What are the DUI laws and penalties in Pennsylvania?
What happens after a DUI arrest in PennsylvaniaAs of October 20, 2026
- Arrest and chargeChemical test, notice of license action, first court date set.
- 30-day appeal windowAppeal to the court of common pleas within 30 days; filing stays the suspension.
- Court casePlea or trial, then sentencing: fine, program, probation or jail.
- License backSuspension served, interlock if ordered, reinstatement fee paid.
A first-offense DUI in Pennsylvania is a crime: an ungraded misdemeanor carrying up to 6 months in jail in all three BAC tiers, or a first-degree misdemeanor if a child under 18 was in the car. It becomes a third-degree felony at the fourth offense within 10 years, after a prior conviction for homicide by vehicle while DUI, or already at the third offense in the highest tier (0.16 or more, drugs or refusal).
What are the penalties for a first-offense DUI in Pennsylvania?
Penalties depend on BAC: at 0.08–0.099 no jail, 6 months probation, a $300 fine and no suspension; at 0.10–0.159 at least 48 hours in jail, $500–$5,000 and a 12-month suspension. At 0.16 or higher, drugs or refusal: at least 72 hours and $1,000–$5,000.
| Penalty | First offense | Second offense (within 10 years) |
|---|---|---|
| Offense level | Ungraded misdemeanor, up to 6 months | Ungraded misdemeanor; first-degree at highest tier |
| Jail | By BAC tier: none, 48 hours or 72 hours minimum | 5, 30 or 90 days minimum, by BAC tier |
| Fine | By tier: $300, $500 to $5,000, or $1,000 to $5,000 | $300 to $2,500, $750 to $5,000, or at least $1,500 |
| License | None at 0.08–0.099; otherwise suspended 12 months | Suspended 12 months; 18 months at highest tier |
| Ignition interlock | None at 0.08–0.099 or ARD; otherwise 1 year | 1 year on every vehicle after restoration |
| Also | 6 months probation (lowest tier), Alcohol Highway Safety School, evaluation | Alcohol Highway Safety School, full drug and alcohol assessment |
All three first-offense tiers are ungraded misdemeanors with a 6-month maximum (75 Pa.C.S. § 3803), and every tier requires Alcohol Highway Safety School and a Court Reporting Network evaluation before sentencing, with a full drug-and-alcohol assessment and court-ordered treatment if indicated or if your BAC was 0.16 or more. The court can also order up to 150 hours of community service and a victim impact panel.
The limits are lower for some drivers: 0.02 for anyone under 21 and 0.04 for commercial drivers (0.02 in a school bus or school vehicle). If a child under 18 was in the car, the charge is graded a first-degree misdemeanor with an additional fine of at least $1,000 and 100 hours of community service (§ 3804(c.1)).
Source: 75 Pa.C.S. § 3804(a)(1), (b)(1), (c)(1), (c.1)(1), (e)(2); § 3803(a)(1), (b)(2); § 3805(a.1); § 3807(a)(2), (d) — (1) For a first offense, to: (i) undergo a mandatory minimum term of six months' probation; (ii) pay a fine of $300; (iii) attend an alcohol highway safety school approved by the department
Do you go to jail for a first DUI in Pennsylvania?
Not at the lowest tier: a first DUI at 0.08–0.099 brings probation, not jail, and most first offenders avoid any minimum by being diverted into ARD instead of a conviction. Above that, the minimums of 48 and 72 consecutive hours must actually be served.
The statutory maximum for any first offense is 6 months. A general-impairment case is sentenced at the 48-hour tier, even below 0.10, if there was an accident causing injury or property damage or if you were a minor or a commercial driver; the 72-hour tier applies at 0.16 or more and for drug DUI (75 Pa.C.S. § 3804). ARD is unavailable if someone was killed or seriously injured, a passenger was under 14, or you had a DUI conviction or ARD within the past 10 years.
How long is your license suspended for a DUI in Pennsylvania?
Nothing happens to your license at arrest. After conviction, PennDOT suspends it for 12 months at a BAC of 0.10 or above or for drugs, while a first general-impairment conviction (0.08–0.099) brings no suspension; ARD instead of conviction means 0 to 90 days.
Pennsylvania is not an administrative per se state: PennDOT takes no action on the arrest or the test result and only acts on the certified record once the court convicts you or orders ARD (75 Pa.C.S. § 3804(e); § 3807(d)). The suspension is 18 months if the case was graded a first-degree misdemeanor because a child under 18 was in the car. A first offender facing a 12-month suspension can apply immediately for an Ignition Interlock Limited License, and PennDOT also lists an Occupational Limited License after 60 days of the suspension.
ARD means 6 to 12 months of court supervision with Alcohol Highway Safety School, evaluation or treatment, restitution and costs. Its suspension is 0 days with a BAC under 0.10, 30 days at 0.10–0.159, 60 days at 0.16 or higher, with an unknown BAC, a drug DUI or an accident with injury or damage, and 90 days if you were a minor.
