Because Virginia VA is a “zero tolerance” state when it comes to Driving Under the Influence or DUI, there are mandatory penalties (and no separate class of offense called DWI – Driving While Intoxicated).
Roadside DUI Testing
If you’re younger than 21 years old and purchase, possess, or consume alcohol (to the point of a 0.02% BAC*), you face the following consequences:
- License suspension for up to 1 year from your conviction date. This is in addition to administrative license suspension (ALS), which happens when a police officer takes your license at the scene.
- Minimum $500 fine, or minimum 50 hours of community service.
- Possible Alcohol Safety Action Program.
- Possible restricted driver’s license
DUI Penalties for 21 and Older
Virginia DUI penalties for drivers 21 years old or older vary depending on the offense number, the time period, and higher BACs.
First Offense
- Administrative license suspension for 7 days.
- Minimum $250 fine; maximum $300 fine. (These fines may be directly related to eligibility for the Alcohol Safety Action Program.)
- License revocation for 1 year.
- Any court-ordered restitution.
- Possible Alcohol Safety Action Program (ASAP).
- Possible ignition interlock device.
- Possible restricted driver’s license.
- Criminal record.
Second Offense
- Administrative license suspension for 60 days.
- Minimum $500 fine.
- Indefinite license revocation.
- If within fewer than 5 years of the first offense, a mandatory 1 month to 1 year in jail.
- If within 5 years to 10 years of the first offense, a mandatory minimum 10 days in jail.
- Any court-ordered restitution.
- Possible ignition interlock device.
- Possible restricted driver’s license.
- Criminal record.
Third Offense
- Administrative license suspension until your trial.
- If within 5 years, 6 months in jail.
- If within 10 years, 90 days in jail.
- Indefinite license revocation.
- Minimum $1,000 fine.
- Any court-ordered restitution.
- Possible Alcohol Safety Action Program (ASAP).
- Possible ignition interlock device.
- Possible restricted driver’s license.
- Felony charge, which means your vehicle is subject to seizure and forfeiture.
Fourth Offense
- Administrative license suspension until your trial.
- $1,000 fine.
- Any court-ordered restitution.
- License revocation for an indefinite time period.
- Minimum of 1 year in jail.
- Possible Alcohol Safety Action Program (ASAP).
- Possible ignition interlock device.
- Possible restricted driver’s license.
- Felony charge, which means your vehicle is subject to seizure and forfeiture.
Extremely High BAC
These penalties are in addition to the penalties outlined above.
BAC of At Least 0.15%
- First offense: Additional 5 days in jail.
- Second offense: Additional 10 days in jail (if within 10 years of the first offense).
BAC Higher than 0.20%
- First offense: 10 days in jail.
- Second offense: 20 days in jail (if within 10 years of the first offense) and a $500 fine.
Virginia refers to drunk driving as driving under the influence, or DUI.
Like all states, VA measures DUI by your blood alcohol concentration (BAC), and those BAC percentages are based on age and license type.
- If an officer pulls you over and your BAC is the following percentage or higher, he will arrest you for DUI:
- 21 years old or older: 0.08%.
- Younger than 21 years old: 0.02%.
- Commercial Drivers (CDL) :0.04%.
See more at DMV.org.
