Is a DUI a Felony in Michigan? Third Offense, Injury, Death

In Michigan, a DUI becomes a felony in three situations: when it’s your third drunk driving conviction at any point in your life, when the incident causes serious injury or death to someone else, or when you’re driving drunk with a child under 16 in the car and you already have a prior conviction. Michigan calls the offense Operating While Intoxicated (OWI), and most first and second arrests remain misdemeanors. Cross one of those three lines and the charge jumps to a felony punishable by years in state prison.

When an OWI Stays a Misdemeanor

A first OWI with no aggravating factors is a misdemeanor. The penalties top out at 93 days in jail, a fine between $100 and $500, and up to 360 hours of community service. A second OWI within seven years of a prior conviction is also still a misdemeanor, though the sentence range climbs to 5 days to 1 year in jail, a $200 to $1,000 fine, and 30 to 90 days of community service.¹

Michigan also has a “Super Drunk” enhancement for drivers with a blood alcohol content of 0.17 or higher. The name is misleading. A first-offense Super Drunk charge is still a misdemeanor, just with steeper penalties: up to 180 days in jail instead of 93, and fines of $200 to $700. A high BAC alone does not make an OWI a felony.¹

Third Offense and the Lifetime Lookback

The most common path to a felony OWI in Michigan is accumulating a third conviction. Once you have two prior OWI or Operating While Visibly Impaired (OWVI) convictions on your record, any new drunk driving charge is automatically filed as a felony. The statute spells it out: it applies “regardless of the number of years that have elapsed since any prior conviction.”¹

This is where people get blindsided. A conviction from your twenties still counts when you’re 55. There is no washout period, no expiration, and no way to age out of it. Every prior OWI or OWVI stays on the books permanently for the purpose of deciding whether the next one is a felony.

Felony Charges from a Single Incident

You don’t need any prior record to face a felony OWI. A single incident can be charged as a felony when the drinking produces real harm or when a child is a passenger and there’s any qualifying prior.

Serious Injury

Causing a serious impairment of a body function to another person while driving drunk is a felony. The sentence is up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $1,000 to $5,000. If the driver’s BAC was 0.17 or higher and there’s a prior conviction within the last seven years, the maximum prison term doubles to 10 years.¹

Death

Causing a death while driving drunk carries up to 15 years in prison and a fine of $2,500 to $10,000. Two situations push the maximum to 20 years: a BAC of 0.17 or higher combined with a prior conviction within seven years, or causing the death of a police officer, firefighter, or other emergency responder.¹

Child in the Vehicle

Driving drunk with a passenger under 16 is a misdemeanor on a first offense: up to 1 year in jail and a $200 to $1,000 fine. It becomes a felony when the offense happens within seven years of a prior OWI conviction, or when the driver has two or more prior convictions at any point. The felony version carries the same range as a third-offense OWI: 1 to 5 years in prison and a $500 to $5,000 fine.¹

Prison Time and Fines by Felony Type

Sentencing ranges depend on which provision made the offense a felony:

Third-offense OWI: A $500 to $5,000 fine and either 1 to 5 years in state prison, or probation with a mandatory minimum of 30 days in county jail (at least 48 hours served consecutively) plus 60 to 180 days of community service. The court must also order vehicle immobilization or forfeiture.
OWI causing serious injury: Up to 5 years in prison and a $1,000 to $5,000 fine, rising to 10 years with a high BAC and a prior conviction within seven years.
OWI causing death: Up to 15 years in prison and a $2,500 to $10,000 fine, rising to 20 years in the enhanced circumstances above.
Felony child endangerment OWI: 1 to 5 years in prison and a $500 to $5,000 fine.

For a third offense, the statute gives judges two tracks. One is straight state prison time of 1 to 5 years. The other is probation with a shorter jail stint and extended community service. The probation track is not guaranteed. Judges in counties with heavy OWI dockets often reserve it for defendants who agree to a sobriety court program.

What a Felony OWI Costs Beyond the Sentence

The prison term and fine are the front end. A felony OWI conviction creates consequences that outlast the sentence by years or decades.

No Firearms

Federal law bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Every felony OWI in Michigan meets that threshold. The prohibition has no built-in expiration and applies nationwide.²

Insurance

Auto insurance rates jump sharply after any OWI, and a felony makes it worse. National data from early 2026 puts the average DUI-related increase at about 88 percent, bringing full coverage to roughly $391 per month compared with about $208 for a clean record. Many carriers drop felony OWI policyholders entirely, pushing them to high-risk insurers at even higher rates. Elevated premiums usually last three to five years, sometimes longer.

Canada

Canada treats drunk driving as a serious criminal offense. A felony OWI conviction can make you inadmissible at the Canadian border, with no automatic expiration. The main routes back in are applying for Criminal Rehabilitation (available once five years have passed since the end of your sentence) or getting a Temporary Resident Permit for a specific trip. A 2018 change to Canadian law eliminated the option of being “deemed rehabilitated” by the passage of time for DUI-equivalent offenses.

Jobs and Housing

A felony appears on background checks and can disqualify you from jobs that require professional licenses, security clearances, or a commercial driver’s license. Many landlords screen for felonies too. Michigan allows expungement of some felony convictions, but OWI convictions involving death or serious injury are generally excluded from that relief.

Getting a License Back

A felony OWI triggers a mandatory driver’s license revocation. Restoration is not automatic. It runs through a formal hearing with the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office of Hearings and Administrative Oversight.

The application requires a substance use evaluation from a qualified evaluator, a 12-panel laboratory drug screen (instant tests are not accepted), community support letters from three to six people, and an ignition interlock report if one applies. Medication for addiction or other conditions affecting driving triggers an additional medical report.³

Even if the hearing goes your way, you’ll typically drive with a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device for at least a year before you can request full restoration. Under a five-year revocation, you cannot request a removal hearing until that full revocation period has run. Skipping a hearing without an approved adjournment costs you another year before you can request a new one.³

Sobriety Court as an Alternative to Prison

Many Michigan counties run sobriety court programs for felony OWI offenders. These specialty courts combine intensive supervision, regular drug and alcohol testing, treatment, and frequent court appearances. They’re aimed at third-offense OWI and felony child endangerment cases. The statute specifically says jail sentences for second and third offenses cannot be suspended unless the defendant agrees to a specialty court program and completes it.¹

Sobriety court is not a soft option. Programs run 18 months to two years, require near-daily check-ins in the early phases, and impose quick sanctions for any violation. For someone facing a felony OWI, it is often the clearest route to avoiding years in state prison.

1
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 257.625 – Operating Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 18 Section 922
3
Michigan Secretary of State. License Restoration