After a high-rate, highest-rate or drug DUI, PennDOT requires an ignition interlock on every vehicle you drive and issues an interlock-restricted license for 1 year as a condition of restoration (§ 3805); time on the limited license counts toward that year. A first general-impairment conviction or an ARD disposition is exempt if you had no prior offense or ARD in the past 10 years. Act 36 of 2026 will replace the limited license with a new ignition interlock driver's license, but only from about November 2027.
Source: 75 Pa.C.S. § 1547(b); § 1550; § 3804(e)(1); § 3807(d); 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571(b)
How many days do you have to appeal a PennDOT suspension after a DUI in Pennsylvania?
30 days. PennDOT holds no administrative hearing and takes no action for a failed test; a refusal suspension is contested by filing a statutory appeal in the court of common pleas within 30 days of the mailing date on PennDOT's notice.
Filing and serving the appeal petition on time acts as an automatic supersedeas: the suspension is stayed until the court rules, and the judge reviews the case de novo at a hearing set on 60 days' notice to PennDOT (75 Pa.C.S. § 1550; 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571(b)). The same statutory appeal is the route for any other PennDOT suspension, including the one imposed after a conviction.
For the DUI charge itself nothing is decided at PennDOT before the criminal case ends, so the first court date changes nothing about your license.
Source: 75 Pa.C.S. § 1547(b); § 1550; § 3804(e)(1); § 3807(d); 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571(b)
What happens if you refuse a breathalyzer in Pennsylvania?
No test is given, but PennDOT suspends your license for 12 months (18 months with a prior refusal suspension or DUI sentence), on top of any suspension for the DUI itself, and refusing a breath test puts you in the highest penalty tier if convicted.
The refusal suspension is a civil penalty that PennDOT imposes on the officer's notice, independent of the criminal case. The officer must warn you that your license will be suspended, that a restoration fee of up to $2,000 applies, and that refusing a breath test exposes you to the highest-tier penalties (75 Pa.C.S. § 1547(b)(2); § 3804(c)). Refusal is not a separate crime, but it is admissible at trial, and police can still draw blood with a search warrant.
Getting the license back costs a restoration fee of $500 for a first refusal suspension, $1,000 if PennDOT has suspended you once before for refusal, and $2,000 after two or more (§ 1547(b.2)). An Ignition Interlock Limited License is possible after 6 months of a 12-month refusal suspension or 9 months of an 18-month one. Refusing a roadside preliminary breath test before arrest carries no suspension and is not admissible.
Source: 75 Pa.C.S. § 1547(b)(1)–(3), (b.2), (b.3), (e), (k); § 3804(c); § 1550; 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571(b) — the department shall suspend the operating privilege of the person as follows: (i) Except as set forth in subparagraph (ii), for a period of 12 months. (ii) For a period of 18 months if any of the following apply
What is the penalty for a second DUI in Pennsylvania?
A second DUI within 10 years means mandatory jail of 5, 30 or 90 days and fines starting at $300, $750 or $1,500, depending on the BAC tier, plus a 12- or 18-month suspension and a 1-year ignition interlock.
The tiers are the same as for a first offense: 5 days and $300–$2,500 for general impairment, 30 days and $750–$5,000 for high rate (0.10–0.159), and 90 days and at least $1,500 for the highest tier (0.16 or more, drugs or refusal), which is graded a first-degree misdemeanor with up to 5 years, while the other two tiers stay ungraded misdemeanors capped at 6 months (75 Pa.C.S. § 3804; § 3803). PennDOT suspends 12 months for the ungraded tiers and 18 months for the first-degree misdemeanor, the Ignition Interlock Limited License opens only after 6 months of a 12-month or 9 months of an 18-month suspension, and the 1-year interlock applies with no exemption. Alcohol Highway Safety School and a full drug-and-alcohol assessment are mandatory.
A prior counts if it occurred within 10 years before (or after) the new offense (§ 3806). Since Act 58 of 2025 (effective December 22, 2025) a completed ARD no longer counts as a prior offense; instead a new DUI within 10 years after completing ARD is its own offense under § 3802(h), punished at these second-offense levels. With two or more priors, or one post-ARD § 3802(h) conviction, the DUI sentence must run consecutively to any other sentence (Deana's Law, Act 59 of 2022).
Source: 75 Pa.C.S. § 3804(a)(2), (b)(2), (c)(2), (c.2), (e)(2); § 3803(a)(1), (b)(1), (b)(4); § 3806(b)(1); § 3807(a)(2)(i); § 1556(f)(2) — (i) undergo imprisonment for not less than five days; (ii) pay a fine of not less than $300 nor more than $2,500; (iii) attend an alcohol highway safety school approved by the department
Source: 75 Pa.C.S. § 3806(a), (b)(1); § 3802(h)(1); § 3807(a)(2)(i)
Is a DUI a felony in Pennsylvania?
