Alabama DUI Code: Penalties, Interlock, and License Reinstatement

Alabama DUI penalties for a first conviction include a fine of $600 to $2,100, up to a year in jail, a mandatory 90-day license suspension, a court-referral substance abuse program, and a one-year ignition interlock requirement if you want to drive during the suspension. Penalties climb sharply with each prior conviction, and a fourth offense becomes a Class C felony punishable by up to ten years in prison. A separate administrative suspension through the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency can take your license before the criminal case is decided.

First-Offense Penalties

A first DUI in Alabama is a misdemeanor under Section 32-5A-191. The court can impose a fine between $600 and $2,100, jail time of up to one year, or both.¹ First offenders without aggravating factors often avoid actual jail, but the fine is mandatory, and court costs and assessments push the real total higher than the statutory floor.

Every first conviction also brings two non-negotiable requirements: completion of a court-referral substance abuse program, and a 90-day suspension of your driving privilege by the Secretary of ALEA.²

After serving at least 45 days of the suspension, a first offender may apply for an ignition interlock restricted license. If granted, a one-year interlock period begins, and the underlying suspension is paused as long as you keep the device installed and comply with the rules.²

When a First Offense Gets Worse

Two aggravators can double the mandatory minimums on a first offense.

A BAC at or above 0.15 percent forces the court to double the minimum penalty that would otherwise apply. The minimum fine jumps from $600 to $1,200, and the interlock requirement stretches from one year to two.³

Having a child under 14 in the vehicle at the time of the offense also doubles the minimum penalties. On a first offense, the minimum fine again rises from $600 to $1,200. This enhancement stacks on top of the base penalty tier, so a repeat offender caught with a child in the car faces very steep mandatory minimums.¹

Second Offense

A second DUI conviction is still a misdemeanor, but it carries mandatory time you cannot avoid. The sentence must include at least five days in the county jail or 30 days of community service, and that minimum cannot be suspended or probated. Fines run from $1,100 to $5,100, the maximum jail term is one year, and your license will be revoked for one year.¹

After at least 45 days of revocation, you may apply for an ignition interlock restricted license. The mandatory interlock period is two years.²

Third Offense

A third conviction remains a misdemeanor but carries a mandatory minimum of 60 days in the county jail that cannot be suspended or probated. Fines range from $2,100 to $10,100, the maximum jail term is one year, and your license will be revoked for three years.¹

A third offender must wait at least 60 days into the revocation before applying for an interlock restricted license. The mandatory interlock period is three years.²

Fourth or Subsequent Offense

A fourth DUI conviction, or any conviction where you already have a prior felony DUI, is a Class C felony. The sentencing range is one year and one day to ten years in prison, with a fine between $4,100 and $10,100. At least 10 days must be served in the county jail regardless of any other sentencing arrangement.²

The statute puts no time limitation on counting prior convictions for a fourth or subsequent offense. An old DUI counts no matter how many years ago it happened. A felony DUI also creates a permanent criminal record that affects employment, housing, and civil rights, including the right to possess firearms.

DUI Causing Death or Serious Injury

When a DUI results in someone’s death, Alabama can prosecute the driver for criminally negligent homicide. This is a separate felony charge, not just an enhanced DUI. A conviction carries a prison sentence of one year and one day up to ten years, with a potential fine of up to $15,000. Even without a death, causing serious bodily injury while driving impaired can result in separate felony charges with prison terms of one to five years.

Ignition Interlock Requirements

Alabama requires ignition interlock devices at every offense level. An IID prevents your car from starting until you blow into a breath-testing unit and register below 0.02 percent BAC, and it monitors throughout your drive.⁴

The mandatory interlock periods are:

First offense: one year, or two years if BAC was 0.15 or higher
Second offense: two years
Third offense: three years

Once the court orders the device, you have 30 days from the date you become eligible for an interlock restricted license to show proof of installation. Tampering with the device, having someone else blow into it, or driving another vehicle without one during your interlock period is a separate offense. A first violation is a Class A misdemeanor and adds six months to the interlock requirement. A second violation adds mandatory jail time of at least 48 hours plus another six months on the interlock. A third carries at least five days in jail and extends the interlock period by a full year.⁴

