Arkansas ignition interlock device laws require almost everyone convicted of driving while intoxicated involving alcohol to install an IID on every vehicle they drive, pay for the device themselves, and keep it in place for the length of their license suspension. Tampering with the device, lending a non-equipped car to a restricted driver, or having someone else blow into the mouthpiece for you is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Who Has to Install One
The Arkansas Office of Driver Services places an IID restriction on anyone convicted of DWI under Arkansas Code § 5-65-103, whether it is a first offense or a fifth.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-118 – Additional Penalties – Ignition Interlock Devices The restriction stays on your record until you complete the IID period the Office sets.
One carve-out matters: the requirement does not apply if your intoxication involved only a controlled substance rather than alcohol. The device measures breath alcohol, so it would do nothing for someone impaired solely by drugs.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-118 – Additional Penalties – Ignition Interlock Devices
Getting a Restricted License to Drive Again
If your license is suspended after a DWI, the Office of Driver Services can issue an ignition interlock restricted license that lets you drive during the suspension. You will not get it until you prove the device is already installed on every vehicle you plan to operate. No proof, no restricted license, no legal driving.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-118 – Additional Penalties – Ignition Interlock Devices
If your license was already suspended or revoked and you would otherwise qualify for a restricted license, you can petition the Office of Driver Services for a hearing to request one.
How Long the Device Stays On
When the restricted license is issued in connection with a suspension under § 5-65-104, the IID requirement runs until the original suspension ends. Administrative suspensions for a first DWI are 120 days and increase with each subsequent offense. Your full driving privileges come back only after you prove the device was installed and maintained for the entire required period.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-118 – Additional Penalties – Ignition Interlock Devices
What the Device Costs
Arkansas law puts the full cost of leasing or purchasing, monitoring, and maintaining the device on the restricted driver.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-118 – Additional Penalties – Ignition Interlock Devices The exact figure depends on which certified provider you choose. Plan for an installation charge, a monthly lease fee, a service fee at every calibration appointment, and a removal fee when the program ends. Nationally, installation runs roughly $70 to $150, and monthly lease and monitoring costs run roughly $30 to $110.
You will also need to file an SR-22 certificate of financial responsibility proving you carry at least Arkansas’s minimum liability insurance. The filing fee itself is modest, but the premium increase that follows a DWI and SR-22 is usually significant and typically runs for three years.
How the Device Works Day to Day
The breath alcohol threshold must be set somewhere between 0.02% and 0.05% BAC. At or above that level, the vehicle will not start.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-118 – Additional Penalties – Ignition Interlock Devices That is well below the 0.08% legal limit, so a single drink can trigger a lockout depending on your weight and the setting the court or Office of Driver Services picks.
A provider approved by the Arkansas Department of Health must service and monitor the device at least every 67 days.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-118 – Additional Penalties – Ignition Interlock Devices At each appointment, the technician recalibrates the sensor and downloads the data log, which records every breath test, every failed attempt, and any sign of tampering. Providers send that data to the sentencing court.2Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas Regulations for Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Devices
While you are driving, the device prompts you for rolling retests at random intervals. Fail one and the device gives a visible or audible signal and can trigger an automatic lockout that keeps the car from restarting until a technician services it. A 24-hour warning precedes any lockout, so you will not be stranded in the middle of a drive.2Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas Regulations for Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Devices
Criminal Offenses and Penalties
Arkansas Code § 5-65-123 creates four separate offenses tied to IID misuse, and each one is a Class A misdemeanor.3Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-123 – Offenses Involving a Motor Vehicle Equipped with an Ignition Interlock A Class A misdemeanor in Arkansas carries up to one year of imprisonment4Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-401 – Sentence and a fine of up to $2,500.5Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-201 – Fines – Limitations on Amount
- Soliciting a blow. A restricted driver who knowingly gets another person to start or try to start the IID-equipped vehicle so the restricted driver can then drive it commits an offense. The statute requires the specific purpose of driving, so having someone start the car to warm the engine for maintenance is not treated the same way.3Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-123 – Offenses Involving a Motor Vehicle Equipped with an Ignition Interlock
- Blowing for someone else. Knowingly starting or trying to start an IID-equipped vehicle for a restricted driver is a separate offense, and it applies to the helper even though the helper is not the restricted driver.3Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-123 – Offenses Involving a Motor Vehicle Equipped with an Ignition Interlock
- Tampering with the device. Knowingly tampering with or attempting to bypass an installed IID is its own offense, covering everything from disconnecting wires to feeding compressed air into the mouthpiece.3Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-123 – Offenses Involving a Motor Vehicle Equipped with an Ignition Interlock
- Lending a non-equipped vehicle. Knowingly handing the keys to a vehicle without a functioning IID to someone you know, or should know, is restricted carries criminal liability for the person who provided the car.3Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-123 – Offenses Involving a Motor Vehicle Equipped with an Ignition Interlock
These penalties stack on top of whatever sentence you already received for the DWI itself. Getting caught circumventing an IID essentially opens a second criminal case while the first one is still in progress.
Waivers for First-Time Offenders
First-time DWI offenders can ask the court to waive the IID requirement, but only in three narrow situations:1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-118 – Additional Penalties – Ignition Interlock Devices
- You need to drive an employer-owned vehicle for work and you do not own or control the business that owns the vehicle.
- A physician certifies that you cannot physically provide a deep lung breath sample.
- No state-certified IID provider operates within 100 miles of your home.
The waiver option exists only for a first offense. On a second or subsequent DWI, the statute gives the court no authority to waive the IID at all.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-118 – Additional Penalties – Ignition Interlock Devices