Getting a DUI in Indiana — charged under state law as Operating While Intoxicated, or OWI — sets two separate consequences in motion at the same time. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles moves against your license within days, and a criminal case begins working through the courts on a much longer timeline. How bad it gets depends on your blood alcohol concentration, whether you have prior offenses, and whether anyone was hurt.
The Night of the Arrest
An officer needs a legitimate reason to pull you over, whether that’s a traffic violation, an equipment problem, or a driving pattern suggesting impairment. Once stopped, the officer watches for the smell of alcohol, slurred speech, or trouble handling simple tasks like producing your license. Those observations are enough to justify asking you out of the car for field sobriety tests.
If you fail those or the officer still suspects impairment, you’ll be given a certified chemical test, usually a breath test at the scene or station, sometimes a blood draw. Test at .08% or higher, or refuse the test, and you’ll be arrested, transported, and booked. Your physical license is typically taken at that point.
What Refusing the Test Costs You
By driving on an Indiana road, you’ve already agreed to submit to a chemical test when an officer has probable cause.1Justia Law. Indiana Code Title 9 Article 30 Chapter 6 – Implied Consent; Administrative and Evidentiary Matters You can still physically refuse, but refusal triggers an automatic one-year license suspension on a first occurrence and a two-year suspension if you have any prior OWI. Your refusal is also admissible at trial, so the prosecutor can tell the jury you refused and argue you did so because you knew you’d fail. The penalties for refusing are deliberately harsher than for failing.
The License Suspension That Starts Before Court
The BMV does not wait for a conviction. If your chemical test comes back at .08% or higher, you face an administrative suspension of up to 180 days, independent of anything the court does later.2Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. Impaired Driving If you’re later convicted, a court-ordered suspension stacks on top of that.
During the administrative suspension you can petition a court for specialized driving privileges, which allow limited driving for work, school, medical appointments, and other essential purposes.3Indiana Judicial Branch. Special Processes and Procedures for Driving Privileges If your suspension came from a chemical test refusal, the court can only grant those privileges if you agree to install a certified ignition interlock device, which requires a clean breath sample before the engine starts.
What You Face in Criminal Court
Indiana’s OWI penalties climb sharply with your BAC, your record, and what happened during the incident. The gap between a low-level misdemeanor and a felony is narrower than most people assume.
First Offense
A first OWI with a BAC between .08% and .14% is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-30-5-1 – Class C Misdemeanor; Defense5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-3-4 – Class C Misdemeanor At a BAC of .15% or higher, the charge becomes a Class A misdemeanor with up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-3-2 – Class A Misdemeanor A first conviction brings a license suspension ranging from 90 days to two years.2Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. Impaired Driving
Second and Third Offenses
A second OWI within seven years of a prior conviction is a Level 6 felony.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-30-5-3 – Penalties; Prior Offenses; Passenger Less Than 18 Years of Age The court must impose a minimum of five days in jail, though it can substitute community service. Fines can reach $10,000, and your license is suspended for at least 180 days and up to two years.2Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. Impaired Driving For a third or subsequent offense, the mandatory minimum jumps to 10 days in jail or 480 hours of community service, and the court cannot suspend the sentence.8Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-30-5-15 – Imprisonment; Community Restitution
When an OWI Becomes a Felony
Beyond repeat offenses, an OWI jumps to felony territory in three situations:
- If you’re 21 or older, have a BAC of.15% or higher or are otherwise impaired, and have a passenger under 18 in the car, the charge is a Level 6 felony carrying six months to two and a half years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-30-5-3 – Penalties; Prior Offenses; Passenger Less Than 18 Years of Age
- Causing serious bodily injury while driving intoxicated is a Level 5 felony, with one to six years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-30-5-3 – Penalties; Prior Offenses; Passenger Less Than 18 Years of Age
- Causing a death is a Level 4 felony.9Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-30-5-5 – Penalties; Death or Catastrophic Injury
A felony conviction also stretches your license suspension. When the offense involves serious bodily injury or a prior OWI, the court-ordered suspension lasts at least one year. If someone died, the minimum is two years, and you cannot obtain specialized driving privileges during that period.3Indiana Judicial Branch. Special Processes and Procedures for Driving Privileges
What Else the Court Will Order
Jail time and fines are the headline, not the whole bill. A period of probation is standard, bringing check-ins, random drug and alcohol testing, and restrictions on your activities. Most courts also require an alcohol and drug assessment followed by whatever treatment the assessment recommends. Attendance at a victim impact panel, where you hear directly from people harmed by impaired drivers, is common.