If you qualify as indigent, you may pay half the installation and monitoring costs for up to two years, after which you must cover the full remaining cost.⁴

Refusing the Chemical Test

By driving on Alabama roads, you have already agreed under the implied consent law to submit to a chemical test of blood, breath, or oral fluid if you are lawfully arrested on DUI suspicion. You can refuse, but refusal carries its own penalty: an automatic 90-day license suspension on the first refusal, entirely independent of the criminal case.⁵

You can request an administrative hearing to challenge a refusal suspension, but the hearing only examines whether the officer had reasonable grounds to suspect DUI, whether you were arrested, and whether you actually refused.⁵

The Administrative Suspension Before Court

The administrative suspension runs on a separate track from your criminal case. The Secretary of ALEA can suspend your driving privilege based on a law enforcement officer’s report showing you drove with a BAC above the legal limit, regardless of whether you are ultimately convicted.⁶

The two tracks interact. If you are administratively suspended for a BAC at or above 0.08 and later convicted, the time you already served counts toward the criminal suspension or revocation. If the criminal charge is dismissed, dropped, or ends in acquittal, ALEA must rescind the administrative suspension and remove it from your record, with an exception for commercial driver’s license holders.⁶

Getting Your License Back

Once the suspension or revocation period ends and you have completed every court-ordered requirement, you apply for reinstatement through ALEA. Reinstatement is not free. The current fees for an alcohol or drug-related offense are $275 for the reinstatement itself, a $25 drug-related fee, and a $150 interlock issuance fee if an interlock restricted license was issued. ALEA does not accept personal checks; use a money order, cashier’s check, cash, or credit card.⁷

You will also need to file an SR-22 certificate of financial responsibility with ALEA. An SR-22 is a form your auto insurer files on your behalf, showing you carry at least the state-minimum liability coverage. Most drivers must maintain the SR-22 for three years from the date of conviction. If your coverage lapses during that period, the insurer notifies ALEA and your license can be suspended again.

What a DUI Actually Costs

The real cost of a DUI in Alabama runs well past the statutory fine. A DUI conviction raises auto insurance premiums by roughly 88 percent on average, or about $183 more per month for full coverage compared to a clean record.⁸ That increase typically lasts three to five years, adding thousands to your premiums over time.

Add up the statutory fine, court costs and assessments, the substance abuse program fee, the $275 reinstatement fee, the $25 drug-related surcharge, SR-22 filing costs, ignition interlock installation and monthly monitoring, and the insurance jump, and a first-offense DUI easily costs several thousand dollars in total. Repeat offenders pay more on every line.

Travel to Canada After a DUI

An Alabama DUI conviction can also affect international travel. Canada treats impaired driving as a serious criminal offense with a maximum penalty of 10 years under Canadian law. A person with a DUI conviction on or after December 18, 2018, may be considered criminally inadmissible to Canada for life and will never qualify for automatic deemed rehabilitation. Entry then requires a Temporary Resident Permit or Criminal Rehabilitation, both of which involve documentation and processing time.⁹

A single DUI that occurred before December 18, 2018, may qualify for deemed rehabilitation if at least ten years have passed since every element of the sentence, including probation, fines, and license reinstatement, was completed. Anyone with multiple DUI convictions or a felony DUI is excluded from deemed rehabilitation entirely.⁹

1
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 32-5A-191 – Driving While Under Influence of Alcohol, Controlled Substances, Etc.
2
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 32-5A-191 – Driving While Under the Influence of Alcohol, Controlled Substances, Etc.
3
National Conference of State Legislatures. Summary Increased Penalties for High Blood Alcohol Content
4
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 32-5A-191.4 – Ignition Interlock Devices
5
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 32-5-192 – Implied Consent; When Tests Administered; Suspension of License or Permit to Drive, Etc., for Refusal to Submit to Test
6
Alabama Legislature. SB258 – Alabama Administrative License Suspension
7
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Driver Records, Crash Reports, and Driver License Reinstatements
8
ValuePenguin. How Does a DUI Affect Your Auto Insurance Rates
9
Temporary Resident Permit Canada. Deemed Rehabilitation Canada (DUI or Criminal Record)