What are the DUI laws and penalties in Georgia?
What happens after a DUI arrest in GeorgiaAs of October 20, 2026
- Arrest and chargeChemical test, notice of license action, first court date set.
- 30-day deadlineFile the DDS hearing request or interlock permit application, or the suspension takes effect.
- Court casePlea or trial, then sentencing: fine, program, probation or jail.
- License backSuspension served, interlock if ordered, reinstatement fee paid.
A first DUI in Georgia is a misdemeanor, and so is a second. It becomes a felony on a fourth or subsequent conviction within 10 years, or right away if the crash causes bodily harm (serious injury by vehicle).
What are the penalties for a first-offense DUI in Georgia?
A first DUI in Georgia is a misdemeanor: 10 days to 12 months in jail (almost all of it can be probated), a $300 to $1,000 fine, at least 40 hours of community service, a 12-month license suspension and 12 months of probation.
| Penalty | First offense | Second offense (within 10 years) |
|---|---|---|
| Offense level | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor |
| Jail | 10 days to 12 months; at least 24 hours if BAC 0.08+ | 90 days to 12 months, at least 72 hours served |
| Fine | $300 to $1,000, plus court costs and surcharges | $600 to $1,000 |
| License | Suspended 12 months; early reinstatement after 120 days | Suspended 3 years if within 5 years; 18 months minimum |
| Ignition interlock | Not required by statute after a first conviction | 1 year, required for reinstatement (second within 5 years) |
| Also | 40 hours community service, Risk Reduction Program, 12 months probation | 30 days community service, Risk Reduction Program, 12 months probation |
The fine cannot be suspended or probated (a narrow exception sits in O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(g)), and court costs and surcharges come on top of it. You must complete the DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program within 120 days of conviction and undergo a clinical evaluation, with substance-abuse treatment if recommended, though the court may waive the evaluation on a first offense. The 12 months of probation are reduced by any days spent in jail.
No ignition interlock device is required by statute after a first conviction.
Source: O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(c)(1)(A)-(F); O.C.G.A. § 40-5-63(a)(1); O.C.G.A. § 40-5-64 — A period of imprisonment of not fewer than ten days nor more than 12 months, which period of imprisonment may, at the sole discretion of the judge, be suspended, stayed, or probated
Do you go to jail for a first DUI in Georgia?
Usually not for long. The sentence is 10 days to 12 months, but the judge may suspend, stay or probate all of it, unless your BAC was 0.08 or more, in which case at least 24 hours must actually be served.
Georgia convicts on two theories: a per se charge at a BAC of 0.08 or more within 3 hours of driving (0.02 under 21, 0.04 in a commercial vehicle), and a 'less safe' charge that needs no BAC reading at all. The 24-hour minimum applies only when the BAC was 0.08 or more; a less safe conviction can be fully probated.
Georgia's DUI statute has no separate high-BAC tier. A reading of 0.15 or more may weigh with the judge in practice, but it is not a statutory threshold with its own penalties.
Source: O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(c)(1)(A)-(F); O.C.G.A. § 40-5-63(a)(1); O.C.G.A. § 40-5-64
How long is your license suspended for a DUI in Georgia?
Two suspensions. After conviction, the court/DDS suspension is 12 months, with early reinstatement possible after 120 days. Separately, a failed test triggers a 1-year administrative suspension from DDS right after the arrest, reinstatable after 30 days.
The 12-month suspension applies to a first DUI within 5 years (O.C.G.A. § 40-5-63). After 120 days you may apply for early reinstatement with a Risk Reduction Program certificate and a $210 fee ($200 by mail). A limited driving permit for work, school, medical care and treatment costs $32, lasts 1 year and is available if the sentencing judge finds it reasonable (§ 40-5-64).
The administrative license suspension (ALS) is separate from the court case: it starts from the arrest paperwork (form DDS-1205) and is decided by an administrative law judge. For a first failed test with no ALS in the previous 5 years, the suspension is 1 year, but you can reinstate after 30 days with the Risk Reduction certificate and the $210 fee, and a 30-day limited driving permit is available. A second ALS within 5 years lasts 3 years (18 months before reinstatement); a third lasts 5 years. Time served on the ALS counts toward the conviction suspension for the same arrest, and DDS deletes the ALS from your record if the DUI ends in an acquittal or dismissal.
