A DUI arrest in Florida sets off two separate legal processes at once, governed by two separate statutes, on two separate timelines. Understanding both — and how they interact — is the difference between reacting to what’s happening and actually being prepared for it. This guide walks through Florida DUI law as it’s actually written, not as a simplified warning designed to get you to pick up the phone.
The Legal Definition of DUI in Florida
Florida law defines DUI three separate ways, and you only need to meet one of them to be charged. Under Florida Statute 316.193(1), a person is guilty of DUI if they are “driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle” and:
- Impaired by alcohol, a controlled substance, or certain chemical substances “to the extent that the person’s normal faculties are impaired,” or
- Has a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or higher, or
- Has a breath-alcohol level of 0.08 or higher.
That second and third definition — often called “per se” DUI — means impairment doesn’t have to be proven separately if the number is there. You can be charged even if you don’t feel or appear impaired, purely on the chemical test result.
What Happens Immediately After Arrest — Two Processes, Two Clocks
This is the part most people don’t find out until it’s already happening to them: a DUI arrest triggers a criminal case in court AND a separate administrative license suspension through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), governed by F.S. 322.2615. These run in parallel, on different timelines, decided by different people.
At the time of arrest, if you tested at 0.08 or higher (or refused testing), the officer takes your physical license and issues a 10-day temporary permit along with a notice of suspension. Under F.S. 322.2615(1)(b)3, you have exactly 10 days from that notice to request a formal or informal review hearing. Miss that window, and the suspension takes effect automatically — regardless of what happens later in your criminal case, and regardless of whether you’re ultimately convicted of anything.
If you took the test and were over the limit, the administrative suspension for a first offense runs 6 months. If you refused, it’s a full year (F.S. 322.2615(1)(b)1).
First-Offense DUI Penalties
For a standard first offense with no aggravating factors, F.S. 316.193(2)(a) sets the following:
- Fine: $500 to $1,000
- Jail: up to 6 months (statutory maximum)
- Probation: up to 1 year
- Community service: minimum 50 hours (the court may allow a $10-per-hour fine instead if community service would create a genuine hardship)
- Vehicle impoundment or immobilization: 10 days
- Mandatory substance abuse course with a psychosocial evaluation (F.S. 316.193(5))
If your blood alcohol level was 0.15 or higher, or a minor was in the vehicle, F.S. 316.193(4) increases the exposure substantially: fines of $1,000–$2,000, up to 9 months jail, and a mandatory ignition interlock device for at least 6 continuous months.
If the DUI caused property damage to another person, it becomes a first-degree misdemeanor. If it caused serious bodily injury, F.S. 316.193(3)(c)2 makes it a third-degree felony — a fundamentally different situation than a standard first offense, with different stakes and a different defense strategy required.
Second and Third Offenses — Why the 10-Year Window Matters
Florida’s repeat-offense penalties escalate sharply, and the timing between offenses matters as much as the number of offenses itself.
Under F.S. 322.28(2)(a)3, a third DUI conviction that occurs within 10 years of a prior conviction triggers a mandatory minimum license revocation of at least 10 years — not a suspension, a revocation, with hardship reinstatement only potentially available after two years of no driving privileges at all. If that third offense happens more than 10 years after the prior one, the same penalty ranges as a first offense generally apply instead. That single 10-year window is one of the most consequential timing details in the entire statute, and it’s exactly the kind of detail that gets glossed over in generic “DUI penalties” content.
Out-of-state DUI convictions count too — F.S. 322.28 treats a prior conviction from another state for driving under the influence, DWI, or a similar alcohol- or drug-related offense the same as a Florida conviction for purposes of counting priors.
Refusing the Breath, Blood, or Urine Test
Until recently, refusing a chemical test on a first DUI stop was purely an administrative matter — a license suspension, and nothing more on the criminal side. That changed under HB 687, known as Trenton’s Law (named for Trenton Stewart, an 18-year-old killed in 2023 by a driver with a history of reckless driving), effective October 1, 2025. A first refusal is now a criminal charge in its own right — a second-degree misdemeanor carrying up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine — on top of the existing one-year administrative license suspension for refusal. If your case involves a refusal, that’s a materially different legal situation than it would have been before this law took effect, and it’s worth understanding that distinction specifically rather than relying on older information.
The Part That Outlasts Everything Else — Your Record
A DUI conviction in Florida cannot be expunged or sealed; Florida law explicitly excludes it from post-conviction relief. It remains on your criminal record permanently, and stays on your driving record for 75 years. This isn’t included here to alarm you — it’s included because it’s the single fact most likely to actually change how someone approaches their case, and it’s the one that gets left out of a lot of simplified “here’s what a DUI costs you” content.
What a Defense Actually Looks Like
Every DUI case turns on specific facts: how the stop was conducted, whether field sobriety exercises were administered correctly, whether the breath or blood test equipment was properly calibrated and maintained, whether the arresting officer had a valid legal basis for the stop in the first place, and whether your rights were actually read and honored at each stage. None of that can be evaluated from a general overview — it requires looking at your specific arrest report, the specific equipment used, and the specific sequence of events. That’s true whether this is a first offense or a third, and it’s true whether the administrative suspension or the criminal case is the bigger immediate concern in your situation.