What Happens If You Fail DUII Diversion in Oregon?

If you fail DUII diversion in Oregon, the guilty or no-contest plea you entered when the court granted diversion is activated, and the case moves straight to sentencing on the original DUII charge. There is no new trial. Oregon’s statute uses the word “shall”: once a judge finds a violation by a preponderance of the evidence, termination of the agreement and entry of the held plea are mandatory, with only two narrow exceptions.¹

Everything below walks through how that happens, what the sentence looks like, and the longer consequences that follow once a dismissal becomes a conviction.

What Counts as a Violation

Any use of alcohol or other intoxicants during the one-year diversion period breaches the agreement. That includes a new DUII arrest or an open container violation.² A failed drug or alcohol test is often the first evidence the court sees, and on its own it is enough to start termination proceedings.

The other common path to termination is falling behind on program requirements: skipping treatment sessions, missing the victim impact panel, failing to install or maintain the ignition interlock device, or not paying required fees. The court can also terminate diversion if it later discovers you were never eligible, such as a prior DUII conviction or diversion within the previous 15 years that wasn’t disclosed when you entered the program.¹

The Show Cause Hearing

Termination is not automatic. The court or the prosecutor files a show cause order listing the alleged violations and setting a hearing date. Notice goes to the address on your diversion petition, and to your attorney if you have one.¹

At the hearing, the judge decides whether the alleged violations happened using the preponderance of the evidence standard. That is a lower bar than the beyond a reasonable doubt standard used at a criminal trial; the court only needs to find that a violation more likely than not occurred. You can present evidence and argue for the agreement to continue, but once the state can document something concrete like a positive test result or missed sessions, that argument gets hard.

If you don’t appear, the court will terminate your diversion and enter the held plea without further proceedings, and it may issue a bench warrant.

Two Exceptions That Can Save Your Diversion

Oregon law carves out two situations where the court will not terminate the agreement even if you’ve fallen short. These are the only real leverage you have at a show cause hearing when the facts are against you.

If you’ve met every other condition but still owe $500 or less in diversion fees, the court must dismiss the charge with prejudice as long as you pay the remaining balance by 5 p.m. on the hearing date, or before.¹
The court cannot terminate your diversion solely because court-ordered restitution is unpaid, as long as you’ve complied with every other condition. You still owe the restitution; it just will not cost you the diversion itself.¹

Outside those two situations, the judge has no discretion to let the agreement continue.

Sentencing on the Activated Plea

Once the court enters your held plea, the case moves directly to sentencing. You are now being sentenced for a DUII conviction, a Class A misdemeanor in most cases.³

The judge is allowed to consider your partial compliance with diversion when deciding the sentence. Completed treatment, months of sobriety, or fees already paid can work in your favor.¹ Partial credit is not no consequences, though. For a first DUII conviction, expect:

Fines

A minimum fine of $1,000, or $2,000 if your blood alcohol content was 0.15 percent or higher.³ On top of that, a $255 conviction fee and a $150 screening interview fee.⁴ Nothing you paid during diversion is refunded or credited.

Jail or Community Service

A mandatory minimum of 48 hours in jail or 80 hours of community service.⁴ As a Class A misdemeanor, the maximum potential sentence is up to one year in jail. Judges have discretion within that range.

Treatment and Ignition Interlock

Conviction triggers a fresh round of mandatory screening and treatment under ORS 813.021, whether or not you already completed those requirements during diversion. The court will also require the victim impact panel if you haven’t already attended. After a first conviction, the Department of Transportation requires the IID to stay installed for one year after your license suspension ends.⁵ A second conviction extends that to two years.

License Suspension and Insurance

A DUII conviction triggers a mandatory license suspension through DMV, with the length set by ORS 809.428. The DMV will not reinstate your driving privileges until you satisfy future responsibility filing requirements.⁶

That means filing an SR-22, a certificate from your auto insurer proving you carry at least Oregon’s minimum liability coverage. You must keep the SR-22 filing in place continuously until the DMV removes the requirement.⁷ Carriers typically charge higher premiums for drivers who need one, and any lapse in coverage prompts a notification to DMV that can bring another suspension.

If the suspension would prevent you from getting to work or meeting basic needs, you may be eligible for a hardship permit, but even a hardship permit requires an IID.⁵

What It Does to Your Record

This is where failing diversion hurts most, and where the contrast with completing it matters. A successful diversion ends with the DUII charge dismissed, but Oregon law specifically prevents that dismissal from being expunged. ORS 137.225(8) says the normal set-aside provisions do not apply to a DUII charge dismissed through diversion.⁸ The arrest and diversion participation stay visible even after dismissal.

Failing converts that dismissed charge into a conviction, which carries far more weight on background checks. A DUII conviction can affect employment, professional licensing, housing, and education decisions. Whether a DUII conviction might eventually be eligible for a set-aside order under the general provisions of ORS 137.225 depends on your full criminal history and the time that has passed. Either way, the conviction stays on your record for years at minimum.

No Diversion for 15 Years After

Oregon uses a 15-year lookback for DUII diversion eligibility. If you participated in a diversion program within the 15 years before a new DUII offense, you are ineligible for diversion on the new charge, measured from the date of the original offense.⁹

The same 15-year window applies to prior DUII convictions. If your failed diversion produces a conviction, that conviction bars you from diversion on any new DUII charge filed within the next 15 years. A felony DUII conviction at any point in your history makes you permanently ineligible.⁹ Failing diversion does not just hurt the current case; it closes off the diversion option on any future one for a long time.

Border and Immigration Exposure

A DUII conviction creates barriers at international borders and in immigration proceedings that a diversion dismissal would not. Canada treats impaired driving as a serious criminal offense. Since December 2018, even a single DUI-related conviction can result in being denied entry at the Canadian border, regardless of how long ago the offense occurred. People with two or more alcohol-related convictions face steeper barriers and may need to apply for formal Criminal Rehabilitation, which requires at least five years since the sentence was fully completed.

For non-citizens, a single DUII conviction does not automatically make someone deportable, but two or more DUI-related convictions can trigger inadmissibility findings that affect visa renewals, green card applications, and naturalization. USCIS runs criminal background checks during those processes, and a pattern of alcohol-related offenses can be treated as evidence of a substance abuse problem, which is a statutory ground for inadmissibility. For DACA recipients, even a single DUII conviction classified as a significant misdemeanor can jeopardize renewal eligibility.

Failing diversion is the event that converts a pending charge into the conviction that produces all of these consequences. If you still have time to come back into compliance before a show cause hearing, that is where the energy belongs.

1
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 813.255 – Termination of Diversion
2
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 813.200 – Notice of Availability of Diversion; Petition; Form; Contents
3
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 813.010 – Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants; Penalty
4
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 813
5
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 813.602 – Circumstances Under Which Ignition Interlock Device Required
6
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 813.400 – Suspension or Revocation Upon Conviction; Duration
7
Oregon Department of Transportation. SR-22 Information
8
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 137.225 – Order Setting Aside Conviction or Record of Criminal Charge
9
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 813.215 – Eligibility for Diversion