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

In Virginia, drunk or drugged driving is prosecuted as Driving Under the Influence (DUI) — also called DWI — under Virginia Code §18.2-266. The standard per se limit is a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% (the national standard, not unique to Virginia). If you were just arrested, know this immediately: Virginia law suspends your driving privilege automatically — before any conviction — the moment you fail or refuse the test. For a first offense, that pretrial suspension lasts only seven days, and it is reviewed (if at all) by the general district court where your case is pending, not by a DMV hearing. Everything below explains that deadline and what else is at stake.

What Virginia calls this offense

Virginia's statute is titled "Driving a motor vehicle, etc., while intoxicated," but the offense is referred to interchangeably as DUI or DWI in court paperwork, DMV records, and everyday use — Virginia doesn't split the two terms into separate charges the way some states do. Everything is charged under §18.2-266, whether the impairment is from alcohol, drugs, or both. A separate statute, §18.2-266.1, covers underage drivers with illegal alcohol below the adult threshold — Virginia's zero-tolerance provision, discussed below.

Virginia's BAC limits

• 0.08% or higher — the general per se limit for drivers 21 and over. At or above this level, the Commonwealth doesn't need additional proof of impairment; the number alone establishes the violation.
• 0.04% or higher — the limit for anyone operating a commercial motor vehicle on a CDL, consistent with federal commercial-licensing standards.
• 0.02% or higher — Virginia's zero-tolerance threshold for drivers under 21, charged under §18.2-266.1. It sits just above zero to allow for trace amounts (mouthwash, etc.) and applies below 0.08%; an underage driver at 0.08% or above can be charged as an adult under §18.2-266.
• 0.15% and 0.20% — Virginia's aggravated, high-BAC thresholds. A BAC between 0.15% and 0.20% adds a mandatory minimum of five additional days of confinement; 0.20% or higher adds ten additional days. These stack on top of the base penalties described further down.

BAC thresholds and their attached penalties can be amended by the General Assembly, so confirm the current text of §18.2-266 and §18.2-270 directly, or with a Virginia defense attorney, rather than relying on a number you saw elsewhere.

Implied consent and refusing a chemical test

By driving on a Virginia highway, you're considered to have already consented to a breath or blood test if an officer has probable cause to believe you were driving under the influence. Refusing that test is not a way around a DUI charge — it's its own separate violation under §18.2-268.3, and refusal can be used as evidence against you at trial.

• First unreasonable refusal: a civil offense (not a separate crime), but it carries a mandatory one-year license suspension — in addition to, not instead of, any suspension tied to the underlying DUI charge.
• Second refusal within 10 years of a prior refusal or related DUI conviction: a Class 1 misdemeanor in its own right, with a mandatory three-year license suspension.

Refusing does not avoid a conviction: prosecutors can still build a DUI case on officer observations, field sobriety tests, and other evidence, and you'll carry the refusal suspension on top of whatever happens with the criminal charge.

The pretrial license suspension: a deadline measured in days, not weeks

This is the part that catches people off guard, because Virginia's system works differently than the classic state DMV hearing you may have heard about — and it moves immediately. Under Virginia Code §46.2-391.2, the moment you're arrested for DUI and either fail a breath test at 0.08% or above or refuse testing, your license is suspended automatically, before you ever see a courtroom on the merits. This is a pretrial administrative suspension reviewed, if at all, by the general district court of the jurisdiction where the arrest was made — not by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The suspension length depends on your history: seven days for a first offense, a longer fixed period for a second offense within the statutory window, and until trial for a third or subsequent offense.

You can ask the general district court to review the suspension — for example, arguing the officer lacked probable cause — and if you prove the arrest or warrant lacked probable cause, the court can rescind it. But because a first-offense suspension lasts only seven days total, there is very little runway: to have any real chance of a court reviewing it before the suspension simply expires on its own, you (or your attorney) need to contact the clerk of the general district court within days of the arrest, not weeks. Ask the clerk or a Virginia defense attorney immediately about the current filing procedure in your jurisdiction — don't wait, and don't assume this is the same as another state's DMV hearing process.

