A first DUI in Arizona suspends your license for 90 days. A second DUI within seven years is a one-year revocation. And if you refused the breath, blood, or urine test when you were arrested, that’s a separate 12-month suspension on top, whether or not you’re ever convicted. Those are the headline numbers for how long your license is suspended for a DUI in Arizona; the rest depends on your record, the BAC reading, and whether anyone was hurt.
First DUI: 90 Days, Often Split 30 and 60
A first-offense standard DUI (BAC of 0.08 or higher) carries a 90-day license suspension.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1387 – Prior Convictions; Alcohol or Other Drug Screening Most first-time drivers don’t sit out the full 90 days with no driving at all. If you have no prior DUI within 84 months, no one was killed or seriously injured, and you complete an alcohol or drug screening, the 90 days break into 30 days of full suspension followed by 60 days of restricted driving for work, school, and treatment.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1385 – Administrative License Suspension for Driving Under the Influence
Skip the screening and the Motor Vehicle Division can keep you on a full 90-day suspension with no restricted privileges.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1385 – Administrative License Suspension for Driving Under the Influence
Extreme and Super Extreme DUI Don’t Change the Suspension Length
Arizona charges a BAC of 0.15 to 0.20 as extreme DUI and 0.20 or above as super extreme DUI.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1382 – Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Extreme Influence of Intoxicating Liquor For a first conviction at either tier, the suspension is still 90 days. What changes is jail time, fines, and how long you’ll have an ignition interlock on your car, not how long you’re off the road.
Second DUI Within Seven Years: One-Year Revocation
A second standard DUI conviction within 84 months is a one-year revocation ordered by the court.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1381 – Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Influence The same one-year revocation applies to a second extreme or super extreme DUI within that window.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1382 – Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Extreme Influence of Intoxicating Liquor
Revocation is not the same as suspension, and the difference matters. A suspension ends on its own once the clock runs out and you meet the reinstatement requirements. A revocation cancels your license outright. When the revocation period expires, you don’t automatically get driving privileges back. You submit a revocation packet to the MVD, which reviews your record and decides whether to issue a new license.
Aggravated DUI: At Least One Year, With No Automatic Return
Aggravated DUI is a felony. It covers driving under the influence on an already-suspended or revoked license, a third DUI within 84 months, or driving impaired with a passenger under 15, among other situations. A conviction revokes your license, and the MVD will not issue a new one for at least one year from the conviction date. Courts can impose longer revocation periods depending on the circumstances.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1383 – Aggravated Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Influence
Refusing the Chemical Test: 12 Months, Separate From Any Conviction
Arizona’s implied consent law treats driving on state roads as advance agreement to a breath, blood, or urine test when an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect impairment. Refusing is its own penalty, independent of what happens in criminal court.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1321 – Implied Consent; Tests; Refusal to Submit to Test; Order of Suspension; Hearing; Review; Temporary Permit; Notification of Suspension; Special Ignition Interlock Restricted Driver License
- First refusal: 12-month suspension.
- Second or later refusal within 84 months: two-year suspension.
After completing an alcohol or drug screening, a first-time refusal may qualify for a special ignition interlock restricted driver license, which allows limited driving with an interlock device for the rest of the suspension period. That option is not available for a second or later refusal within 84 months.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1321 – Implied Consent; Tests; Refusal to Submit to Test; Order of Suspension; Hearing; Review; Temporary Permit; Notification of Suspension; Special Ignition Interlock Restricted Driver License
You Have 15 Days to Challenge the Suspension
Both the admin per se suspension (for a failed test) and the implied consent suspension (for a refusal) start administratively, before any criminal case is resolved. To contest either, you have 15 days from the date of the written notice to request a hearing with the MVD. Miss the window and the request is likely denied.7Arizona Department of Transportation. Requesting a Hearing
A timely hearing request may stay the suspension until an administrative law judge issues a final decision, depending on the type of action. The notice tells you whether a stay applies, and the burden is on you to read it.7Arizona Department of Transportation. Requesting a Hearing
Getting Your License Back
Serving out the suspension or revocation period is only part of what it takes to drive again legally.
SR-22 insurance is the longest-running requirement. It’s a certificate from your insurer confirming you carry Arizona’s minimum liability coverage, and you have to keep it on file for three years from the end of your suspension or revocation, no matter which DUI-related action put you off the road.8Arizona Department of Transportation. Future Financial Responsibility (SR-22) If the SR-22 lapses during that three-year window, the MVD can suspend you again.
Every alcohol-related DUI conviction also requires an ignition interlock device on any vehicle you drive. The required period runs 12 months for a standard or extreme DUI, 18 months for a super extreme DUI, and 24 months for a super extreme with a prior within 84 months or certain aggravated offenses.9Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-3319 – Action After License Suspension, Revocation or Denial The interlock clock starts after you complete any required screening or treatment and become eligible to reinstate, so it typically runs after your suspension ends, not during it.
You’ll also complete an alcohol or drug screening with any recommended education or treatment, attend traffic survival school, and pay a reinstatement fee.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1381 – Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Influence A revoked license adds the revocation packet and MVD review on top of all of that.
If You Hold a CDL
Federal rules hit commercial drivers harder than state suspension lengths suggest. A first DUI conviction disqualifies you from operating a commercial vehicle for one year, even if the DUI was in your personal car. A second DUI conviction in any vehicle is a lifetime CDL disqualification. Diversion programs and plea deals that keep a DUI off a regular driving record don’t help: the conviction still goes on the Commercial Driver’s License Information System.10eCFR. 49 CFR 383.51 – Disqualification of Drivers
If You’re Licensed in Another State
An Arizona DUI follows you home. Arizona reports convictions and administrative suspensions to the National Driver Register and shares information through the Driver License Compact, so your home state learns about the action and typically imposes its own penalties under its own DUI laws.11National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. National Driver Register (NDR) States that don’t participate in the compact still check the NDR when you apply for or renew a license.