DUI Laws in South Carolina: Penalties, BAC Limits & License Suspension

In South Carolina, drunk or drugged driving is charged as DUI (Driving Under the Influence) under S.C. Code § 56-5-2930 — the state does not use "DWI" or "OWI." The standard per se limit is a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08%. If you were arrested, the clock is already running on something separate from your criminal case: South Carolina gives you only 30 days from the notice of suspension you receive at arrest to request a hearing with the Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings (OMVH) to fight the automatic license suspension the SC Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV) puts in place. Miss that window and you lose the right to contest it — regardless of how your criminal charge turns out.

BAC limits in South Carolina

The 0.08% per se limit is the nationwide standard for adult drivers, not something unique to South Carolina. What is state-specific:

• Commercial driver's license (CDL) holders: 0.04%. A commercial driver arrested at 0.04% or higher — even off-duty, in a personal vehicle — faces a lengthy CDL disqualification if convicted, per S.C. Code Title 56.
• Drivers under 21: 0.02%. South Carolina's underage/zero-tolerance law (S.C. Code § 56-5-2941) is an administrative offense handled by SCDMV, separate from a criminal DUI. A BAC of 0.02% up to 0.08% carries a license suspension of about three months for a first violation and six months for a repeat violation. If a driver under 21 tests at 0.08% or above, the full adult criminal DUI statute applies instead.
• "High BAC" / aggravated threshold: 0.15%. South Carolina treats a BAC of 0.15% or higher as a distinct, more serious tier — it carries a longer ignition interlock requirement and a different administrative suspension track than lower readings. Sentencing ranges also step up noticeably at and above this level.

Because SC's tiered numbers get amended periodically, confirm the current thresholds with SCDMV or a South Carolina defense attorney before relying on them for a specific case.

Implied consent and refusing the breath test

By driving in South Carolina you've already agreed, under the state's implied consent law (S.C. Code § 56-5-2950), to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test if a law enforcement officer has reasonable grounds to believe you were driving under the influence. Refusing does not make the problem go away — it creates a separate, automatic consequence:

• First refusal: a six-month license suspension through SCDMV, imposed administratively and independent of whatever happens with the DUI charge itself.
• Refusing to submit to a breath or chemical test can also be introduced as evidence against you at trial, and refusal-based suspensions generally run longer and carry fewer options than a suspension tied to a test result.
• Subsequent refusals within the state's look-back window carry progressively longer suspensions.

The administrative license suspension — and your 30-day deadline

This is the part people miss, and it's the most time-critical piece of the entire process. When you're arrested for DUI in South Carolina and either refuse testing or register a breath test result of 0.15% or higher, SCDMV moves to suspend your license administratively — before your criminal case is ever heard in court. You should receive a notice of suspension at the time of arrest that also serves as a temporary driving permit for a limited period.

• You have 30 days from the notice of suspension to request a contested case hearing before the South Carolina Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings (OMVH) to challenge the suspension.
• Miss the 30-day window and the suspension proceeds automatically — you forfeit the right to a hearing and, in many cases, the option to get a temporary alcohol restricted license while the case is pending.
• SCDMV is the agency that issues the suspension; OMVH (a division of the S.C. Administrative Law Court) is the separate tribunal that hears the challenge. Both are distinct from the criminal court handling the DUI charge itself.
• If your test result was below the 0.15% administrative threshold and you did not refuse, you may not face an automatic SCDMV suspension at all pending the criminal case — but this is a nuance worth confirming with SCDMV directly, since the notice you were handed at arrest controls what applies to you.

Whatever else you do after an arrest, do not let this 30-day deadline pass without acting. Contact SCDMV, an attorney, or both immediately.

First-offense DUI penalties in South Carolina

South Carolina's first-offense DUI penalties escalate with your BAC level. In general terms:

• Jail and fines: South Carolina law sets tiered jail and fine ranges for a first offense, with the low end applying to BAC readings closer to 0.08% and materially higher exposure once BAC reaches the 0.10%–0.15% range and again at 0.15%/0.16% and above. Courts also frequently allow community service in place of jail time for a first offense. Because South Carolina's base fines are layered with additional state assessments and court costs, the amount actually owed is usually well above any "base fine" figure quoted online — confirm current numbers with the magistrate or municipal court handling your case, or with a local attorney, rather than relying on any single dollar figure you see repeated on the internet.
• License suspension on conviction: a first-offense DUI conviction carries a license suspension, commonly cited around six months, with reinstatement generally requiring completion of the Alcohol and Drug Safety Action Program (ADSAP) and payment of a reinstatement fee.
• Ignition interlock device (IID): South Carolina's "All Offender" ignition interlock law, effective May 19, 2024, requires everyone convicted of DUI — not just high-BAC or repeat offenders — to use a camera-equipped IID if they want to drive during the restricted period. Before that law, only first offenders with a BAC of 0.15% or higher were required to use one. Ask SCDMV or the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services (which administers the IID program) how the current rule applies to your exact situation.

How long a prior DUI counts against you (the look-back period)

South Carolina uses a 10-year look-back period, measured from the date of the prior offense (not the conviction date), to decide whether an earlier DUI counts as a "prior" that enhances the penalties on a new charge. A DUI from more than 10 years before your current offense generally does not enhance sentencing as a second or third offense. There's an important exception, though: for felony-level (fourth-offense) exposure, South Carolina counts prior convictions without the 10-year cutoff, so a decades-old DUI can still matter even after it has aged out of the 10-year misdemeanor enhancement window. Confirm how your specific prior history is being counted with a South Carolina defense attorney — this is exactly the kind of calculation that determines whether you're facing a misdemeanor or a felony.

When a DUI becomes a felony in South Carolina

Most DUI charges in South Carolina are misdemeanors, but the offense becomes a felony in two situations:

• A fourth or subsequent DUI offense is prosecuted as a felony (classified as a Class F felony under S.C. Code § 16-1-90), with mandatory prison time that increases with BAC level, and permanent revocation of driving privileges by SCDMV on conviction.
• Felony DUI causing great bodily injury or death (S.C. Code § 56-5-2945) applies regardless of how many priors the driver has — a first-time offender can be charged with felony DUI if the crash causes great bodily injury or death to another person. This carries mandatory minimum prison time and mandatory fines that are substantially higher than a standard DUI, along with a multi-year ignition interlock requirement after any license reinstatement.

What to do after a DUI arrest in South Carolina

1. Read every paper you were given at arrest. The notice of suspension doubles as your temporary driving document and starts your 30-day clock — don't lose it.
2. Calendar the 30-day deadline immediately and request your OMVH contested case hearing well before it expires. This is the single most time-sensitive step in the entire process and is easy to miss while you're focused on the criminal case.
3. Contact SCDMV to confirm exactly what suspension applies to you, whether a temporary restricted license is available, and what the current hearing-request procedure and fee are.
4. Talk to a South Carolina criminal defense attorney before your first court date. The administrative hearing and the criminal case are separate proceedings with separate deadlines and separate strategies — a lawyer can help you decide whether to request the OMVH hearing yourself or through counsel.
5. Do not drive on a suspended license while sorting this out; ask about interlock-restricted or temporary alcohol license options instead.
6. Keep records of your arrest paperwork, any test results, and every court and DMV date. If you're facing a second, third, or fourth charge, gather your prior case numbers and dates so your attorney can verify how the 10-year look-back applies.

This article is general legal information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your specific situation — talk to a licensed South Carolina attorney about your case.