Is a DUI a Felony or Misdemeanor in Michigan?

Whether a DUI is a felony or misdemeanor in Michigan depends on your record and whether anyone was hurt. Michigan calls the offense Operating While Intoxicated (OWI). A first or second OWI is a misdemeanor. A third OWI at any point in your lifetime is a felony, and so is any OWI that causes serious injury or death, even on a first offense.

When OWI Is a Misdemeanor

The misdemeanor tier covers first and second offenses where no one was seriously hurt. You can be charged with OWI if you drive with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or more, or if you are impaired by alcohol, a controlled substance, or any combination of intoxicating substances regardless of your BAC reading.¹

First Offense

A first-offense OWI is a misdemeanor. The potential penalties include up to 93 days in jail, fines from $100 to $500, and up to 360 hours of community service.¹ The Secretary of State suspends your driving privileges for 180 days, with no driving at all for the first 30 days. After that, you may qualify for a restricted license covering work, school, court-ordered treatment, and medical appointments.² The conviction adds six points to your driving record.³

High BAC First Offense (“Super Drunk”)

A first-time driver with a BAC of 0.17 or higher is still charged with a misdemeanor, but the penalties roughly double. You face up to 180 days in jail and fines between $200 and $700.¹ The Secretary of State suspends your license for one year, with a possible restricted license after 45 days if you install an ignition interlock device on your vehicle at your own expense.⁴

Second Offense

A second OWI within seven years of a prior conviction is still a misdemeanor, but the penalties get significantly worse. The court must impose a minimum of five days in jail, with a maximum of one year. Fines range from $200 to $1,000, and community service runs between 30 and 90 days.¹ Your driver’s license is revoked for a minimum of one year. Revocation is more serious than suspension because the license is actually canceled; once the revocation period ends, you have to petition the Secretary of State and prove you can drive safely before it is restored. The court can also order your vehicle immobilized or forfeited.⁵

When OWI Becomes a Felony

An OWI crosses from misdemeanor to felony in two situations: repeat offenses and crashes that hurt or kill someone.

Third or Subsequent Offense

A third OWI is an automatic felony. Michigan uses a lifetime lookback for this threshold, meaning all prior OWI convictions count “regardless of the number of years that have elapsed.” A conviction from 20 years ago still counts as a prior. The penalties are one to five years in state prison, or probation with 30 days to one year in county jail combined with 60 to 180 days of community service. At least 48 hours of any jail sentence must be served consecutively. Fines range from $500 to $5,000.¹

Your license is revoked for a minimum of one year, or five years if you had a prior revocation within the previous seven years. The court must also order your vehicle forfeited or immobilized.

OWI Causing Serious Injury

If you cause a crash while intoxicated that results in serious physical harm to another person, you face a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and fines between $1,000 and $5,000.⁵ This charge applies regardless of how many prior convictions you have. A first-time offender who seriously injures someone faces a felony.

OWI Causing Death

Killing someone while driving drunk is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and fines between $2,500 and $10,000. If you had a High BAC and a prior conviction within seven years, or if the person killed was a police officer, firefighter, or emergency responder, the maximum rises to 20 years.⁴

Operating While Visibly Impaired Is a Separate Charge

Not every Michigan drunk-driving charge is an OWI. Operating While Visibly Impaired (OWVI) is a lesser charge that applies when your ability to drive was noticeably affected by alcohol or drugs, even if your BAC was below 0.08. Prosecutors sometimes offer OWVI as a plea bargain when the evidence for a full OWI is borderline.

A first-offense OWVI is a misdemeanor with lighter penalties: up to 93 days in jail, a fine of up to $300, and four points on your driving record rather than six.⁶ Don’t treat it as minor, though. A second or third OWVI follows the same escalation ladder as OWI, including the jump to a felony after two prior convictions.

Refusing a Chemical Test Does Not Avoid the Charge

Michigan’s implied consent law means that by driving on Michigan roads, you have already agreed to submit to a chemical test of breath, blood, or urine if an officer has reasonable grounds to believe you are intoxicated. Refusing triggers an automatic license suspension and adds six points to your driving record.⁷ A refusal does not prevent prosecution. Officers can obtain a search warrant for a blood draw, and the refusal itself can be used as evidence against you at trial. The felony-or-misdemeanor question is still decided by your record and whether anyone was hurt.

1
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 257.625 – Operating Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated
2
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 257.319 – Suspension and Revocation of Licenses
3
Michigan Department of State. Offense Code Index
4
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 257.625 – Operating While Intoxicated
5
Michigan Courts. OWI or OWVI Causing Serious Impairment of a Body Function – Section 625(5)
6
Michigan Courts. Operating While Visibly Impaired – Section 625(3)
7
Michigan Secretary of State. Officer’s Report of Refusal to Submit to Chemical Test