The court may also order an ignition interlock device on every vehicle you own or drive. Those devices typically run $80 to $110 per month in lease and maintenance fees. Any court-ordered license suspension runs on top of the administrative suspension the BMV already imposed.
What It Actually Costs
The court fine is the smallest piece of the financial damage. Auto insurance premiums climb sharply after a conviction. Nationally, drivers with a DUI on their record pay roughly 88% more for coverage than drivers with a clean record, averaging about $183 more per month for full coverage. Add the interlock fees, SR-22 filing costs, towing and impound charges from the night of arrest, and attorney fees, and a first-offense OWI routinely runs $10,000 to $15,000 or more out of pocket before you count the fine itself.
Getting Your License Back
Reinstatement with the BMV takes several steps. First, finish every requirement the court imposed, including any treatment program and all fines and court costs. Second, your insurance company must electronically file an SR-22 form with the BMV, a certificate proving you carry the state-required liability coverage.10Indiana BMV. Proof of Financial Responsibility You have to maintain that SR-22 coverage for 180 consecutive days without a lapse. A lapse at any point resets the clock.
Finally, pay any reinstatement fees the BMV requires. The amount varies by suspension type and appears on your official driving record, which you can view through a myBMV account.11Indiana BMV. Reinstating Your Driving Privileges If law enforcement took your physical license on arrest, you’ll need to visit a branch or order a replacement once your privileges are restored.
If You’re Under 21
Indiana enforces a much lower BAC threshold for drivers under 21. If you’re under the legal drinking age and test at .02% or higher, you face a Class C infraction under IC 9-30-5-8.5: up to $500 in fines and a one-year license suspension, with no jail time, though courts can order juvenile detention in some circumstances. An underage driver who tests at .08% or above faces the same Class C misdemeanor charges as an adult, with up to 60 days in jail, $500 in fines, and a license suspension of up to two years.
If You Hold a CDL
A commercial driver’s license takes a separate hit, and federal law controls it. The disqualification applies whether you were driving your personal car or a commercial vehicle at the time of arrest. A first OWI conviction disqualifies you from operating a commercial motor vehicle for at least one year. If you were hauling hazardous materials, that stretches to at least three years.12GovInfo. 49 USC 31310 – Disqualifications
A second OWI conviction results in a lifetime CDL disqualification. Federal regulations allow reinstatement after 10 years under certain conditions, but that’s the exception, not a guarantee.12GovInfo. 49 USC 31310 – Disqualifications For anyone whose work depends on a CDL, a second OWI is effectively a career-ending event.
If You Plan to Travel to Canada
An Indiana OWI can follow you across the Canadian border. Since December 2018, Canada has classified impaired driving as “serious criminality” under its immigration laws, which means a single OWI conviction can make you inadmissible. Border agents can see U.S. criminal records and will flag OWI convictions.
If your offense occurred after December 18, 2018, time alone will not restore your eligibility. You would need to apply for either a Temporary Resident Permit or formal Criminal Rehabilitation through the Canadian government, both of which involve paperwork, fees, and processing delays. For offenses before that date, you may qualify for “deemed rehabilitation” if at least 10 years have passed since you finished every part of your sentence, including probation, fines, and license reinstatement. Sort out your admissibility before you reach the border, not at the checkpoint.