The criminal case
DUI penalties in Delaware
The offense, qualifying priors and statutory conditions matter—not just an arrest count.
DUI penalties in Delaware 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
- For a first DUI conviction: $500–$1,500 fine, up to 12 months imprisonment, or both. Any imprisonment imposed under this first-offense provision may be suspended.
- This is the DUI offense in § 4177—not the separate drinking-while-driving infraction in § 4177J. Other assessments, license consequences and aggravating circumstances are separate.
- Second offense
- Not published yet. We show a figure only once it has been confirmed against the official source and dated.
- 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
- File the written hearing request with the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles within the 15-day period provided after notice of revocation under 21 Del. C. § 2742.
- This deadline applies to the administrative revocations covered by § 2742(b) and (c). It is tied to the revocation notice, not a general deadline for every driver-license matter.
- Under § 2742(d), if no timely written request is filed, the revocation order becomes effective. A timely hearing request postpones that revocation’s effectiveness until an adverse final hearing decision.
- Suspension under the cited rule
- Not published yet. We show a figure only once it has been confirmed against the official source and dated.
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
- For a first DUI conviction: $500–$1,500 fine, up to 12 months imprisonment, or both. Any imprisonment imposed under this first-offense provision may be suspended.
- This is the DUI offense in § 4177—not the separate drinking-while-driving infraction in § 4177J. Other assessments, license consequences and aggravating circumstances are separate.