First DUI in Florida: The Penalties, Line by Line

The penalties for a first DUI in Florida are set by FL § 316.193 (opens in a new tab): a fine of $500 to $1,000, up to 6 months in jail, up to a year of probation with at least 50 hours of community service, a 10-day vehicle impound, a DUI program course, and a license revocation of 180 days to 1 year. A breath or blood result of 0.15 or higher, or a child in the car, raises the fine to $1,000 to $2,000, the jail ceiling to 9 months, and makes an ignition interlock mandatory.

That is the list every first-offense DUI page repeats. What it leaves out is which of those items a judge must impose and which are only ceilings, and two rules in a different statute that decide what a first DUI does to your record. Both are below.

One thing first. If you were arrested in the last 10 days, your license is already on a separate clock that has nothing to do with the sentence. Our guide to the Florida DUI 10-day rule covers it, and the DUI 10-day deadline calculator gives you the dates.

What the Statute Says for a First Conviction

Read side by side, the two tiers look like this. Everything assumes a first conviction and no crash.

For the 0.15 tier, only the current offense has to involve the high reading. It does not matter what happened on any earlier case.

Mandatory, Maximum, or Up to the Judge

Jail is a ceiling, not a floor. For a first conviction the statute says "not more than 6 months." It sets no minimum. The mandatory minimums in § 316.193(6) start with a second conviction within 5 years (10 days, with 48 hours of it consecutive). So a first DUI without a crash does not require any jail sentence; whether one is imposed is up to the judge.

Probation is capped, and so is the total. The court must place you on probation for no more than 1 year, and the combined period of probation and jail cannot exceed 1 year. Probation is monthly reporting, and completing the DUI program course is a condition of it.

Community service has a narrow buyout. The 50 hours are a minimum. The court may let you pay $10 per hour instead, but only if it finds that where you live or your work obligations would make the service an undue hardship. If you cannot afford part of the fine, the court may convert it to extra service hours, valued at no less than the federal minimum wage.

The impound can be dismissed, and in one case must be. The court has to order a 10-day impound or immobilization of the car you were driving or one car registered to you, and it cannot run at the same time as any jail. But the order must be dismissed if the court finds your family has no other private or public means of transportation, and it may be dismissed if the car is driven only by your employees or if you show a certified interlock is installed on every vehicle you routinely drive. You pay the impound costs unless the order is dismissed.

DUI school is not optional. Every person convicted must complete a substance abuse course from a DUI program licensed by the state, including a psychosocial evaluation. If the program refers you to treatment, finishing it becomes a condition of probation. Fail to finish and the program notifies the court and the department, and the department cancels your license.

The interlock depends on the number. At 0.08 to 0.149, the court may order an ignition interlock for at least 6 continuous months under § 316.193(2)(c). At 0.15 or higher, or with a minor in the car, it must, for at least 6 months. If the court fails to order a required interlock, FL § 322.2715 (opens in a new tab) tells the department to require one anyway before it gives your license back. The device is at your expense.

Your License After a Conviction

A first conviction brings a revocation of at least 180 days and no more than 1 year, effective on the date of conviction, under FL § 322.28(2)(a)1. (opens in a new tab) The judge picks the length within that range.

Here is the detail almost nobody mentions. If the judge does not specify the period at sentencing or within 30 days afterward, the department revokes for the maximum period for a first conviction: the full year. You then have 30 days to petition the court to reopen the question. Make sure the length is on the record.

A business-purposes license is possible under FL § 322.271 (opens in a new tab), but not for a person convicted of DUI until they have completed the DUI program course and evaluation. That restricted license covers driving to and from work, on-the-job driving, school, church and medical purposes.

This revocation is not the same thing as the administrative suspension that started at the arrest. They are two different actions by two different deciders, and the sections quoted here do not say how the two periods interact. Ask about it before you plead.

No Withhold, and When a Lesser Plea Is Off the Table

Many Florida misdemeanors can end in a "withhold of adjudication": you plead, serve the sentence, and are never formally convicted. DUI is excluded. FL § 316.656(1) (opens in a new tab) says no court may suspend, defer or withhold adjudication of guilt for any violation of § 316.193.

That has a long tail. Florida's record-sealing statute, § 943.059 (opens in a new tab), requires that the person was not adjudicated guilty of the offense. A DUI conviction does not meet that test. A case that is dismissed is different: dismissal is one of the starting conditions for expunction under § 943.0585 (opens in a new tab), though the statute has other conditions, including no prior sealing or expunction.

The same statute limits plea deals. Under § 316.656(2), a judge may not accept a guilty plea to a lesser offense from someone whose breath or blood test showed 0.15 or higher, or from someone charged with DUI causing property damage, injury or death. Below 0.15 and with no crash, a reduction to another charge is something your lawyer can negotiate for. It is never automatic.

Put together: for most people, the outcomes that leave no DUI conviction are a not-guilty verdict, a dismissal, a reduction to a different charge, or a diversion program that ends in dismissal.

Orange County's DUI Diversion Program

Orange County Corrections publishes an information sheet on its Misdemeanor/DUI Pretrial Diversion program (opens in a new tab). It describes Pretrial Diversion as "a deferred prosecution program offered by the Office of the State Attorney" and supervised by the county's Community Corrections Division. Successful completion results in the State Attorney dismissing the case.

