAC Limits & License Suspension

In Alaska, drunk driving is charged as DUI (Driving Under the Influence) under AS 28.35.030. The standard per se blood-alcohol limit is 0.08% (0.04% for commercial driver's license holders). If you are arrested and either fail a chemical test or refuse one, a state trooper or officer will hand you a "Notice and Order of Revocation" — and the clock starts immediately: you have only 7 days from the date you receive that notice to request an administrative review with the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), or your license is automatically revoked on the 8th day after arrest, regardless of what happens in your criminal case. This deadline is separate from, and faster than, anything in the criminal court process. If you take one thing from this article, take that.

What a "DUI" is called in Alaska

Alaska uses the term DUI for both criminal charges and administrative license actions. The governing statutes are:

• AS 28.35.030 — DUI (operating a vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft under the influence)
• AS 28.33.030 — DUI-CMV (commercial motor vehicle version)
• AS 28.35.032 — Refusal to submit to a chemical test

DUI and Refusal are treated as closely linked offenses in Alaska: they carry the same escalating mandatory-minimum penalty structure, and both can be charged as misdemeanors or, with enough prior history, felonies.

Alaska's BAC limits

• Standard drivers (21+): 0.08% or greater is DUI per se — this national 0.08 threshold applies in every state.
• Commercial driver's license (CDL) holders: 0.04% or greater while operating a commercial motor vehicle is DUI-CMV; a driver can also be charged with ordinary DUI and Refusal from the same incident.
• Drivers under 21: effectively zero tolerance. Alaska's separate underage law prohibits a person under 21 from driving after consuming alcohol — it is framed around having consumed alcohol, not a specific low BAC number like 0.02%. A driver under 21 who separately tests at 0.08% or higher can still be charged with the full adult DUI on top of the zero-tolerance violation. The DMV first-offense administrative revocation for the underage violation runs 30 days, escalating for repeat violations.
• "Aggravated" or high-BAC tier: Unlike some states, Alaska's official penalty tables (published by the Alaska Court System) do not list a separate, higher-penalty tier tied to a specific elevated BAC such as 0.15%. Alaska's mandatory minimums scale with the number of prior convictions, not with how high your BAC reading was. A very high BAC can still influence charging decisions, bail, and sentencing discretion even without a named "aggravated" tier.

Implied consent and refusing a chemical test

Under Alaska's implied consent law, driving in Alaska means you've already agreed to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test if lawfully arrested for DUI. If you refuse:

• Your license is seized and processed through the same administrative revocation and criminal-penalty schedule as a DUI conviction — first offense revocation runs 90 days, escalating for repeat offenses.
• Refusal is its own separate crime (AS 28.35.032) — you can be charged with Refusal in addition to, or instead of, DUI.
• Your refusal can be used against you in both the civil license proceeding and any criminal case.

Refusing does not make the DUI problem go away — in Alaska it typically results in the same or worse consequences as failing the test, plus a separate criminal charge.

Administrative license revocation: the 7-day deadline

This is the part people miss. If you test at 0.08% or higher (0.04% for a CDL) or you refuse testing, the arresting officer seizes your physical license and gives you a Notice and Order of Revocation. That notice:

• Functions as a temporary license valid for 7 days;
• Tells you your license will be revoked by the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on the 8th day after your arrest — automatically, with no separate hearing — unless you act;
• Explains how to request an administrative review.

You must submit a written request for an administrative review within 7 days of receiving the notice. Requests are made on the DMV's request form and mailed or hand-delivered to DMV, Attn: Anchorage Driver Services, 4001 Ingra St., Suite 101, Anchorage, AK 99503. If you request the review in time, DMV issues a temporary license that stays valid until your hearing is decided. If you don't request it in time, the revocation takes effect automatically and you lose the chance to contest it administratively — separate from whatever happens later in criminal court. This administrative process runs on its own track, in parallel with (not instead of) the criminal case.

