The criminal case
DUI penalties in Arizona
The offense, qualifying priors and statutory conditions matter—not just an arrest count.
DUI penalties in Arizona depend on the charged offense and its statutory conditions. Prior convictions, their dates, and aggravating factors may change the applicable rule. An arrest count alone does not establish the offense tier, and a minimum sentence is not the complete sentencing range. The cited rules below are not predictions of a particular case’s outcome.
The lookback period
- How far back priors count
- Not published yet. We show a figure only once it has been confirmed against the official source and dated.This varies widely between states — from a few years to a lifetime — so it is not safe to assume a national figure.
Penalty rules by offense number
- First offense
- Not published yet. We show a figure only once it has been confirmed against the official source and dated.
- Second offense
- A qualifying second DUI within 84 months: at least 90 days jail, including 30 consecutive days; a minimum $500 fine; at least 30 hours community restitution; and one-year license revocation.
- Two additional $1,250 assessments, traffic survival school and applicable interlock requirements are separate.
- The judge may suspend all but 30 days of jail if the court-ordered screening, education, treatment or evidence-based psychotherapy is completed. The 84-month comparison uses offense dates.
- Third offense
- Not published yet. We show a figure only once it has been confirmed against the official source and dated.
Driving privileges, ignition interlock and insurance requirements need separate review under their own rules. A commercial-driving restriction may have different triggers from a restriction on an ordinary licence. No consequence is assumed merely because it appears in this list.
- Ignition interlock, first offense
- Not published yet. We show a figure only once it has been confirmed against the official source and dated.
The two legal questions
The criminal charge and driving privileges can involve different proceedings. The notice, order and cited rule identify the applicable process.
Driving privileges
The licence case
- Forum
- The agency or court identified by the applicable licence proceeding
- Clock
- Check the applicable notice or order for the deadline and its starting event
- Deadline to request a hearing
- 30 days after the date of the notice. ADOT must receive the hearing request within that period (administrative-per-se suspension)
- A timely hearing request stays the suspension until the hearing. This page does not calculate a personal deadline.
- Issuance of a special ignition-interlock restricted driver license under subsection K waives the administrative hearing right.
- Suspension under the cited rule
- At least 90 consecutive days under the general rule. Qualifying drivers instead receive at least 30 days suspended and at least 60 additional days restricted; a qualifying ignition-interlock alternative is also available
- The restricted-driving route requires the conditions in subsection I, including no death or serious physical injury to another person, the specified prior-conviction limits, and completed screening. Subsection J provides an interlock alternative for qualifying applicants.
Criminal charge
The criminal case
- Forum
- A criminal court
- Clock
- Check court notices and orders; no case duration is predicted here
- Alcohol-concentration threshold
- Not published yet. We show a figure only once it has been confirmed against the official source and dated.
- First-offense penalty rule
- Not published yet. We show a figure only once it has been confirmed against the official source and dated.The cited rule may describe a range or a minimum with conditions, not a predicted sentence.