DUI - Driving Under the Influence |

For a first DUI in Florida, penalties include:

Up to $1,000 in fines
50 hours of community service
Eight hours to six months of jail time
Vehicle impoundment for ten days
Potentially, one year of probation
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

Florida DUI Arrest Penalties

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