For a first DUI in Florida, penalties include:
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Up to $1,000 in fines
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50 hours of community service
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Eight hours to six months of jail time
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Vehicle impoundment for ten days
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Potentially, one year of probation
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Revocation of your driver’s license for six months
Useful links to the Florida Law Senate pages are at the bottom of this page
DUI – Driving Under the Influence in Florida
In Florida, driving under the influence means operating a motor vehicle (including boats as well as cars, trucks, motorcycles and more) with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) equal to or greater than 0.08 percent. You can even be charged when the vehicle is not in motion, as long as it is operable. (This means you are not protected by “sleeping one off” in your car!) Police conduct DUI check points and field sobriety test to monitor drivers on the road.
Learn more:
What is a Standardized Field Sobriety Test?
What you should know about field sobriety test
DUI License Suspension Periods
Officers can make a DUI arrest no matter what they initially pulled you over for. When an officer pulls you over, he or she will check for a smell of alcohol and look for signs of drinking (empty alcohol containers, bloodshot eyes, swaying and more). If the officer even has the slightest suspicion, he or she may ask you to perform roadside tests. Experts consider these tests wildly inaccurate, prone to false negatives and false positives, but police agencies continue using them.
Driving While License Suspended or Revoked- s. 322.34, F.S.
Any person whose driver license/privilege is suspended for Driving with an Unlawful Alcohol Level, or revoked for DUI, DUI Manslaughter or Vehicular Homicide, or for any other offense ordered by the court and who causes death or serious bodily injury to another person by operating a motor vehicle in a careless or negligent manner is guilty of a 3rd degree felony, punishable by both imprisonment of not more than 5 years, a fine not to exceed $5,000, or both.
Useful Links
There are 19 Sections found in 9 different Chapters of the Florida Senate that relate to DUI.
Learn what the Law says about DUI in Florida
(you will be redirected in the links below)
Chapter Title
316.192 | Reckless driving. |
316.193 | Driving under the influence; penalties. |
316.1938 | Ignition interlock devices, certification; warning label. |
322.095 | Traffic law and substance abuse education program for driver license applicants. |
322.26 | Mandatory revocation of license by department. |
322.2616 | Suspension of license; persons under 21 years of age; right to review. |
322.271 | Authority to modify revocation, cancellation, or suspension order. |
322.2715 | Ignition interlock device. |
322.28 | Period of suspension or revocation. |
322.291 | Driver improvement schools or DUI programs; required in certain suspension and revocation cases. |
322.292 | DUI programs supervision; powers and duties of the department. |
322.293 | DUI programs; assessment; disposition. |
397.4012 | Exemptions from licensure. |
784.07 | Assault or battery of law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical care providers, public transit employees or agents, or other specified officers; reclassification of offenses; minimum sentences. |
907.041 | Pretrial detention and release. |
921.0022 | Criminal Punishment Code; offense severity ranking chart. |
943.05 | Criminal Justice Information Program; duties; crime reports. |
947.146 | Control Release Authority. |
948.062 | Reviewing and reporting serious offenses committed by offenders placed on probation or community control |