The sheet, dated December 2017, lists these DUI criteria:

• No prior alcohol-related driving offense, regardless of how it was resolved.
• No more than two prior misdemeanor convictions.
• No crash.
• A BAC no higher than 0.220.
• Able to legally work and reside in the United States.
• Approval by the Office of the State Attorney.

It sorts DUI cases into two tiers. Tier 1 (BAC under 0.15) carries 12 months of supervision and a 10-day vehicle impound or immobilization. Tier 2 (above 0.15) carries 15 months and a 6-month ignition interlock. Both require DUI Level I school, victim impact classes, a substance abuse evaluation with any recommended treatment, 50 hours of community service, a monetary contribution and supervision fees. A separate county sheet for out-of-state participants (opens in a new tab), dated March 2013, places refusals in Tier 2 and lets people who live elsewhere complete the classes in their home state.

Two cautions. These are the documents the county publishes, and both are years old; terms can change. And diversion is the State Attorney's decision, not a right. The sheet itself says you are not in the program until both you and the State Attorney have signed the contract, and that you must keep every court date until then.

A Worked Example

A hypothetical, to show how the pieces fit. A driver with no record is stopped on Colonial Drive and blows 0.11. No crash. If the case ends in a DUI conviction, the statute requires a fine of at least $500, probation of up to a year with 50 hours of service, the DUI program course, a 10-day impound unless dismissed, and a revocation of at least 180 days. Jail of up to 6 months and a 6-month interlock are possible, not required. The court may also add an assessment of up to the amount of the fine for alcohol and drug programs under § 938.23 (opens in a new tab).

Change one fact: the reading is 0.16. Now the fine floor doubles to $1,000, the jail ceiling is 9 months, the interlock is mandatory for at least 6 months, and a plea to a lesser charge is barred by statute. Same driver, same stop. The number on the breath ticket moved the case into a different statute.

When a First DUI Is Not a Standard First DUI

A crash. If the impaired driving caused or contributed to damage to another person's property or person, it is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year and a $1,000 fine. If it caused serious bodily injury, it is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years and a $5,000 fine, with a license revocation of at least 3 years. A death is DUI manslaughter, with a 4-year mandatory minimum. These apply even on a first offense.

An old DUI somewhere else. A prior DUI, DWI or similar conviction from another state counts as a prior Florida conviction under § 316.193 and § 322.28. That matters in Orlando, where many people arrested live out of state.

A refusal. Since October 1, 2025, refusing a breath or urine test after the officer's warning is its own crime even the first time. The 10-day rule guide covers how that stacks with the DUI.

What a first conviction sets up. It becomes the prior for anything after it. A second conviction within 5 years means at least 10 days in jail, a 30-day impound and a revocation of at least 5 years. A third within 10 years is a felony. A fourth at any time is a felony, regardless of how old the earlier convictions are.

If Someone Was Hurt

Section 316.193(7) says a DUI conviction does not bar a civil suit for damages. If you were the one injured by an impaired driver, the criminal case and your injury claim run separately, and the injury claim has its own deadlines that do not wait for the criminal court. Our guide on what to do after a car accident in Florida covers the first steps, who is at fault in a Florida car accident explains how civil fault is decided, and our Orlando drunk driving accident attorney page covers the claim itself.

First DUI in Florida — FAQ

Sources

Every penalty on this page comes from the 2026 Florida Statutes as published by the Florida Senate, and the diversion details from Orange County's own published program sheets. Verify any of it yourself:

• Fla. Stat. § 316.193 (2026) — Driving under the influence; penalties (opens in a new tab)
• Fla. Stat. § 322.28 (2026) — Period of suspension or revocation (opens in a new tab)
• Fla. Stat. § 316.656 (2026) — Mandatory adjudication; prohibition against accepting plea to lesser included offense (opens in a new tab)
• Fla. Stat. § 316.1937 (2026) — Ignition interlock devices, requiring; unlawful acts (opens in a new tab)
• Fla. Stat. § 322.2715 (2026) — Ignition interlock device (opens in a new tab)
• Fla. Stat. § 322.271 (2026) — Authority to modify revocation, cancellation, or suspension order (opens in a new tab)
• Fla. Stat. § 938.23 (2026) — Assistance grants for alcohol and other drug abuse programs (opens in a new tab)
• Fla. Stat. § 775.08 (2026) — Classes and definitions of offenses (opens in a new tab)
• Fla. Stat. § 775.082 (2026) — Penalties (opens in a new tab)
• Fla. Stat. § 775.083 (2026) — Fines (opens in a new tab)
• Fla. Stat. § 943.059 (2026) — Court-ordered sealing of criminal history records (opens in a new tab)
• Fla. Stat. § 943.0585 (2026) — Court-ordered expunction of criminal history records (opens in a new tab)
• Orange County Corrections, Misdemeanor/DUI Pretrial Diversion Information (form CCD/PTD 35-228 B, 12/17) (opens in a new tab)
• Orange County Pretrial Diversion, DUI Program Information — Out-of-State (form dated 03/13) (opens in a new tab)

This article is general information about Florida law, not legal advice about your case, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes and local programs change and individual facts matter.