What Is an Extreme DUI in Arizona? Penalties and Thresholds

An extreme DUI in Arizona is a drunk-driving charge that applies when your blood alcohol concentration is 0.15 or higher within two hours of driving. That is nearly twice the standard 0.08 limit, and Arizona treats it much more harshly than an ordinary DUI. A first conviction carries a mandatory 30 consecutive days in jail, more than $1,500 in statutory fines and assessments, a 90-day license suspension, and a required ignition interlock device for 12 months afterward.¹

How Arizona Defines Extreme DUI

Arizona law splits elevated DUI into two tiers above the standard offense. Extreme DUI covers a BAC of 0.15 up to 0.20. Super extreme DUI applies at 0.20 and above. Both sit inside the same statute but carry different mandatory minimums.¹

The two-hour window matters. Your BAC must reach the threshold within two hours of driving or being in “actual physical control” of a vehicle, with the alcohol coming from drinking before or during that period. “Actual physical control” extends the law past driving in the normal sense. Courts have applied it to people sitting in a parked car with the engine running, and even to people asleep in the driver’s seat with the keys accessible.

Penalties for a First Extreme DUI

These are mandatory minimums. A judge cannot go below them regardless of your circumstances or how clean your record is.

Jail Time

You face a minimum of 30 consecutive days in jail. The statute blocks probation or any suspension of the sentence until the full 30 days are served.¹ Consecutive means straight through. You cannot serve a few days, go home, and come back on weekends.

Fines and Assessments

The base fine is at least $250, but add-ons make that number misleading. The court also imposes a $250 DUI abatement assessment and a $1,000 extreme DUI assessment that goes to the prison construction fund.¹ Before surcharges, incarceration costs, and other court fees, you are already at $1,500. Total fines and costs for a first extreme DUI routinely land between $2,500 and $3,500 once all surcharges apply.

License Suspension and Interlock

A first extreme DUI triggers a 90-day administrative license suspension. After the first 45 days, you can apply for a special ignition interlock restricted driver license that lets you drive vehicles equipped with an interlock device. Accepting that restricted license waives your right to a hearing.²

Once the suspension ends, you must keep an ignition interlock device installed for 12 months.³ The device requires a clean breath sample before the engine starts and at random intervals while you drive. It has to be installed on every vehicle you operate, including rentals and work vehicles.⁴ A court can extend the interlock period past 12 months if it chooses.¹ Tampering with the device or failing to maintain it can extend the requirement by up to another year and brings a class 1 misdemeanor charge.⁵

Alcohol Screening and Treatment

Anyone convicted of an extreme DUI must complete alcohol screening, education, and treatment. A BAC of 0.15 or higher puts you in the most serious screening classification, which typically means at least 16 hours of DUI education and a minimum of 20 hours of treatment. You cannot fully reinstate your license until these programs are finished.

Second Extreme DUI Within 84 Months

A second extreme DUI conviction within 84 months of the first sharply increases the consequences. Arizona counts the 84 months from the dates the offenses were committed, not the dates of conviction.⁶

At least 120 days in jail, with a minimum of 60 served consecutively. The remaining days can be structured differently by the court, but none can be waived.¹
At least 30 hours of mandatory community restitution.¹
License revocation for one full year, followed by 12 months with an ignition interlock before you can get an unrestricted license.³

Fines and assessments follow the same structure as a first offense, but totals typically run higher because the court adds incarceration costs for the longer jail stay.

Super Extreme DUI at 0.20 and Above

A BAC of 0.20 or higher triggers the harshest misdemeanor DUI penalties in the state. The statute treats it as a separate tier inside the same offense, with steeper mandatory minimums at every level.¹

A first super extreme DUI carries at least 45 consecutive days in jail, a base fine of at least $500 on top of the same $250 and $1,000 assessments, and an 18-month ignition interlock requirement rather than 12.³ A second super extreme DUI within 84 months pushes jail to a minimum of 180 days, with at least 90 served consecutively, plus a one-year license revocation and two years with an interlock after driving privileges are restored.¹

When an Extreme DUI Becomes a Felony

Certain circumstances turn any DUI, including an extreme DUI, into an aggravated DUI. Aggravated DUI is a felony in Arizona and carries mandatory state prison time instead of county jail.⁶ The most common triggers:

A third DUI conviction of any kind within 84 months.⁶
Driving while your license is already suspended, revoked, or canceled, regardless of your BAC or prior history.
Having a passenger younger than 15 in the vehicle at the time of the offense.⁶

An aggravated DUI conviction carries a mandatory minimum of four months in state prison. With three or more prior DUI convictions in the 84-month window, that minimum rises to eight months.⁶ Your license is revoked for one year, and an interlock is required for two years after reinstatement.³

Costs You Won’t See on the Sentencing Sheet

The statutory fines are only part of what an extreme DUI costs. Several other expenses hit after conviction, and most people underestimate them.

Arizona requires an SR-22 certificate of future financial responsibility after a DUI suspension. You must maintain that filing for three years from the end of your suspension.⁷ The form itself is routine, but insurers treat a DUI conviction as a major risk factor, and premiums usually climb substantially for the full three years.

The interlock device carries its own costs. Installation plus monthly rental generally runs several hundred dollars over the 12- to 18-month period you have the device. Add alcohol screening and treatment fees, county incarceration charges, and attorney fees, and the total out-of-pocket cost of a first extreme DUI commonly tops $10,000.

Commercial Drivers and Border Travel

If you hold a commercial driver’s license, federal rules disqualify you from operating a commercial motor vehicle for one year on a first DUI conviction, whether or not you were driving a commercial vehicle when it happened. A first DUI while hauling hazardous materials is a three-year disqualification. A second DUI is a lifetime disqualification, though a state may allow reinstatement after 10 years if you complete an approved rehabilitation program.⁸ The federal BAC limit for operating a commercial vehicle is 0.04, less than half the standard limit.

A DUI can also follow you across the Canadian border. Canada classifies impaired driving as a serious offense under its immigration law, and a single misdemeanor DUI conviction can make you inadmissible.⁹ Canadian border officers can see U.S. criminal records and can turn you away at airports and land crossings. Entry may become possible after enough time has passed since the completion of your entire sentence, and criminal rehabilitation becomes available five years after you finish that sentence.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 28 – Section 28-1382
2
Arizona Department of Transportation. Restricted Driver License
3
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Driving Under the Influence – DUI Laws and DUI Courts
4
Arizona Department of Transportation. Ignition Interlock Services
5
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1464 – Ignition Interlock Devices, Violations, Classification, Definition
6
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1383 – Aggravated Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Influence
7
Arizona Department of Transportation. Future Financial Responsibility (SR-22)
8
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.51 – Disqualification of Drivers
9
Government of Canada. Overcome Criminal Convictions