How Much Is a DUI Fine in PA? Costs by Offense and BAC Tier

A DUI fine in Pennsylvania starts at $300 for a first general-impairment offense and climbs to a potential $15,000 for a third conviction at the highest blood alcohol tier.¹² That statutory fine, though, is only part of what you actually pay. Court costs, mandatory programs, an ignition interlock device, license restoration charges, and insurance premium hikes routinely push the real bill into five figures.

What Determines the Size of the Fine

Pennsylvania sets DUI fines using two inputs: your blood alcohol concentration at the time of the offense, and how many prior DUI convictions or ARD completions you have within the past ten years.¹³

BAC splits into three tiers:⁴

General Impairment: 0.08% to less than 0.10%
High BAC: 0.10% to less than 0.16%
Highest BAC: 0.16% and above

Refusing a breath or blood test lands you automatically in the Highest BAC category, even if your actual reading would have been lower or was never measured.¹

When a Lower BAC Still Gets Treated as Higher

A reading in the General Impairment range can trigger High BAC penalties if the stop involved an accident causing bodily injury, death, or property damage. The same bump applies to drivers of commercial vehicles, school buses, or school vehicles, and to drivers under 21.¹ That means a first-time DUI at 0.09% with a minor accident shifts from a $300 fine and probation to a $500–$5,000 fine with mandatory jail time.

Fine Ranges by Offense and BAC Tier

Where the DUI statute sets a minimum fine without a cap, the maximum comes from Pennsylvania’s general sentencing law based on how the offense is graded.²

First Offense

General Impairment: $300. Up to six months probation, no mandatory jail, no license suspension.¹
High BAC: $500 to $5,000. Minimum 48 consecutive hours in jail, up to six months. Twelve-month license suspension.¹
Highest BAC: $1,000 to $5,000. Minimum 72 consecutive hours in jail, up to six months. Twelve-month license suspension.¹⁵

First-offense General Impairment is the only combination that carries no mandatory license suspension. Every other tier and offense count triggers at least a twelve-month loss of driving privileges.¹

Second Offense

General Impairment: $300 to $2,500. Five days to six months in jail. Twelve-month license suspension.¹
High BAC: $750 to $5,000. Thirty days to six months in jail. Twelve-month license suspension.¹
Highest BAC: $1,500 to $10,000. Ninety days to five years in prison. Eighteen-month license suspension.¹⁵

A second Highest BAC offense is graded as a first-degree misdemeanor, which is why its maximum fine rises to $10,000.⁶²

Third or Subsequent Offense

General Impairment: $500 to $5,000. Ten days to two years in prison. Twelve-month license suspension.¹⁵
High BAC: $1,500 to $10,000. Ninety days to five years in prison. Eighteen-month license suspension.¹
Highest BAC: Minimum $2,500, up to $15,000. One to five years in prison. Eighteen-month license suspension.¹²

Any DUI with three or more prior offenses within ten years is graded as a third-degree felony, regardless of BAC tier.⁶ The felony grading is what raises the fine ceiling to $15,000 and leaves you with a permanent felony criminal record.

Costs on Top of the Fine

Court costs and surcharges are a separate line item. State court costs, county court costs, EMS surcharges, crime victims’ compensation fees, and laboratory user fees together can exceed $500 beyond the fine itself.

Every DUI conviction also triggers two mandatory programs you pay for.¹ Alcohol Highway Safety School, required for first and second offenders, generally runs $200 to $300 depending on provider and county. A separate drug and alcohol assessment evaluates whether you need treatment, and if the evaluator recommends it, you pay for the full program on top of everything else.

Ignition Interlock

Nearly every DUI offender who wants their license back must install an ignition interlock device for at least one year. The only people exempt are first-time General Impairment offenders with no prior DUI history.⁷ PennDOT puts the average leasing cost at $900 to $1,300 per year, all paid by the offender.⁸ The one-year clock runs from the date your restricted license is issued, not the date of conviction, so delays extend the timeline.

If you own several vehicles, the device must go on each one. A hardship exemption allows installation on a single vehicle if you can show equipping all of them would cause undue financial hardship, and an employment exemption lets you drive an employer-owned vehicle without an interlock during work if your employer has been notified and consents.⁷

License Restoration

When your suspension ends, you have to pay a restoration fee to PennDOT before getting your license back.⁹ The amount is set by law and adjusts every two years based on the Consumer Price Index.¹⁰ PennDOT sends a restoration requirement letter with the exact figure and any conditions still outstanding.

Insurance

The insurance hit is usually the single largest long-term cost. Pennsylvania does not require an SR-22 filing, but your insurer will still find out about the conviction and reclassify you as a high-risk driver. That reclassification typically doubles premiums. Someone paying $1,500 a year before the DUI should expect closer to $3,000 for several years. Over a three-to-five-year rating period, the extra premiums alone can outweigh every other DUI expense combined.

ARD: Lower Cost, Still Not Cheap

First-time offenders may qualify for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, a pretrial diversion program that avoids a formal conviction. Published fee schedules from Pennsylvania counties put total ARD costs in the range of $2,000 to $2,300, covering supervision, administrative costs, court costs, crime victims’ fees, and the DUI education program.¹¹ If treatment is recommended, add roughly $400 or more for outpatient sessions.

One important catch: ARD counts as a prior offense if you pick up another DUI within ten years, so a future incident starts from the second-offense penalty schedule.³

1
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 75 – 3804 Penalties
2
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – 1101 Fines
3
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 75 – Chapter 38 Driving After Imbibing Alcohol or Utilizing Drugs
4
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 75 – 3802 Driving Under Influence of Alcohol or Controlled Substance
5
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. DUI Legislation
6
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 75 – 3803 Grading
7
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 75 – 3805 Ignition Interlock
8
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Ignition Interlock Law Fact Sheet
9
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pay Your Drivers License Restoration Fee
10
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Driving Privilege Sanctions and Restoration Requirements
11
Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Approximate Total Costs for ARD Candidates