Is a DUI a Misdemeanor or Felony in Florida?

In Florida, a DUI is a misdemeanor the first two times and becomes a felony on a third conviction within 10 years, on any fourth conviction, or whenever the driving causes serious bodily injury or death. So the honest answer to whether a DUI is a misdemeanor or felony in Florida is: it depends on your record and on what happened during the stop or crash.

The default charge is a second-degree misdemeanor. What moves it up the ladder is prior history, injury, or a fatality.¹

When a Florida DUI Is a Felony

Four scenarios take a DUI out of misdemeanor territory. Any one of them is enough on its own.

A Third DUI Within 10 Years

A third DUI conviction is a third-degree felony if the prior conviction was within the previous 10 years.² If the third offense falls outside that 10-year window, it stays a misdemeanor, though with heightened penalties. The clock matters.

A Fourth or Subsequent DUI, Ever

A fourth DUI is always a third-degree felony. There is no lookback period and no reset. It also carries a mandatory minimum fine of $2,000.² A fourth conviction also triggers permanent license revocation.³

DUI Causing Serious Bodily Injury

Causing serious bodily injury to another person while driving impaired is a third-degree felony on its own, even if it’s your first DUI.¹ Florida defines serious bodily injury broadly: an injury that creates a real risk of death, causes significant disfigurement, or results in long-term loss of function of a body part or organ. A fracture that heals in a few weeks may not qualify, but a traumatic brain injury or spinal damage almost certainly will.

DUI Manslaughter

Killing another person, or an unborn child, while driving under the influence is DUI manslaughter, a second-degree felony. The sentence carries a mandatory minimum of four years in state prison, and the judge has no discretion to go below that floor.¹

If the driver knew or should have known a crash occurred and failed to stop, provide information, or render aid, the charge escalates to a first-degree felony. That is one of the most severe DUI-related charges in Florida law.

When a Florida DUI Stays a Misdemeanor

Most Florida DUIs are misdemeanors. The usual categories:

First Offense

A first DUI with no injury is a second-degree misdemeanor. The penalties include a fine of $500 to $1,000, up to six months in jail, 50 hours of community service, up to a year of probation, mandatory DUI school, license revocation of 180 days to one year, and 10 days of vehicle impoundment.¹⁴

If the blood-alcohol level was 0.15 or higher, or a minor was in the vehicle, the charge still stays a misdemeanor but the maximum jail time climbs to nine months and the court must order an ignition interlock device for at least six months.⁵

Second Offense

A second DUI is also a misdemeanor. Fines run $1,000 to $2,000 and maximum jail time is nine months, climbing to 12 months with a BAC of 0.15 or higher or a minor passenger.¹ If the second offense falls within five years of a prior conviction, there is a mandatory minimum of 10 days in jail, at least 48 of those hours consecutive, and license revocation of at least five years.⁴

DUI With Property Damage or Minor Injury

Driving under the influence and causing damage to someone else’s property, or a non-serious injury to another person, is a first-degree misdemeanor. The ceiling is a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail, even on a first DUI.⁴ It is still a misdemeanor, but the moment property or a body is involved, the jail ceiling moves. Only serious bodily injury pushes the charge into felony range.

Felony DUI Penalties by Degree

Felony convictions move the sentence from county jail to state prison. The statutory maximums track the degree of the felony:

Third-degree felony (third DUI within 10 years, any fourth DUI, or DUI causing serious bodily injury): up to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $5,000.⁶⁷
Second-degree felony (DUI manslaughter): up to 15 years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000.⁸⁹
First-degree felony (DUI manslaughter with failure to stop or render aid): up to 30 years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000.⁸⁹

License revocation scales too. A third conviction within 10 years brings a minimum 10-year revocation. A fourth conviction brings permanent revocation. Limited hardship reinstatement may be possible in narrow circumstances after a fourth, but the default is that you will never hold a standard Florida driver’s license again.³

What Counts as a DUI in the First Place

Before the misdemeanor-or-felony question even comes up, there has to be a chargeable DUI. Florida law gives prosecutors two paths. One is a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or higher, the per se limit. The other is impairment of your “normal faculties” by alcohol, a chemical substance, or a controlled substance, at any BAC.¹ An officer who observes slurred speech, erratic driving, or poor field sobriety performance can make an arrest even if a later BAC reading comes in under 0.08.

You also don’t have to be driving. The statute reaches anyone in “actual physical control” of a vehicle, and sitting in the driver’s seat of a parked car with the engine running has been enough to support a charge.

Why the Misdemeanor-Felony Line Matters Long After Sentencing

Even a misdemeanor DUI leaves a lasting mark in Florida. The state does not allow DUI convictions to be sealed or expunged from your criminal record, so the conviction appears on background checks indefinitely. That affects employment, housing applications, and professional opportunities for the rest of your life.

A felony conviction adds a second layer. State prison instead of county jail, loss of civil rights that attach to felony status, and the stigma that follows any felony record on job and housing applications. Holders of professional licenses have an extra obligation on top: any criminal conviction must be reported to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation within 30 days, and failing to report can bring discipline on its own, including fines, suspension, or revocation of the professional license.¹⁰ That rule covers nurses, real estate agents, contractors, accountants, and many other licensed professions.

International travel can get complicated as well. Canada treats DUI offenses as serious criminality under its immigration law, and a conviction can make you inadmissible at the border. Travelers with a DUI may need to apply for rehabilitation or obtain a temporary resident permit before being allowed to enter.¹¹ Florida residents often learn this at a cruise terminal.

So the short answer and the practical answer line up. Most Florida DUIs are misdemeanors. The felony line is drawn by prior convictions, by injury, and by death, and a conviction on either side of that line follows you permanently.

1
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 316.193 – Driving Under the Influence; Penalties
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 316.193 – Driving Under the Influence; Penalties
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 322.28 – Period of Suspension or Revocation
4
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida DUI and Administrative Suspension Laws
5
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Ignition Interlock Program
6
Justia. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties; Applicability of Sentencing Structures
7
Justia. Florida Code 775.083 – Fines
8
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties; Applicability of Sentencing Structures
9
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 775.083 – Fines
10
MyFloridaLicense.com. Criminal Self-Reporting
11
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Entering Canada and the United States with DUI Offenses