What will happen to you if you're pulled over for drunk driving? All states have "per se laws" that say it's a crime to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above 0.08. Typically, license suspension or revocation follows a conviction for drunk driving. In addition, some states impose an administrative license suspension, where licenses are taken before conviction when a driver fails or refuses to take a chemical test.
After a conviction, most states permit offenders to drive only if their vehicles have been equipped with ignition interlocks, which analyze a driver's breath and disable the ignition if alcohol is detected. Plus, many states force multiple offenders to forfeit the vehicles they were driving while impaired by alcohol.
| State |
Blood alcohol level defined as illegal |
Administrative license suspension, 1st offense(1) |
Restore driving privileges during suspension?(1),(2) |
Do penalties include interlock/forfeiture?(3) |
| Alabama |
0.08 |
90 days |
no |
no/no |
| Alaska |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
| Arizona |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
| Arkansas |
0.08 |
120 days |
yes |
yes/yes |
| California |
0.08 |
4 months |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
| Colorado |
0.08 |
3 months |
yes |
yes/no |
| Connecticut |
0.08 |
90 days |
yes |
yes/no |
| Delaware |
0.08 |
3 months |
no |
yes/no |
| District of Columbia |
0.08 |
2-90 days |
yes |
yes/no |
| Florida |
0.08 |
6 months |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
| State |
BAC Defined as illegal per se |
Administrative license suspension 1st offense(1) |
Restore driving privileges during suspension?(1),(2) |
Do penalties include interlock/forfeiture?(3) |
| Georgia |
0.08 |
1 year |
yes |
yes/yes |
| Hawaii |
0.08 |
3 months |
after 30 days |
yes/no |
| Idaho |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/no |
| Illinois |
0.08 |
3 months |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
| Indiana |
0.08 |
180 days |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
| Iowa |
0.08 |
180 days |
after 90 days |
yes/no |
| Kansas |
0.08 |
30 days |
no |
yes/no |
| Kentucky |
0.08 |
no |
n/a |
yes/yes |
| Louisiana |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
| Maine |
0.08 |
90 days |
yes |
yes/yes |
| State |
BAC Defined as illegal per se |
Administrative license suspension 1st offense(1) |
Restore driving privileges during suspension?(1),(2) |
Do penalties include interlock/forfeiture?(3) |
| Maryland |
0.08 |
45 days |
yes |
yes/no |
| Massachusetts |
0.08 |
90 days |
no |
yes/yes |
| Michigan |
0.08 |
30 days |
yes |
yes/yes |
| Minnesota |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 15 days |
yes/yes |
| Mississippi |
0.08 |
90 days |
no |
yes/yes |
| Missouri |
0.08 |
30 days |
no |
yes/yes |
| Montana |
0.08 |
no |
n/a |
yes/yes |
| Nebraska |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/no |
| Nevada |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 45 days |
yes/no |
| New Hampshire |
0.08 |
6 months |
no |
yes/no |
| State |
BAC Defined as illegal per se |
Administrative license suspension 1st offense(1) |
Restore driving privileges during suspension?(1),(2) |
Do penalties include interlock/forfeiture?(3) |
| New Jersey |
0.08 |
no |
n/a |
yes/no |
| New Mexico |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/no |
| New York |
0.08 |
variable(4) |
yes |
yes/yes |
| North Carolina |
0.08 |
30 days |
after 10 days |
yes/yes |
| North Dakota |
0.08 |
91 days |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
| Ohio |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 15 days |
yes/yes |
| Oklahoma |
0.08 |
180 days |
yes |
yes/yes |
| Oregon |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
| Pennsylvania |
0.08 |
no |
n/a |
yes/yes |
| Rhode Island |
0.08 |
no |
n/a |
yes/yes |
| |
| State |
BAC Defined as illegal per se |
Administrative license suspension 1st offense(1) |
Restore driving privileges during suspension?(1),(2) |
Do penalties include interlock/forfeiture?(3) |
| South Carolina |
0.08 |
no |
n/a |
yes/yes |
| South Dakota |
0.08 |
no |
n/a |
no/no |
| Tennessee |
0.08 |
no |
n/a |
yes/yes |
| Texas |
0.08 |
90 days |
yes |
yes/yes |
| Utah |
0.08 |
90 days |
no |
yes/no |
| Vermont |
0.08 |
90 days |
no |
no/yes |
| Virginia |
0.08 |
7 days |
no |
yes/yes |
| Washington |
0.08 |
90 days |
after 30 days |
yes/yes |
| West Virginia |
0.08 |
6 months |
after 30 days |
yes/no |
| Wisconsin |
0.08 |
6 months |
yes |
yes/yes |
| Wyoming |
0.08 |
90 days |
yes |
yes/no |
1. Information pertains to drivers in violation of the BAC defined as illegal per se for all drivers, not the special BAC for young drivers.
2. Drivers usually must demonstrate special hardship to justify restoring privileges during suspension, and then privileges often are restricted.
3. A multiple offender's vehicle may be seized and disposed.
4. In New York, administrative license suspension lasts until prosecution is complete. Notes: The 0.08 per se BAC law in Michigan contains a sunset clause which states that legal BAC will revert to 0.10 on Oct. 1, 2013.
Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
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