Not for a first or second offense. DUI becomes a third-degree felony at the fourth offense within 10 years, after a prior homicide-by-vehicle-while-DUI conviction, and already at the third offense in the highest tier (0.16 or more, drugs or refusal).
Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3803, a highest-tier DUI with three or more priors is a second-degree felony, and a third-degree felony also applies with two priors when a child under 18 was a passenger or when one of the two priors is a post-ARD § 3802(h) conviction. Separate felonies cover crashes: homicide by vehicle while DUI is a second-degree felony with a mandatory minimum of 3 years per victim (first degree and a 5-year minimum with a prior DUI, which here counts without any time limit), and aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI is a second-degree felony (§§ 3735, 3735.1). A DUI crash with injury or property damage but no serious bodily injury is not a felony.
Source: 75 Pa.C.S. § 3803(a)(3)–(4), (b)(4.1), (b)(5)(ii); § 3735(a); § 3735.1(a); § 3804(b)
How long does a DUI stay on your record in Pennsylvania?
A conviction stays on your criminal history indefinitely unless expunged, pardoned or sealed; Pennsylvania DUI guides put the driving-record entry at 10 years, the same window used for counting prior offenses. Complete ARD instead and the charge is dismissed and the arrest record expunged.
Expungement of a conviction is almost never available: only at age 70 after 10 arrest-free years, 3 years after death, or after an unconditional pardon (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122). Sealing is the more realistic route: under Clean Slate, a misdemeanor punishable by no more than 2 years, which covers an ungraded first- or second-offense DUI, appears to qualify for automatic limited access after 7 years without a new conviction punishable by a year or more, once restitution and the fee are paid, and a first-degree-misdemeanor DUI can be sealed by petition after 7 years (§§ 9122.1, 9122.2). Sealing is not expungement: courts, police and PennDOT still see the record and it still counts as a prior offense.
ARD is not a conviction. On successful completion the judge dismisses the charge and must order the arrest record expunged unless the Commonwealth objects within 30 days (Pa.R.Crim.P. 320); an unsuccessful ARD is not expunged. Since Act 58 of 2025 the clerk of courts keeps a sealed copy of the ARD-completion order for 12 years solely for prosecuting a later DUI, and PennDOT says it automatically expunges its own ARD records after 10 years unless you were a commercial driver or revoked as a habitual offender.
How much does a DUI lawyer cost in Pennsylvania?
Reported flat fees for a first-offense Pennsylvania DUI with no accident run about $1,500 to $5,000; these are published ranges, not a quote, and a case that goes to trial is reported at $5,000 to $10,000 or more.
PennDOT's own cost list puts legal fees at $2,000 to $8,000 or more, and fees rise with the BAC tier, a refusal, an accident or a child passenger, and ARD ineligibility. PennDOT's list continues with fines of $300 to $10,000 depending on the offense, towing ($175–$500), impound ($75–$175 per day), an alcohol evaluation ($35–$100), the ARD program ($100–$1,800; the Liquor Control Board estimates about $2,500 in total excluding the lawyer), education and treatment ($100–$1,000 or more), a $76 license restoration fee ($184 commercial) and an insurance increase of about $1,000 a year or cancellation.
Statutory extras: a $50 EMS fee in ARD, the chemical-test cost if you are convicted or placed in ARD, the $65 application fee for an Ignition Interlock Limited License, the interlock lease at roughly $1,000 to $1,200 a year, and the separate restoration fee after a refusal suspension. Pennsylvania does not generally require an SR-22 filing after a DUI.
Fee range: Ciccarelli Law Offices, Starks Law, PennDOT — reported figures, not a quote.
Pennsylvania statutes and official sources
- Offense (three BAC tiers, drugs, minors, commercial; post-ARD offense § 3802(h)): 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802
- Grading (misdemeanor/felony): 75 Pa.C.S. § 3803
- Penalties (jail, fines, PennDOT suspension on conviction): 75 Pa.C.S. § 3804
- Implied consent / refusal (civil suspension 12/18 months, restoration fees): 75 Pa.C.S. § 1547
- Prior offenses / 10-year lookback: 75 Pa.C.S. § 3806
- Ignition interlock (operative text until Act 36 of 2026 takes effect): 75 Pa.C.S. § 3805
- Ignition Interlock Limited License (repealed by Act 36 of 2026 effective in 16 months; still in force): 75 Pa.C.S. § 1556
- Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) — eligibility, conditions, 0/30/60/90-day suspension: 75 Pa.C.S. § 3807
- Judicial review of PennDOT suspensions (appeal to court of common pleas; supersedeas): 75 Pa.C.S. § 1550; 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571(b)
- Expungement / limited access (Clean Slate): 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 9122, 9122.1, 9122.2, 9122.3; Pa.R.Crim.P. 320
- Homicide / aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI (felonies): 75 Pa.C.S. §§ 3735, 3735.1
- PennDOT — Impaired Driving (penalties overview, cost of a DUI, ignition interlock)
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