First-offense penalties

A first DUI conviction under §18.2-266 is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The general pattern, per §18.2-270, includes:

• Fine: a mandatory minimum fine applies (a floor in the low hundreds of dollars, under a Class 1 misdemeanor cap). Confirm the exact current minimum and maximum, since these figures can be adjusted by the legislature.
• Jail: no mandatory minimum for a straightforward first offense below the aggravated BAC thresholds — a judge has discretion up to the statutory misdemeanor maximum. At 0.15–0.20% BAC, a mandatory minimum of five additional days applies; at 0.20% or above, ten additional days.
• License suspension: a first conviction carries a one-year license suspension.
• Ignition interlock device (IID): not automatically mandatory for a first offense at or below the aggravated thresholds. If you're granted a restricted license, the court may require a functioning interlock — often for a period of months. Virginia's interlock rules were revised in recent sessions, so confirm the current version of §18.2-270.1 or ask the court.
• VASAP: completion of Virginia's Alcohol Safety Action Program is a standard condition of any DUI disposition.

Because fine amounts, restricted-license availability, and interlock terms depend on your specific facts and can change with new legislation, don't assume a number you've read elsewhere — confirm current figures with the court or a Virginia defense attorney.

Lookback period: how a prior DUI counts against you

Virginia doesn't use one flat washout number — it tiers the penalty by how recent the prior offense is. A second offense within 5 years triggers the harshest mandatory minimum (20 days, out of a required one-month-to-one-year sentence). A second offense between 5 and 10 years after a prior triggers a lesser mandatory minimum (10 days). And prior convictions within a full 10-year window count toward reaching felony third- or fourth-offense status, described next. The more recent the prior, the harsher the mandatory floor.

Felony DUI in Virginia

A DUI becomes a felony several ways:

• Third offense within 10 years: a Class 6 felony, with a 90-day mandatory minimum (6 months if all three fall within a 5-year span) and a $1,000 mandatory minimum fine.
• Fourth or subsequent offense within 10 years: also a felony, carrying a one-year mandatory minimum and a $1,000 mandatory minimum fine.
• Maiming while intoxicated: under §18.2-51.4, causing serious bodily injury through DUI in a manner showing reckless disregard for human life is a felony, separate from any prior-offense count.
• DUI involuntary manslaughter: under §18.2-36.1, causing a death while driving under the influence is a felony; if the driving was so grossly and wantonly reckless as to show disregard for human life, it becomes aggravated involuntary manslaughter with a higher mandatory minimum.

Virginia also adds a mandatory minimum period of confinement and an additional fine when a DUI is committed while transporting a passenger age 17 or younger, though that enhancement alone does not make a first DUI a felony. If any of these circumstances apply to your case, this is well beyond general information — speak with a Virginia criminal defense attorney immediately.

What to do after a DUI arrest in Virginia

1. Note your arrest date and count forward. If this is a first offense, your pretrial license suspension lasts only seven days. To ask the court to review it, you need to act within days — contact the clerk of the general district court where your case is pending as soon as possible to ask about the current procedure.
2. Understand the suspension and the criminal case are two separate tracks. The pretrial suspension under §46.2-391.2 is handled by the court, not the Virginia DMV, and runs on its own short timeline regardless of when your DUI trial is scheduled.
3. Contact a Virginia criminal defense attorney right away — ideally within the first few days — so they can evaluate whether the pretrial suspension is worth challenging and start building your defense on the underlying charge in parallel.
4. Don't assume refusal already given can be undone, and don't attempt to evade or delay any further testing requested under implied consent — refusal carries its own automatic suspension and can be used against you at trial.
5. Ask about VASAP and restricted-license eligibility early, since completing the Alcohol Safety Action Program and understanding your restricted-license options (with or without an interlock) affects how much you can drive during the suspension.
6. Keep every document the officer or magistrate gave you, including any paperwork about your license status, and bring it to your attorney or the court clerk.
7. Confirm current numbers before relying on them. Fine amounts, interlock rules, and mandatory minimums here reflect Virginia law as generally described in statute, but the General Assembly amends DUI law frequently — verify specifics with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, the court, or a licensed Virginia attorney.

This article is general legal information about Virginia law, not legal advice for your specific situation — confirm current statutes and deadlines with the Virginia DMV, the courts, or a licensed Virginia attorney.