Is a DUI a Felony or Misdemeanor in Florida?

Whether a DUI is a felony or misdemeanor in Florida depends on your record and what happened on the road. A first or second DUI with no injury is a misdemeanor. A third DUI within 10 years of a prior conviction, any fourth DUI, a DUI that causes serious bodily injury, and a DUI that causes a death are all felonies.¹

When a Florida DUI Stays a Misdemeanor

Most DUI arrests in Florida start and end as misdemeanor cases. A standard first offense is a second-degree misdemeanor: $500 to $1,000 in fines and up to six months in jail. Those numbers rise if your blood-alcohol level was 0.15 or higher or if you had a passenger under 18, pushing the fine range to $1,000 to $2,000 and the jail cap to nine months.¹

A second DUI is still a misdemeanor. Fines run $1,000 to $2,000 with up to nine months in jail, and the same aggravators (0.15 BAC or a minor in the car) raise the fine range to $2,000 to $4,000. If the second offense comes within five years of the first conviction, there’s a mandatory minimum of 10 days in jail, with at least 48 consecutive hours served.¹

A third DUI can still be a misdemeanor, but only if it happens more than 10 years after the second conviction. Fines then run $2,000 to $5,000 with up to 12 months in jail.¹ Property damage or a non-serious injury from a first DUI also bumps the charge up to a first-degree misdemeanor, which raises the jail cap to one year but stays below felony territory.

When a Florida DUI Becomes a Felony Based on Prior Convictions

Two rules turn a repeat DUI into a felony:

A third DUI within 10 years of any prior DUI conviction is a third-degree felony.
Any fourth or subsequent DUI is a third-degree felony regardless of how much time has passed since earlier convictions.¹

The 10-year window controls most close cases. Someone convicted of a third DUI 11 years after their second faces a misdemeanor capped at 12 months in county jail. The same person a year earlier faces a felony and up to five years in state prison.² For a fourth offense, the window disappears. It doesn’t matter if the earlier DUIs were decades ago.

When a Florida DUI Becomes a Felony Because of Injury or Death

Prior record isn’t the only path to a felony. What happens during the incident itself can push a first DUI straight into felony court.

Serious Bodily Injury

A DUI that causes serious bodily injury to another person is a third-degree felony, even for a driver with no prior record. Florida defines serious bodily injury as a physical condition that creates a substantial risk of death, causes serious disfigurement, or results in long-term loss of function of a body part or organ.³ A broken arm that heals normally would not meet that standard. A traumatic brain injury or the loss of a limb would.

DUI Manslaughter

When impaired driving causes someone’s death, including the death of an unborn child, the charge is DUI manslaughter, a second-degree felony. It carries up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, and a mandatory minimum of four years the judge cannot go below.¹⁴

Leaving the Scene of a Fatal Crash

If the impaired driver leaves the scene of a fatal crash without stopping to render aid or provide information, the charge rises to a first-degree felony under the Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act, punishable by up to 30 years in prison.² This is the most serious DUI-related charge in Florida.

Prison Time and Fines for a Felony DUI

Third-degree felony DUIs share a common ceiling: up to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $5,000.²⁴ Mandatory minimums vary:

Third DUI within 10 years: at least 30 days in jail, with at least 48 consecutive hours served.¹
Fourth or subsequent DUI: five-year prison cap with no separate mandatory minimum beyond what sentencing guidelines produce.
DUI causing serious bodily injury: no statutory mandatory minimum tied to the injury element, though judges routinely impose significant sentences.
DUI manslaughter: second-degree felony, up to 15 years, mandatory minimum four years.

A third DUI within 10 years also triggers a minimum 10-year license revocation, and a fourth DUI leads to permanent revocation. Permanent revocation is not always truly permanent: after five years, you can petition for reinstatement on a restricted basis if you can show you haven’t driven or used alcohol during that period, among other conditions. Approval isn’t guaranteed, and the reinstated license comes with tight restrictions.⁵⁶

Why the Felony Line Matters Beyond Sentencing

The classification is not just about jail time. A felony DUI conviction carries consequences a misdemeanor generally does not.

Firearms

Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing a firearm or ammunition.⁷ Every felony DUI in Florida clears that threshold. The ban applies nationwide, survives completion of your sentence, and violating it is a separate federal felony.

Voting

Florida’s Amendment 4, passed in 2018, automatically restores voting rights for most felons once they complete their full sentence, including probation and parole. DUI felonies are not murder or sex offenses, so a felony DUI does not permanently bar you from voting. You cannot vote while serving your sentence or while on probation, which for serious DUI felonies can run for years.

Employment Background Checks

Criminal convictions can appear on background checks indefinitely under federal law. Arrests that don’t result in conviction generally drop off after seven years, but a felony conviction has no federal expiration date for reporting purposes. In Florida, that means a felony DUI stays visible to employers running background checks for as long as the record exists.

Immigration

A straightforward DUI is generally not treated as a crime involving moral turpitude for immigration purposes.⁸ An aggravated DUI may qualify, and a felony DUI conviction raises the risk of deportation proceedings or denial of future visa and green card applications. Non-citizens facing a DUI charge should consult an immigration attorney before entering any plea.

Travel to Canada

Canada treats DUI as a serious criminal offense, and Canadian border agents can deny entry to anyone with a DUI on their record, even a misdemeanor. Entry may be possible through criminal rehabilitation with the Canada Border Services Agency or a temporary resident permit, but neither is quick or guaranteed, and a felony DUI makes the process harder.⁹

Insurance

Any DUI conviction, misdemeanor or felony, drives up auto insurance premiums significantly, and the increase typically persists for three to five years or longer. Florida requires higher liability coverage after a DUI, and some standard insurers drop drivers entirely, pushing them into the high-risk market.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 316.193 – Driving Under the Influence; Penalties
2
Justia. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties; Applicability
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 316.1933 – Blood Test for Impairment or Intoxication in Cases of Death or Serious Bodily Injury
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 775.083 – Fines
5
Justia. Florida Code 322.271 – Authority to Modify Revocation, Cancellation, or Suspension Order
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 322.28 – Period of Suspension or Revocation
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
8
U.S. Department of State. 9 FAM 302.3-2 – Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude
9
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Entering Canada and the United States With DUI Offenses