Florida BUI Laws: Penalties, Repeat Offenses, and Test Refusal

Florida BUI laws make it a crime to operate any vessel on state waters with a blood or breath alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher, with penalties starting at up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for a first offense and escalating to a felony for repeat convictions or incidents involving serious injury. The rules sit in Florida Statute 327.35 and apply to every kind of watercraft, from offshore cruisers to paddleboards.¹

The BAC Limits and How Impairment Is Proven

The legal threshold is 0.08% for operators 21 and older. Anyone under 21 is held to a 0.02% standard, which a single drink can exceed.¹

A specific breathalyzer number isn’t the only way the state proves a case. Prosecutors can also charge BUI under a “normal faculties” theory, using observable evidence like slurred speech, poor coordination, or erratic boat handling, regardless of any chemical test result.¹ Either route gets to a conviction.

Which Watercraft Count

Florida defines a vessel as every description of watercraft used or capable of being used for transportation on water. Kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, sailboats, jet skis, and personal watercraft all fall under the BUI statute alongside motorboats. If you’re propelling it across the water, you’re operating a vessel for BUI purposes. Paddlers and casual users often don’t realize this.

The federal definition tracks the same way: Coast Guard navigation rules cover “every description of water craft, including non-displacement craft” used or capable of being used for water transportation.²

Penalties for a First Offense

A standard first BUI conviction brings a stack of consequences:¹

A fine of $500 to $1,000.
Up to six months in jail.
Probation of up to one year.
A minimum of 50 hours of community service, ordered as a condition of probation.
Impoundment of the vessel you were operating, or of a vehicle registered in your name, for 10 days. The impoundment cannot run concurrently with jail time.

Courts routinely impose the full package rather than picking from it.

Repeat Offenses and the Timing Rules

Penalties climb sharply after a first conviction, and how long ago the prior offense happened matters.

Second Conviction Within Five Years

A second BUI within five years of a prior raises the fine range to $1,000 to $2,000 and increases the jail maximum to nine months. It also carries a mandatory minimum of 10 days in jail, meaning the judge cannot waive incarceration entirely.³

Third Conviction Within Ten Years

A third BUI within ten years of a prior crosses from misdemeanor to third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $5,000.¹⁴

Third Conviction More Than Ten Years After the Prior

If the third offense falls outside that ten-year window, it stays a misdemeanor, but with a fine of $2,000 to $5,000 and up to 12 months in jail.⁵ The ten-year line is the difference between a felony record and a misdemeanor one.

What Makes a BUI Worse

Certain facts increase the penalties, sometimes even on a first offense. A BAC of 0.15% or higher doubles the minimum fine to $1,000 and raises the maximum to $2,000. Having anyone under 18 on board triggers the same enhanced fines on its own, regardless of BAC.¹

When a BUI causes harm, the charge level follows the severity:¹⁶⁴

Property damage or minor injury: first-degree misdemeanor, up to one year in jail and a fine up to $1,000.
Serious bodily injury: third-degree felony, up to five years in prison and a fine up to $5,000.
Death (BUI manslaughter): second-degree felony, up to 15 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

Chemical Testing and the Cost of Refusing

By operating a vessel on Florida waters, you’ve already consented to breath, blood, or urine testing if an officer lawfully arrests you for BUI. That’s Florida’s implied consent law, codified in Statute 327.352. You don’t sign anything, and you can’t withdraw consent after the fact to escape the consequences of refusing.⁷ The test has to be tied to a lawful arrest, and the officer needs reasonable cause to believe you were impaired.

A first refusal triggers an immediate $500 civil penalty. You have 30 days to request a hearing before a county court judge to challenge it, and requesting a hearing pauses the payment clock until the case is resolved. The refusal itself can also be introduced at the criminal trial, allowing prosecutors to argue you declined because you expected to fail.⁸

A second or later refusal becomes a first-degree misdemeanor if you’ve previously been fined under the BUI refusal statute or had your driver’s license suspended for refusing any impairment test. That means up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000, stacked on top of the underlying BUI charge.⁷

When Officers Can Stop Your Boat

Enforcement on state waters changed on July 1, 2025, when Senate Bill 1388, the Boater Freedom Act, took effect. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers and local marine patrols can no longer stop or board a vessel without probable cause.⁹ They now need an articulable reason, closer to a traffic stop on the road: visible impairment, reckless operation, an equipment violation, an expired registration sticker, and so on. Random safety checks on open state waters are no longer permitted.

The limit matters: the Boater Freedom Act applies to state waters only. The U.S. Coast Guard keeps its own boarding authority on federal and navigable waterways, which overlaps much of Florida’s coastline, intercoastal routes, and major inlets. Coast Guard stops don’t require probable cause under federal law, so boaters in those zones can still face routine safety boardings.

Your Driver’s License Isn’t Automatically Suspended

A Florida BUI conviction, standing alone, does not trigger an automatic suspension of your automobile driver’s license. The BUI statute lives in the boating chapter of state law (Chapter 327), not the motor vehicle chapter (Chapter 322), and nothing in the boating chapter cross-references the licensing consequences that follow a DUI. The federal National Driver Register, which states use to share impairment convictions, is also limited to motor vehicle offenses and does not include vessel convictions.¹⁰

The silos aren’t airtight, though. If the same incident produces a separate motor vehicle charge, or if your prior refusal history includes a license suspension, those motor vehicle consequences remain in play.⁷

If You Hold a Merchant Mariner Credential

A BUI conviction carries professional stakes for anyone holding a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Credential. The Coast Guard evaluates alcohol-related convictions under federal suitability regulations and may impose an assessment period during which it will not process credential applications. That assessment period doesn’t begin until any incarceration, probation, or parole is complete. For current credential holders, the local Coast Guard Sector’s Senior Investigating Officer decides on administrative action, which can include suspension or revocation.¹¹

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 327.35 – Boating Under the Influence; Penalties; Designated Drivers
2
eCFR. 33 CFR 83.03 – General Definitions (Rule 3)
3
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 327.35 – Boating Under the Influence; Penalties; Designated Drivers
4
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 775.083 – Fines
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 327.35 – Boating Under the Influence; Penalties; Designated Drivers
6
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 775.082 – Penalties
7
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 327.352 – Implied Consent; Tests for Alcohol, Chemical Substances, or Controlled Substances
8
Florida Senate. Florida Code 327.35215 – Penalty for Failure to Submit to Test
9
Florida Senate. CS/SB 1388 – Boating Safety
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC Chapter 303 – National Driver Register
11
National Maritime Center. Frequently Asked Questions: Safety and Suitability Evaluation