Source: O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(c)(1)(A)-(F); O.C.G.A. § 40-5-63(a)(1); O.C.G.A. § 40-5-64
Source: O.C.G.A. § 40-5-67.1(c), (g); O.C.G.A. § 40-5-67.2(a)(1), (b), (d); O.C.G.A. § 40-5-64.1
How many days do you have to request a DDS hearing after a DUI arrest in Georgia?
30 days. Within 30 days of the DDS-1205 notice you must either send DDS form DDS-1206 with the $150 fee to request a hearing, or apply for an ignition interlock permit instead; otherwise the suspension takes effect automatically.
The 30 days run from personal service of the notice or, if it comes by certified mail, from 3 days after mailing; DDS treats a request as on time if it is received or postmarked within 30 calendar days. Miss it and the hearing right is waived. The hearing is held by the Office of State Administrative Hearings within 30 days of your request.
Drivers 21 and over with no DUI in the past 5 years have a second option: instead of contesting the suspension, apply for an ignition interlock device limited driving permit ($25) and drive with the device for 1 year. Choosing the permit waives the hearing.
Source: O.C.G.A. § 40-5-67.1(c), (g); O.C.G.A. § 40-5-67.2(a)(1), (b), (d); O.C.G.A. § 40-5-64.1
What happens if you refuse a breathalyzer in Georgia?
Refusing the state test is not a crime, but DDS suspends your license for 1 year as a hard suspension: no limited driving permit and no early reinstatement, unlike the suspension after a failed test.
Georgia's implied-consent law treats driving as consent to a state-administered test of blood, breath, urine or other bodily substances (O.C.G.A. § 40-5-67.1). If you refuse, no test is given; the officer reports the refusal to DDS on form DDS-1205 and the suspension follows, a minimum of 1 year for each refusal. The statutory warning also says a refusal of blood or urine testing may be offered as evidence at trial. There is no statutory fine for refusing; the costs are the hearing filing fee if you contest it and the longer hard suspension.
Drivers 21 and over with no DUI in the past 5 years may elect an ignition interlock device limited driving permit within 30 days instead, but must then keep the device for the full 12 months even if the DUI charge is later dropped. A refusal suspension ages off your driving record after 1 year with no reinstatement fee, and DDS deletes it if you are acquitted of the DUI (unless you took the interlock permit).
Source: O.C.G.A. § 40-5-67.1(b), (d), (g) — If you refuse this testing, your Georgia driver's license or privilege to drive on the highways of this state will be suspended for a minimum period of one year.
What is the penalty for a second DUI in Georgia?
A second DUI within 10 years is still a misdemeanor, but with 90 days to 12 months in jail (at least 72 hours actually served), a $600 to $1,000 fine, at least 30 days of community service and 12 months of probation.
For sentencing, a prior DUI counts if its arrest date was within 10 years of the current arrest, and an accepted nolo contendere plea counts as a prior conviction. The judge must probate part of the jail term, the fine cannot be suspended or probated, and the Risk Reduction Program, a clinical evaluation with treatment if recommended, and publication of a notice of the second conviction all apply.
DDS uses a shorter 5-year window for the license. A second conviction within 5 years of the first arrest means a 3-year suspension with no reinstatement before 18 months: the first 120 days are a hard suspension with no driving, then an ignition interlock limited permit is possible, and reinstatement requires proof of 1 year with an ignition interlock device unless a financial-hardship exemption is granted (O.C.G.A. § 40-5-63(a)(2)). A second conviction more than 5 but less than 10 years after the first is treated by DDS like a first suspension: 12 months, early reinstatement after 120 days.
Source: O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(c)(2); O.C.G.A. § 40-5-63(a)(2) — A period of imprisonment of not fewer than 90 days and not more than 12 months […] the offender shall be required to serve not fewer than 72 hours of actual incarceration
Is a DUI a felony in Georgia?
