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

In Florida, this offense is charged as Driving Under the Influence (DUI) under Florida Statutes Section 316.193 — the state does not use "DWI" or "OWI." The per se limit is a blood- or breath-alcohol level of 0.08, and if you were arrested, you likely have only 10 days from the date of your arrest to request a hearing with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) to fight the automatic suspension of your license. Miss that window and the suspension takes effect on its own, before you've even been to court.

What DUI Is Called in Florida, and the BAC Limits That Apply

Florida law calls it "Driving Under the Influence," commonly abbreviated DUI, and it is codified at Florida Statutes § 316.193. The core rule is straightforward: it is illegal to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle while your normal faculties are impaired by alcohol or drugs, or while your breath- or blood-alcohol level is 0.08 grams per 210 liters of breath (or 100 milliliters of blood) or higher. That 0.08 per se threshold is the standard used nationwide.

• General per se limit: 0.08 for drivers 21 and older.
• Commercial driver's license (CDL) holders: 0.04 when operating a commercial motor vehicle, consistent with federal commercial-vehicle rules.
• Drivers under 21 ("zero tolerance"): Florida's threshold is 0.02, enforced administratively under Florida Statutes § 322.2616. This is not the same as a criminal DUI charge, but it triggers its own license suspension separate from any criminal case.
• Aggravated / high-BAC threshold: Florida enhances penalties when a person's BAC is 0.15 or higher, or when a minor under 18 was in the vehicle, even on a first offense.

These thresholds can be amended by the Florida Legislature, so confirm the current statutory text with FLHSMV or a Florida-licensed defense attorney before relying on any specific number in your own case.

Implied Consent and Refusing a Breath, Blood, or Urine Test

By driving in Florida, you've already agreed — under the state's "implied consent" law, Florida Statutes § 316.1932 — to submit to a lawful breath, blood, or urine test if a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe you're impaired. Refusing is not a free pass; it carries its own automatic administrative consequences, separate from and in addition to the criminal DUI charge:

• First refusal: automatic one-year suspension of your driving privilege.
• Second or subsequent refusal: automatic 18-month suspension — and under Florida law, refusing a second time (after a prior refusal) is itself a separate first-degree misdemeanor criminal offense, not just a license penalty.
• Refusal as evidence: the fact that you refused testing is admissible against you in the criminal DUI case itself.

Refusing does not stop the state from pursuing a DUI conviction, and it adds its own suspension and possible criminal exposure on top of whatever happens with the underlying charge.

The Administrative License Suspension: You Likely Have Only 10 Days to Act

This is the single most time-critical piece of a Florida DUI arrest, and it is easy to miss because it runs on a completely different clock than your criminal case. When you're arrested for DUI in Florida with a BAC of 0.08 or above, or you refuse testing, the officer typically confiscates your license on the spot and issues a Notice of Suspension along with a 10-day temporary driving permit. That notice starts an administrative license suspension through the FLHSMV — a civil action that is separate from any criminal conviction and happens automatically unless you challenge it.

Under Florida Statutes § 322.2615, you generally have 10 days from the date of your arrest to request a formal or informal review hearing with FLHSMV to contest the suspension. If you don't request a hearing within that window, the suspension goes into effect automatically — you lose the chance to challenge it administratively, regardless of what later happens in your criminal case.

Administrative suspension lengths for a BAC-based (not refusal) suspension are generally shorter than for a refusal: FLHSMV's own guidance describes a first BAC-failure suspension as six months, escalating to one year for a second or subsequent suspension, while refusal suspensions run one year (first) and 18 months (second or subsequent), as described above. These figures and the hearing procedure can change, so confirm the current deadline directly with FLHSMV or a Florida defense attorney the moment you or a loved one is arrested — do not wait.

First-Offense DUI Penalties in Florida

A first DUI conviction in Florida (no injury involved) generally carries a mix of criminal and license consequences. The general pattern, based on Florida Statutes § 316.193, includes:

• License revocation: a minimum of 180 days, up to one year, imposed as part of the criminal sentence (separate from any earlier administrative suspension).
• Jail exposure: up to 6 months for a standard first offense; up to 9 months if your BAC was 0.15 or higher or a minor was in the vehicle.
• Fines: the statute sets a standard range for a first offense, rising to a higher range if BAC was 0.15+ or a minor was in the vehicle. Exact dollar amounts change and vary by circumstances (property damage, prior history), so confirm the current fine schedule in the statute rather than relying on a fixed number.
• Ignition interlock device (IID): not automatically required for every first offense, but Florida law requires an IID for a minimum of six months when the BAC was 0.15 or higher or a minor was in the vehicle, and courts have discretion to order one in other first-offense cases as well.
• DUI school and probation: a first conviction typically requires completion of a state-approved DUI substance-abuse course before your license can be reinstated, along with probation and community service in many cases.

These are patterns, not guarantees — actual sentences depend on your facts, BAC, prior record, and the judge. Confirm current fine amounts, jail exposure, and eligibility for a hardship or business-purposes license with FLHSMV or a Florida-licensed defense attorney.

How Long a Prior DUI Counts Against You (the Lookback Period)

Florida uses a 10-year lookback period as the key trigger for felony enhancement: a third DUI conviction that occurs within 10 years of a prior DUI conviction is charged as a felony (see below), with harsher penalties than a third DUI falling outside that window. Older convictions still count as "priors" for record-keeping and can still affect sentencing outside the 10-year felony trigger, but the 10-year window is the specific line the statute draws for automatic felony enhancement. Out-of-state DUI/DWI convictions generally count as priors too. Confirm how a specific out-of-state or older conviction will be treated in your case with a Florida attorney.

When a DUI Becomes a Felony in Florida

Most first and second DUI offenses in Florida are misdemeanors, but several circumstances elevate the charge to a felony:

• Third DUI within 10 years of a prior conviction: charged as a third-degree felony.
• Fourth or subsequent DUI, regardless of when the priors occurred: also charged as a third-degree felony.
• DUI causing serious bodily injury to another person: a third-degree felony, even on a first offense.
• DUI manslaughter (a death results): a second-degree felony, elevated to a first-degree felony if you knew you were involved in a crash and failed to render aid or report it.

Felony DUI convictions carry mandatory minimum prison exposure, extended license revocation (including permanent revocation for a fourth conviction), and multi-year ignition interlock requirements. If you're facing a felony DUI charge in Florida, that is a situation where getting a Florida criminal defense attorney involved immediately matters most.

What to Do After a DUI Arrest in Florida

1. Mark the 10-day clock immediately. Find the date on your Notice of Suspension and count 10 days from your arrest date — that is roughly when your right to request an administrative hearing with FLHSMV to contest the license suspension may expire. This deadline runs independently of your criminal court dates.
2. Request the FLHSMV hearing before the deadline, if you intend to contest the suspension. Contact FLHSMV directly or have an attorney do it for you — this is a separate administrative process from your criminal case.
3. Check whether you have a temporary driving permit and understand exactly when it expires so you don't drive on a suspended license by mistake.
4. Do not discuss the details of the stop or testing with anyone other than your attorney. Anything you say can be used in the criminal case.
5. Contact a Florida-licensed criminal defense attorney as soon as possible — ideally before the 10-day hearing deadline — since the attorney can request the hearing, obtain the arrest and testing records, and advise you on both the administrative and criminal tracks at once.
6. Keep track of all paperwork from the arrest, including the Notice of Suspension, temporary permit, and any citation, and bring it to your attorney.
7. Attend every required court date for the criminal case — missing court creates separate, additional problems on top of the DUI itself.

This article provides general legal information about Florida law, not legal advice for your specific situation.