A DUI is a felony in Tennessee in three situations: a fourth or subsequent DUI conviction, a DUI that causes serious bodily injury to another person, or a DUI that causes someone’s death. Everything else — first, second, and third offenses without injury — stays a misdemeanor, though the jail time and fines climb sharply at each level. The felony line matters because it changes the prison range, the length of the license revocation, and a long list of consequences that follow you after the sentence ends.
A Fourth DUI Is Automatically a Felony
The most common way a Tennessee DUI becomes a felony has nothing to do with the arrest itself. A fourth DUI conviction is a Class E felony based solely on the driver’s record. A routine traffic stop with a blood alcohol concentration of .09% becomes a felony case if three prior DUI convictions sit on the record.
A Class E felony carries one to six years in prison, with the exact range depending on the offender’s criminal history and the sentencing range the court applies.1Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines for Felonies and Misdemeanors The DUI statute sets a mandatory minimum of 150 consecutive days of incarceration that cannot be suspended or served on probation. Fines run from $3,000 to $15,000, above the general Class E cap because the DUI statute writes its own floor and ceiling.2Justia. Tennessee Code 55-10-403 – Fines for Violations The license revocation lasts eight years.
How Prior Convictions Are Counted
Tennessee applies a lookback window when determining how many prior DUIs count toward the felony threshold. Out-of-state convictions count if the conduct would have violated Tennessee’s DUI law. If you’re unsure whether an older conviction still counts, verify it with a defense attorney rather than assuming it’s dropped off.
Your Vehicle Can Be Seized
Starting with a second DUI, the vehicle you were driving is subject to seizure and forfeiture when at least one prior conviction occurred within five years of the current offense.3Justia. Tennessee Code 55-10-414 – Seizure and Forfeiture of Vehicle By a fourth offense, forfeiture is a realistic possibility rather than a remote one.
Causing Serious Injury: Vehicular Assault
You don’t need any prior convictions for a DUI to become a felony. Causing serious bodily injury to another person while driving impaired is vehicular assault, a Class D felony.4Justia. Tennessee Code 39-13-106 – Vehicular Assault This charge reaches first-time DUI offenders, and it’s where many people are caught off guard.
Tennessee defines “serious bodily injury” broadly. It includes injuries involving a substantial risk of death, protracted unconsciousness, extreme physical pain, protracted or obvious disfigurement, protracted loss or substantial impairment of a bodily function, organ, or mental faculty, or a broken bone in a child twelve years old or younger.5Justia. Tennessee Code 39-11-106 – Title Definitions
That definition covers a lot of ground. A passenger with a concussion and prolonged symptoms, a surgically repaired broken leg, or significant scarring can meet the threshold. Prosecutors don’t have to prove the injury was life-threatening.
A Class D felony carries two to twelve years in prison and fines up to $5,000.1Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines for Felonies and Misdemeanors The license revocation depends on how many vehicular assault convictions the person has: one year for a first, two years for a second, three for a third, and five years for a fourth or subsequent conviction.4Justia. Tennessee Code 39-13-106 – Vehicular Assault
Causing a Death: Vehicular Homicide
Impaired driving that kills someone is vehicular homicide, a Class B felony. It applies regardless of whether the driver has any prior arrests.6Justia. Tennessee Code 39-13-213 – Vehicular Homicide
A Class B felony carries eight to thirty years in prison and fines up to $25,000.1Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines for Felonies and Misdemeanors Where a sentence falls in that range depends largely on the offender’s criminal history. A first-time offender faces eight to twelve years; someone with a more extensive record can face twenty to thirty.7Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-112 – Sentence Ranges
The statute layers mandatory minimum incarceration on top of the sentence based on prior alcohol-related offenses. A first-time offender must serve at least 48 consecutive hours. One prior alcohol-related conviction triggers a 45-day minimum, two priors triggers 120 days, and three or more priors means at least 150 consecutive days before any possibility of release.6Justia. Tennessee Code 39-13-213 – Vehicular Homicide The court revokes the license, and a restricted license is not available.
No Restricted License After Injury or Death
Tennessee lets some DUI offenders obtain a restricted license during their revocation period, allowing driving to work, school, or medical appointments. That option disappears entirely for anyone with a prior vehicular assault, aggravated vehicular assault, vehicular homicide, or aggravated vehicular homicide conviction. It also disappears for anyone who seriously injured or killed someone in the incident that produced the current DUI conviction, even on a first offense.8Justia. Tennessee Code 55-10-409 – Ignition Interlock Device
This is one of the less obvious consequences of a felony DUI, and often one of the most disruptive. A total license loss for years, with no work-driving allowed, can end a job and reshape daily life.
Consequences That Outlast the Sentence
Prison and fines are the start of a felony DUI’s impact, not the end.
Firearm Rights
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing firearms or ammunition.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Every felony DUI classification in Tennessee — Class E, Class D, and Class B — exceeds that threshold. A felony DUI conviction means the loss of firearm rights under federal law.
Employment and Licensing
A felony conviction can disqualify you from jobs in healthcare, education, law enforcement, and any position requiring a security clearance. Professional licensing boards in Tennessee run background checks and may deny, suspend, or revoke a license based on a felony. Commercial driver’s license holders face permanent disqualification from commercial driving after a second DUI in a commercial vehicle.
Immigration
For non-citizens, a felony DUI creates real immigration risk. A simple DUI is generally not classified as an aggravated felony or a crime involving moral turpitude for immigration purposes, but a felony DUI involving injury or death may trigger removal proceedings depending on how it’s classified. Any non-citizen facing a felony DUI should consult an immigration attorney before entering a plea.
When a DUI Stays a Misdemeanor
First, second, and third DUI offenses in Tennessee remain misdemeanors as long as no one was seriously injured or killed. That doesn’t make them minor. Each level carries mandatory jail time a judge cannot waive, escalating fines, and license revocations from one to six years.2Justia. Tennessee Code 55-10-403 – Fines for Violations A DUI with a child under 18 in the vehicle adds enhanced mandatory jail time on top of the standard penalties, but the child-passenger enhancement alone does not convert a misdemeanor DUI into a felony. And refusing a breath or blood test under Tennessee’s implied consent law triggers a separate one-year license revocation on top of any DUI penalties, but the refusal itself is not a felony.