Yes, you can refuse a field sobriety test in New Jersey. No state statute requires you to perform the roadside balance and coordination exercises an officer asks for during a traffic stop, and declining them is not itself a ticketable offense. The catch is that the breath test given later at the station is governed by a completely different law, and refusing that one carries mandatory fines, license loss, and an ignition interlock requirement. Keeping those two refusals straight is the whole game.
What Counts as a Field Sobriety Test
Field sobriety tests are the physical exercises an officer runs through on the shoulder of the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recognizes three standardized tests: the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, which tracks your eye movement; the Walk-and-Turn; and the One-Leg Stand.1National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Refresher Manual They are subjective evaluations the officer uses to build probable cause for an arrest.
Nothing in New Jersey law compels you to attempt any of them. The officer is also not required to tell you they are voluntary. You can decline politely, and the refusal alone will not produce a citation or charge.
Refusing Does Not Mean You Can Drive Away
From the moment the lights came on behind you, the officer has been collecting observations. How you were driving. Whether your speech is slurred. Whether your eyes are bloodshot. Whether there is an odor of alcohol in the car. If those observations are enough to support a reasonable belief that you are driving while intoxicated, the officer can arrest you with or without roadside test results.
Refusal also carries a courtroom cost. In State v. Stas (2012), the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a driver’s refusal to perform field sobriety tests is admissible as evidence of consciousness of guilt. A prosecutor can tell the judge you refused and argue you did so because you knew you would fail. That is not a conviction by itself, but it is one more piece of evidence the state would not otherwise have.
The Breath Test Is a Different Rule Entirely
The breath test is a chemical measurement of your blood alcohol concentration, taken after arrest, almost always at the police station using New Jersey’s approved Draeger Alcotest 7110 MKIII-C. Officers must observe you for at least 20 minutes before administering it.
The legal basis for requiring it is N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.2, the state’s implied consent statute. By driving on any public road or quasi-public area in New Jersey, you are deemed to have already consented to provide a breath sample when an officer has reasonable grounds to believe you were driving while intoxicated.2Justia. New Jersey Code 39:4-50.2 – Consent to Taking of Samples of Breath
The officer cannot physically force you to blow into the machine. The statute prohibits the use of force to obtain a breath sample. Before you decide, the officer is required to read a standard statement explaining the consequences of refusing. If that warning is skipped, it can become a defense against the refusal charge. You also have the right to an independent test by a person or physician of your own choosing, and the officer must inform you of that right too.2Justia. New Jersey Code 39:4-50.2 – Consent to Taking of Samples of Breath
Penalties for Refusing the Breath Test
Breath test refusal is charged under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4a. The penalties below are for the refusal alone, before any DWI-related consequences are added on top.
First Offense
A fine between $300 and $500. Your license is forfeited until you install an ignition interlock device on the vehicle you drive most often, and the interlock then stays installed for nine to fifteen months after your license is restored.3Justia. New Jersey Code 39:4-50.4a – Refusal to Submit to Test, Penalties4Justia. New Jersey Code 39:4-50.17 – Installation of Ignition Interlock Device You must also attend the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center, a court-ordered program of 12 to 48 hours covering education, screening, and possible referral to treatment.
Second Offense
A fine between $500 and $1,000. License forfeiture of one to two years after you install the ignition interlock device, with the interlock remaining on your vehicle for an additional two to four years once your license is returned.3Justia. New Jersey Code 39:4-50.4a – Refusal to Submit to Test, Penalties4Justia. New Jersey Code 39:4-50.17 – Installation of Ignition Interlock Device
Third or Subsequent Offense
A flat $1,000 fine. License forfeiture of eight years following interlock installation, with the two-to-four-year interlock period applying as well.3Justia. New Jersey Code 39:4-50.4a – Refusal to Submit to Test, Penalties4Justia. New Jersey Code 39:4-50.17 – Installation of Ignition Interlock Device
Refusal Charges Stack on Top of DWI
Breath test refusal is a standalone offense. You can be charged with both DWI and refusal from the same traffic stop, and the penalties for each run in addition to one another. A first-offense DWI conviction where your BAC was 0.08% but below 0.10% already carries a fine of $250 to $400, mandatory IDRC time, possible jail of up to 30 days, and its own license forfeiture pending interlock installation.5Justia. New Jersey Code 39:4-50 – Driving While Intoxicated Add the refusal penalties and the total fines climb, the interlock period lengthens, and the path back to a full license gets considerably longer.
Refusing the breath test also does not prevent a DWI conviction. Prosecutors can still prove impairment through the officer’s observations, dashcam or bodycam footage, your statements, and whatever else was gathered during the stop.
Surcharges and Insurance After the Fact
The statutory fines are not the only cost. The Motor Vehicle Commission imposes a separate insurance surcharge of $1,000 per year for three years following a first or second DWI conviction or breath test refusal. A third or subsequent violation within three years triggers a $1,500 annual surcharge for three years.6NJ.gov. Surcharge Facts That is $3,000 to $4,500 before private insurance even reacts. Premiums typically climb after a DWI-related offense, and the increase commonly lasts three to five years. Interlock installation and monthly monitoring fees pile on from there.
If You Hold a CDL, the Rules Reach Your Personal Car
Commercial drivers face an extra layer. Under federal regulations, refusing a chemical test while driving any vehicle, including your personal car, results in a one-year CDL disqualification for a first offense. A second refusal or DWI-related offense in a separate incident produces a lifetime disqualification.7eCFR. 49 CFR 383.51 – Disqualification of Drivers The phrase “any vehicle” is the one that catches people. The rules apply on a Saturday night in your own sedan the same as they do behind the wheel of a truck.
Blood Draws Are Not Covered by Implied Consent
New Jersey’s implied consent law specifically covers breath tests. Blood is handled differently. In Birchfield v. North Dakota (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court held that while the Fourth Amendment permits warrantless breath tests incident to a drunk-driving arrest, it does not permit warrantless blood tests, and a state cannot impose criminal penalties on someone solely for refusing a blood draw without a warrant.8Justia. Birchfield v. North Dakota, 579 U.S. ___ (2016)
If an officer wants blood, usually in a suspected drug-impairment case where a breath test will not detect the substance, the officer has to seek a warrant from a judge. You cannot be forced to give blood on the spot without one. Electronic warrant systems have made getting that warrant relatively fast, so refusal is not a permanent block.