First-offense penalties

Alaska publishes mandatory-minimum penalty tables through the Alaska Court System. As of the most recent published edition, a first misdemeanor DUI or Refusal conviction must include, at minimum:

• Jail or electronic monitoring: a mandatory minimum of 72 consecutive hours, up to a 1-year maximum for a misdemeanor;
• Fine: a mandatory minimum of $1,500 (maximum $25,000 for a misdemeanor), plus a separate cost-of-imprisonment surcharge;
• License revocation: a minimum of 90 days;
• Ignition interlock device (IID): required for alcohol-related violations for a minimum of 6 months once driving privileges resume (with a narrow exception in certain communities not on the state road system);
• A mandatory drug/alcohol evaluation and any treatment the evaluation requires.

A limited license for work, school, or treatment may be available during part of the revocation if the court and DMV criteria are met, but it isn't automatic. Because penalty schedules, surcharge amounts, and eligibility rules for limited licenses are set (and periodically updated) by statute and DMV regulation, confirm the current numbers with the Alaska DMV or a local defense attorney before assuming any figure above still applies to your exact situation.

Lookback period: how long a prior DUI counts against you

Alaska counts prior DUI or Refusal convictions — including out-of-state equivalents — within a 10-year lookback window when determining whether an offense is a second, third, or later offense, and whether it can be elevated to a felony. Convictions from a single incident (for example, if you were charged with both DUI and Refusal from the same stop) count as one prior, not two. Penalties escalate sharply with each additional prior offense within that window — jail minimums, fines, IID duration, and license revocation length all increase at the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-or-subsequent offense levels.

When a DUI becomes a felony in Alaska

A DUI or Refusal charge is a misdemeanor by default. It can be elevated to a Class C felony when:

• The person has two or more prior DUI or Refusal convictions (from Alaska or a similar out-of-state offense), and
• Those prior convictions all fall within the 10-year lookback period described above — making the new charge a third (or later) qualifying offense.

A felony DUI conviction carries much steeper consequences: a mandatory minimum jail term starting at 120 days (rising to 360 days for a fifth-or-later offense), a mandatory minimum fine of $10,000, a mandatory minimum 60-month ignition interlock requirement, and permanent revocation of driving privileges — with reinstatement, if ever possible, requiring a court process and years of a clean record. Felony DUI/Refusal cases are prosecuted by grand jury indictment and tried before a 12-person jury in superior court, rather than the 6-person district court jury used for misdemeanors. If an incident involved injury, death, or a child passenger, expect additional separate criminal charges on top of the DUI itself — those are outside the scope of AS 28.35.030 and should be discussed with a defense attorney immediately.

What to do after a DUI arrest in Alaska

1. Note the exact date you received the Notice and Order of Revocation. Your 7-day window to request an administrative review starts from that date, not from your court date — do not wait for a lawyer or court paperwork before acting on this.
2. Request the administrative review in writing immediately. Use the DMV's request form and deliver or mail it to Anchorage Driver Services before the 7 days run out. If you mail it, make sure it's postmarked within the window — do not cut it close.
3. Keep your temporary license and all paperwork the officer gave you; you'll need it to prove your temporary driving privileges and hearing timeline.
4. Contact a licensed Alaska criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. The administrative DMV process and the criminal case are two separate proceedings with two separate timelines — you may need representation, or at least advice, for both.
5. Do not skip the criminal court dates even if you're also pursuing the DMV review; missing either process can independently make things worse.
6. Arrange for a drug and alcohol evaluation promptly if your case moves toward conviction — courts require this, and getting ahead of it can help with scheduling and any limited-license request.
7. Do not drive on a revoked license. Driving while revoked for a DUI/Refusal-related suspension is its own separate crime in Alaska with mandatory jail time.

This article is general legal information about Alaska law, not legal advice for your specific situation — laws and penalty amounts change, so confirm current details with the Alaska DMV, the Alaska Court System, or a licensed Alaska attorney before relying on any number above.