A DWI in Minnesota — the state’s statutory term for what most people call a DUI — typically costs a first-time offender somewhere between $9,000 and $15,000 once every line item is counted, and a felony-level case with prison time and years of interlock enrollment can push past $25,000 before lost wages. Most of that total isn’t the court fine. It’s the years of higher insurance, the attorney, the reinstatement fees, the assessment and treatment, and the tow.
What a First-Offense DWI Actually Adds Up To
Stack the unavoidable pieces for a fourth-degree (misdemeanor) DWI and the range looks like this:
- Court fine and surcharges: $500 to $1,075
- License reinstatement: $680 to $740 with filing fees
- Chemical use assessment: $100 to $200
- Ordered education or treatment: $200 to $2,000 or more
- Towing and impound: $150 to $500
- Attorney fees: $1,500 to $5,000
- Insurance increase over three years: $6,000 to $8,000 or more
At the low end, roughly $9,000 to $10,000. At the high end, $15,000 is realistic. Each piece is worth understanding on its own because a few of them are negotiable and a few of them aren’t.
Court Fines and Surcharges
Fine caps track the offense level, not the DWI statute. A fourth-degree DWI is a misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $1,000.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 609.03 – Punishment When Not Otherwise Fixed Second- and third-degree DWI are gross misdemeanors capped at $3,000.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 609.0342 – Gross Misdemeanor Definition First-degree DWI is a felony with a maximum of $14,000, higher than the standard felony cap because the DWI statute sets its own.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code Chapter 169A – Driving While Impaired – Section: 169A.276 Mandatory Penalties; Felony Violations
Judges rarely impose the maximum. What you can’t avoid is the $75 criminal surcharge that gets added to every conviction, plus law library and other court fees.4Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code Chapter 357 – Section: 357.021 Surcharges on Criminal and Traffic Offenders A $500 base fine typically lands closer to $700 by the time everything is added. Payment plans are usually available if you can’t cover it at sentencing.
License Reinstatement
Getting your license back costs $680 through the Minnesota Department of Public Safety: a $250 reinstatement fee and a $430 surcharge.5Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 171.29 – Revocation and Suspension of License That’s the same regardless of offense degree.
You can pay in two installments if the full amount is out of reach. The first $365 plus a $30 filing fee reinstates the license for two years; the remaining $315 plus another $30 filing fee makes it permanent. Miss the second installment and the license is revoked again. Using the installment path adds $60 in filing fees to the total.
Chemical Assessment and Treatment
Every DWI conviction requires a chemical use assessment before reinstatement.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 169A.70 – Alcohol Safety Programs; Chemical Use Assessments You pay the provider directly, generally $100 to $200.
The bigger variable is what the assessment recommends. A short DWI education class might run a few hundred dollars. Outpatient treatment can run several thousand. Insurance sometimes picks up part of the cost, but out-of-pocket bills of $500 or more are common.
Towing and Impound
The vehicle gets towed at arrest. Tow charges usually run $100 to $200, with daily storage fees on top. Retrieving the car in the first day or two keeps this near a couple hundred dollars. Wait a week — especially over a weekend when the lot may be closed — and the bill can pass $500.
Attorney Fees
Private representation isn’t required, but most people facing anything more than a straightforward first offense hire counsel. Flat fees for a first-offense misdemeanor typically run $1,500 to $5,000 depending on complexity and the attorney. Gross misdemeanor cases with aggravating factors cost more. Felony DWI defense generally runs $7,500 to $12,000 or higher. Expert witnesses or independent testing, if your attorney challenges the breath or blood evidence, are extra.
If you can’t afford private counsel, you can request a public defender based on income. There’s usually a co-pay, but it’s far below private rates.
Insurance Premium Increases
This is the line item most people underestimate, and it often costs more than everything else combined. After a DWI conviction, Minnesota drivers pay roughly $2,200 to $2,700 more per year than drivers with clean records, according to rate comparison data. Some estimates put the increase above 100%. Even the cheapest high-risk insurers charge significantly more than a standard policy.
Higher rates typically last three to five years, though the DWI itself stays on your Minnesota driving record for ten years. Three years at $2,200 more per year is $6,600 in extra premiums, and some insurers drop you entirely, pushing you toward specialty carriers at steeper rates still.
What Changes With a Second, Third, or Felony Offense
Prior offenses add three cost categories on top of everything above.
Ignition Interlock
Minnesota’s Ignition Interlock Device Program is mandatory for anyone whose license is revoked for a second or subsequent DWI within 20 years, for incidents on or after July 1, 2025. Incidents before that date are governed by the prior 10-year lookback.7Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Ignition Interlock Device Program Drivers whose licenses are canceled as inimical to public safety enroll for three to six years.
Installation is about $90 to $100. Monthly maintenance and calibration runs $60 to $125. A full year at the middle of that range is roughly $1,100 to $1,600, and multi-year enrollment multiplies from there.
Special Registration Plates
Plate impoundment triggers special registration plates — the ones beginning with W, often called whiskey plates — in two situations: a DWI within ten years of a prior impaired driving incident, or a DWI with a blood alcohol concentration at or above twice the legal limit.8Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 169A.60 – Administrative Impoundment of Plates The plates cost $50 per vehicle. Swapping back to standard plates later, if you enroll in the interlock program, is $100 per vehicle. Fees apply to every vehicle you own or register.
Mandatory Jail Time
Second-offense DWI within ten years carries a minimum of 30 days of incarceration, with at least 48 hours served in a local correctional facility. A third offense raises that to a minimum of 90 days, with at least 30 consecutive days in custody.9Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 169A.275 – Mandatory Penalties; Second and Third Offenses Felony first-degree DWI carries a mandatory minimum of three years in prison.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code Chapter 169A – Driving While Impaired – Section: 169A.276 Mandatory Penalties; Felony Violations
Jail and prison aren’t invoiced, but they cost you. Lost wages, potential job loss, and household obligations that still have to be paid while you’re locked up all belong on the ledger. Add interlock enrollment, extended insurance surcharges, and the possibility of whiskey plates on every vehicle you own, and a felony-level DWI in Minnesota routinely runs past $25,000 all in.