How Does a DUI / DWI Charge Affect my Driving Privileges?

In addition to potential criminal penalties, a DUI arrest or conviction will have an immediate negative impact on driving privileges.
Most state laws allow a motor vehicle department to immediately suspend the driver's license of any person operating a vehicle with a BAC above the state limit for intoxication, or any driver who refuses to submit to BAC testing. The driver's vehicle may also be confiscated or impounded, and the DUI offender will likely incur significant administrative costs. This loss of driving privileges can normally occur even before a DUI conviction. Most states allow a DUI arrestee to obtain a temporary license and request an administrative hearing at which he or she may argue against license suspension, or for restoration of limited driving privileges.
As with criminal penalties, the impact of a DUI arrest or conviction on driving privileges will vary according to the driver's history of DUI violations and the severity of the offense. An increasingly popular DUI penalty, especially for repeat offenders, is mandatory installation of an "ignition interlock" device on the offender's vehicle. This breath-testing device measures the vehicle operator's BAC, and will prevent operation of the vehicle if more than a minimum amount of alcohol is detected, such as BAC level of .02. Where this punishment is utilized, most states require the DUI offender to pay costs of installation, rental, and maintenance of the ignition interlock device. Rental fees alone can amount to as much as three dollars per day, so a DUI offender's expenses can add up quickly when an ignition interlock device is required.

State	Administrative License Suspension/Revocation (1st/2nd/3rd Offense)	Mandatory Alcohol Education and Treatment/Assessment	Vehicle Confiscation Possible?	Ignition Interlock Device Possible?
AL	90d/ 1y/ 3ys	Both	No	No
AK	90d/ 1y/ 3ys	Both	2nd offense	Yes
AZ	90d/ 90d/ 90 d	Both	3rd offense	2nd offense
AR	120d/ 24m/ 30m	Both	4th offense	Yes
CA	4m/ 2y/ 3y	Both (Education if under 21)	3rd offense	Yes
CO	3m/ 1y/ 1y	Both	No	Yes
CT	1y/ 3y/ permanent	Both	No	2nd offense
DE	3m/ 1y/ 18m	Either (not both)	No	Yes
DC	90d/ 1y/ 2ys	No	No	Yes
FL	6m/ 1y/ 2ys	Both	Yes	Yes
GA	1y/ 3y/ 5y	Both	4th offense	2nd offense
HI	3m/ 1y/ 1-5y	Both	No	Yes
ID	90d/ 1y/ 1y	No	No	Yes
IL	90d/ 1y/ varied	Treatment/ Assessment	3rd offense	2nd offense
IN	180d/ 180d/ 180d	No	Yes	Yes
IA	180d/ 1y/ 2y	Education	No	Yes
KS	30d/ 1y/ 1y	Either (not both)	No	2nd offense
KY	30d/ 1y/ 2ys	Both	Yes	Yes
LA	90d/ 1y/ 2y	Treatment/Assessment	3rd offense	2nd offense
ME	90d/ 18m/ 4ys	Both	Yes	Yes
MD	60d/ 120d/ --	No	No	Yes
MA	1y/ 2y/ 8y	Both	Yes	Yes
MI	6m/ 1y/ --	Both	2nd offense	2nd offense
MN	90d/ 180d/ 1y	Treatment/ Assessment - 3rd offense	3rd offense	Yes
MS	90d/ 2y/ 5y	Both	3rd offense	Yes
MO	30d/ 1y/ 1y	Both	in limited circumstances	Yes
MT	6m/ 1y/ 1y	Both	3rd offense	Yes
NE	90d/ 1y/ 1y	No	No	Yes
NV	90d/ 1y/ 3y	Both - in limited circumstances	No	Yes
NH	6m/ 3y/ 5y	Both	No	Yes
NJ	3m/ 2y/ 10y	Both	No	Yes
NM	90d/ varied/ varied	Both	No	2nd offense
NY	90d/ 6m/ 6m	Both	2nd offense	Yes
NC	60d/ 60d/ 90d	Both - in limited circumstances	4th offense	Yes
ND	91d/ 1y/ 2y	Treatment/ Assessment	2nd offense	Yes
OH	6m/ 1y/ 1y	Treatment/ Assessment - 3rd off.	4th offense	Yes
OK	30d/ 6m/ 1y	Both - in limited circumstances	in limited circumstances	Yes
OR	90d/ 1y/ 1y	Both	Yes	Yes
PA	1y/ 1y/ 1y	Both - 2nd offense	Yes	2nd offense
RI	45d/ 1y/ 2y	Both	3rd offense	Yes
SC	6m/ 1y/ 2y	Both - in limited circumstances	4th offense	Yes
SD	30d/ 1y/ 1y	No	No	No
TN	1y/ 2y/ 3y	Both - in limited circumstances	2nd offense	Yes
TX	90d/ 180d/ 180d	No	3rd offense	in limited circumstances
UT	90d/ 1y/ 1y	Both	No	Yes
VT	90d/ 18m/ permanent	Education - in limited circumstances	3rd offense	No
VA	1y/ 3y/ 3y	Both	Yes	Yes
WA	90d/ 2y/ 3y	Both	2nd offense	Yes
WV	6m/ 1y/ 1y	Both - in limited circumstances	No	Yes
WI	6m/ 1y/ 2y	Both - in limited circumstances	3rd offense	Yes
WY	90d/ 1y/ 3y	Treatment/ Assessment - 3rd offense	No	Yes

Note: Persons arrested for DUI will be subject to additional criminal law penalties not addressed here -- including jail time, fines, and community service. Such criminal penalties are typically more discretionary than those identified in this chart, and are therefore more difficult to accurately predict. Generally speaking, first-time DUI offenders can expect to incur a fine, and face the possibility of jail time. Repeat DUI offenders will incur harsher fines, and will almost certainly be sentenced to a number of days in jail. Penalties will be harsher still if the DUI offender was involved in an accident in which someone else was injured or killed.

DUI Convictions: Driving Privileges