Is a DUI in Virginia a Misdemeanor or Felony?

A standard DUI in Virginia is a Class 1 misdemeanor on a first or second conviction, and becomes a Class 6 felony on a third conviction within ten years. Whether a Virginia DUI is a misdemeanor or a felony turns mainly on your record: how many prior DUIs you have and how recent they are. Causing serious injury or a death can push even a first offense into felony territory, regardless of any prior history.¹

When a Virginia DUI Is a Misdemeanor

A first DUI is a Class 1 misdemeanor, the highest misdemeanor classification in Virginia. You are driving under the influence if you operate a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher, or while noticeably impaired by alcohol, drugs, or both. A first conviction carries a mandatory minimum fine of $250 (up to $2,500), a one-year license suspension, and up to 12 months in jail.¹²

A second DUI stays a Class 1 misdemeanor, but the mandatory minimums climb and the timing matters. A second conviction within five years of the first carries a mandatory minimum of 20 days in jail, a $500 fine, and confinement of at least one month. If the second offense falls between five and ten years after the first, the mandatory jail minimum drops to 10 days, with the $500 fine still applying.¹ The classification doesn’t change, so a second DUI isn’t a felony on its own.

When a Virginia DUI Becomes a Felony

Three paths turn a standard DUI into a felony in Virginia. All three raise the charge to a Class 6 felony, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.³

Third Offense Within Ten Years

A third DUI conviction within a ten-year lookback window is a Class 6 felony. The mandatory minimum is 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. If all three offenses fell within five years, the mandatory jail minimum jumps to six months.¹ The ten years is measured from the prior offense dates to the date of the current one.

Fourth or Subsequent Offense Within Ten Years

A fourth DUI within ten years is also a Class 6 felony, but the mandatory minimum imprisonment rises to one year, along with the $1,000 fine. That one-year minimum cannot be suspended.¹

Any DUI After a Prior Felony DUI

If you already have a felony conviction for DUI, DUI maiming, or DUI-related manslaughter, any later DUI is automatically a Class 6 felony. The ten-year lookback no longer applies. The mandatory minimum is one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.¹

When Injury or Death Makes Even a First DUI a Felony

If someone else is seriously hurt or killed, a DUI is prosecuted as a felony even without any prior record. These are separate charges from the standard DUI statute, and they don’t depend on the lookback window.

DUI Maiming

If your impaired driving was reckless enough to show a disregard for human life and caused serious bodily injury, you face a Class 6 felony carrying up to five years in prison. If the victim suffered permanent and significant physical impairment, the charge becomes a Class 4 felony, carrying two to ten years.⁴ The difference between the two tiers turns on the severity and permanence of the victim’s injuries.

DUI Involuntary Manslaughter

When impaired driving kills someone, the charge is involuntary manslaughter, a Class 5 felony punishable by one to ten years in prison.⁵ If the driver’s conduct was so extreme as to show a reckless disregard for human life, the charge becomes aggravated involuntary manslaughter, which carries one to twenty years with a mandatory minimum of one year.⁶ The twenty-year ceiling puts it well beyond the range of a standard felony DUI.

Aggravators That Don’t Change the Classification

A few circumstances add mandatory jail time to a DUI sentence without pushing the charge up to a felony. The classification stays what it would otherwise be.

A blood alcohol concentration between 0.15% and 0.20% adds five mandatory days to a first offense and ten to a second. A BAC above 0.20% adds ten mandatory days to a first offense and twenty to a second. Driving under the influence with a passenger aged 17 or younger adds a mandatory five days in jail and a fine of $500 to $1,000.¹ These enhancements stack on the underlying sentence, and the judge has no discretion to waive them. A high BAC on a first offense is still a misdemeanor; what changes is the mandatory floor.

Why the Felony Line Matters

The practical gap between a misdemeanor DUI and a felony DUI goes well beyond the sentence imposed in court.

A felony conviction in Virginia automatically strips your right to vote, serve on a jury, run for public office, and become a notary public. These rights are not restored when you finish your sentence; you must apply to the Governor, and firearm rights are excluded from that process.⁷ Federal law also prohibits anyone convicted of a felony from possessing, shipping, or receiving a firearm or ammunition, and a violation can bring its own federal felony charge.⁸

A vehicle you solely own and were driving during a felony DUI can be seized and forfeited to the state. Prosecutors file forfeiture actions routinely in felony DUI cases, and getting the vehicle back requires a separate legal proceeding.¹

Travel is affected too. Canada treats impaired driving as a serious crime and can deny entry to anyone with a DUI conviction, including a misdemeanor. Since December 2018, when Canada raised the maximum penalty for impaired driving to ten years, a DUI conviction after that date can make a person inadmissible to Canada for life, with entry requiring either a Temporary Resident Permit or a Criminal Rehabilitation application.⁹ For non-U.S. citizens, a DUI conviction can complicate visa renewals, green card applications, and naturalization by raising questions about good moral character, and a felony DUI involving injury or death carries steeper immigration consequences.

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-270 – Penalty for Driving While Intoxicated; Subsequent Offense; Prior Conviction
2
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-271 – Forfeiture of Driver’s License for Driving While Intoxicated
3
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-10 – Punishment for Conviction of Felony; Penalty
4
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-51.4 – Maiming of Another as a Result of Driving While Intoxicated
5
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-36 – How Involuntary Manslaughter Punished
6
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-36.1 – Certain Conduct Punishable as Involuntary Manslaughter
7
Restoration of Rights. Restoration of Rights – Virginia.gov
8
United States Sentencing Commission. Section 922(g) Firearms
9
Temporary Resident Permit Canada. Deemed Rehabilitation Canada