Usually not. A first or second DUI is a misdemeanor; DUI becomes a felony on a fourth or subsequent conviction within 10 years, or right away if you cause an accident with bodily harm.
A third conviction within 10 years is a 'high and aggravated' misdemeanor. A fourth or subsequent conviction within 10 years is a felony with 1 to 5 years in prison (all but 90 days may be probated), a $1,000 to $5,000 fine, at least 60 days of community service and 5 years of probation (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(c)(4)). Serious injury by vehicle, the felony for a DUI accident that causes bodily harm, carries 1 to 15 years (§ 40-6-394(b)). Driving under the influence with a child under 14 in the vehicle is the separate offense of endangering a child by DUI, charged on top of the DUI itself.
Source: O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(c)(4); O.C.G.A. § 40-6-394(b); O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(l)
How long does a DUI stay on your record in Georgia?
Effectively for life. DDS publishes no period after which a DUI conviction drops off, Georgia DUI defense firms say it stays on the driving history permanently, and the criminal conviction cannot be restricted (expunged) under Georgia law.
Driving record: DDS sells 3-year, 7-year and lifetime driver history reports ($7, $9 and $9) and names no date after which a DUI conviction is removed.
Criminal record: a DUI conviction is a misdemeanor (or felony) conviction on the GCIC criminal history and shows on background checks permanently. Georgia's record-restriction law lets some old misdemeanors be restricted after 4 conviction-free years, but it excludes serious traffic offenses under Article 15 of Chapter 6 of Title 40, the article that contains the DUI statute (O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37(j)(4)(B)). Restriction is possible only if the DUI charge ends without a conviction (dismissal, nolle prosequi or acquittal).
Source: O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37(j)(4)(B); O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(c)(6)
How much does a DUI lawyer cost in Georgia?
Reported flat fees for a first-offense Georgia DUI lawyer run about $2,500 to $10,000; these are published ranges from law firms and legal guides, not a quote.
Fees are usually staged (ALS appeal, arraignment, motions, trial). One Atlanta firm quotes $1,500 to $5,000 for a straightforward case; top metro-Atlanta trial lawyers are reported at $5,000 to $10,000 or more, and complex cases with an accident, a refusal, blood-test challenges, expert witnesses or a jury trial can reach $15,000.
The lawyer is only part of the bill. Add the $300 to $1,000 fine plus court costs and surcharges (reported totals of $500 to $1,500), the $360 Risk Reduction Program ($100 assessment, $235 intervention, $25 workbook), a clinical evaluation at $150 to $300, probation supervision of about $40 a month, the $210 reinstatement fee ($200 by mail), the $150 ALS hearing filing fee, a $32 limited driving permit or $25 interlock permit, and, if you drive with an interlock, about $150 to install plus roughly $90 a month ($1,300 to $1,800 for a year). Insurance premiums are reported to rise 70% to 80%, with an SR-22 filing fee of about $25.
Fee range: georgiacriminaldefense.com, LegalClarity, Atlanta DUI Rich, bubbahead.com — reported figures, not a quote.
Georgia statutes and official sources
- Offense: O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(a)
- Implied consent / refusal: O.C.G.A. § 40-5-67.1
- Administrative suspension (periods): O.C.G.A. § 40-5-67.2
- Ignition interlock permit in lieu of ALS hearing: O.C.G.A. § 40-5-64.1
- License suspension after conviction (court/DDS): O.C.G.A. § 40-5-63
- Limited driving permit: O.C.G.A. § 40-5-64
- Serious injury by vehicle (felony): O.C.G.A. § 40-6-394(b)
- Record restriction (no DUI restriction): O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37(j)(4)(B)
- Georgia DDS — Reinstatement FAQs: DUI first offense, drivers 21 and over
- Georgia DDS — DUI FAQs (Risk Reduction Program cost $360)
- Georgia DDS — Drivers Manual, chapter 1 continued (DUI suspensions, under 21, refusal)
- Georgia DDS — Alcohol & Drug Awareness Program student manual (refusal, no limited permit)
About This Information
Editorially Reviewed — Content reviewed for accuracy using published legal research, government data, and verified court records. See our methodology. Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated - $236 billion in real payouts analyzed · See what we found
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