Arizona DUI penalties start with mandatory jail time on a first offense and climb sharply from there, driven by your blood alcohol concentration, whether you have prior DUIs within the last 84 months, and whether aggravating factors turn the case into a felony. Every tier carries a hard statutory floor that a judge cannot go below, and the criminal sentence runs alongside a separate license action from the Motor Vehicle Division. One arrest, two tracks.
First-Offense Standard DUI
A standard DUI applies when you drive or are in actual physical control of a vehicle while impaired to the slightest degree, or with a BAC of 0.08 or higher but below 0.15. The mandatory minimum sentence is 10 consecutive days in jail. A judge can suspend all but one day if you complete a court-ordered alcohol or drug screening, education, or treatment program.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1381 – Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Influence That single day is the floor.
Statutory minimum fines and assessments add up to $1,250: a $250 base fine, a $500 prison construction fund assessment, and a $500 public safety equipment fund assessment.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1381 – Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Influence Arizona then adds a 78% surcharge to the base fine, which pushes the realistic total closer to $1,500 once all fees are included.2Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Program Summary – DUI Fines, Surcharges, and Assessments Community restitution hours are optional at this level, not mandatory. The conviction stays on your record and counts against you for any subsequent DUI in the next seven years.
Extreme and Super Extreme DUI
Arizona creates two additional misdemeanor tiers based on higher BAC readings. Both are still first-offense scenarios, but the jail floor jumps hard.
Extreme DUI: BAC 0.15 to Under 0.20
A first-offense Extreme DUI carries a mandatory minimum of 30 consecutive days in jail. A judge can reduce that to nine days if you install a certified ignition interlock device on every vehicle you operate for 12 months. Minimum fines and assessments total $2,500: a $250 base fine, a $250 DUI abatement fund assessment, and two $1,000 assessments for the prison construction and public safety equipment funds.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1382 – Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Extreme Influence of Intoxicating Liquor
Super Extreme DUI: BAC 0.20 or Higher
A first-offense Super Extreme DUI requires a minimum of 45 consecutive days in jail. With IID installation for 12 months, a judge can reduce that to 14 days. Minimum fines and assessments total $2,750: a $500 base fine, $250 for the abatement fund, and the same two $1,000 fund assessments.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1382 – Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Extreme Influence of Intoxicating Liquor The 78% surcharge on the base fine still applies.
Second Offense Within 84 Months
Arizona uses a seven-year (84-month) lookback for penalty enhancement. Any combination of standard, Extreme, or Aggravated DUI convictions in that window compounds. A second standard DUI carries a minimum of 90 days in jail, with at least 30 served consecutively. A judge can suspend the rest if you complete court-ordered treatment. Minimum fines rise to $3,000: a $500 base fine plus two $1,250 fund assessments.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1381 – Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Influence At least 30 hours of community restitution become mandatory.
A second Extreme DUI requires a minimum of 120 days in jail, with 60 served consecutively, and minimum fines and assessments of $3,250. A second Super Extreme DUI requires at least 180 days in jail, with 90 consecutive, and minimum fines and assessments of $3,750.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1382 – Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Extreme Influence of Intoxicating Liquor Those totals are before the 78% surcharge on the base fine.
When a DUI Becomes a Felony
A DUI is charged as aggravated, and prosecuted as a felony, when any of four triggers is present:
- Driving under the influence while your license is suspended, revoked, canceled, or restricted from a prior DUI.
- A third or subsequent DUI conviction of any type within 84 months.
- Driving under the influence with a passenger under 15 in the vehicle.
- Driving under the influence the wrong way on a highway.
Most aggravated DUIs are Class 4 felonies, including the suspended-license, third-offense, and wrong-way variants. DUI with a child passenger is a Class 6 felony.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1383 – Aggravated Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Influence
The practical change is where you serve the time. A Class 4 felony aggravated DUI based on a suspended license, wrong-way driving, or a third offense carries a mandatory minimum of four months in state prison, not county jail, with no probation or early release until that time is served.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1383 – Aggravated Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Influence Minimum fines and assessments total $4,000, and with surcharges the number can reach roughly $4,575.2Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Program Summary – DUI Fines, Surcharges, and Assessments The MVD revokes your license for at least one year, the court orders traffic survival school, and the felony conviction stays on your record permanently.
License Suspension and Test Refusal
The MVD acts on its own timetable, separate from the criminal case. Fail a chemical test and your driving privileges are suspended for 90 consecutive days. First-time offenders who caused no death or serious injury and have no prior DUI within 84 months can get a modified version: 30 days of total suspension followed by 60 days of restricted driving, but only if they complete the MVD-ordered alcohol or drug screening. Skip the screening and the full 90 days apply.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1385 – Administrative License Suspension for Driving Under the Influence
Refusing the test is worse. Arizona’s implied consent law treats every driver on state roads as having already agreed to submit to breath, blood, or urine testing when officers have reasonable grounds to suspect impairment. Refusal does not prevent arrest, and it triggers an automatic 12-month license suspension. You have 15 days from notice of either action to request an administrative hearing; miss the deadline and the suspension takes effect on its own.6Arizona Department of Transportation. Requesting a Hearing
During a suspension you can apply for a Special Ignition Interlock Restricted Driver License, which lets you drive with an IID installed after you complete required treatment, file an SR-22, and pay the applicable fees.7Arizona Department of Transportation. Restricted Driver License Accepting one waives your right to an administrative hearing.
Ignition Interlock Device Requirements
Every DUI conviction in Arizona requires an IID on every vehicle you operate. The length depends on the offense:
- 12 months for a standard DUI and a first-offense Extreme DUI.
- 18 months for a first-offense Super Extreme DUI.
- 24 months for an aggravated DUI and a second-offense Super Extreme DUI.
The clock starts once you complete any required treatment and become eligible to reinstate your license.8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-3319 – Action After License Suspension, Revocation or Denial For aggravated DUI, the court can order the device for longer than 24 months.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1383 – Aggravated Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Influence You pay for everything: installation, monthly leasing, calibration, and removal, typically $500 to $1,600 for the full program. If you got a reduced jail sentence in exchange for IID installation and then fail to comply, the court can reinstate the original suspended jail sentence.
What an Arizona DUI Actually Costs
Statutory fines are the beginning, not the end. The 78% surcharge on the base fine is automatic.2Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Program Summary – DUI Fines, Surcharges, and Assessments Beyond that, several costs stack.
Insurance takes the longest bite. Arizona drivers see the average annual premium jump from roughly $1,812 to $3,091 after a single DUI conviction, an increase of about $1,279 per year that persists for several years. Drivers with multiple DUIs pay averages around $4,449 per year. You will also need to file an SR-22 certificate of financial responsibility, which carries additional fees from the insurer.
Mandatory screening runs about $150 to $200, and any resulting education or treatment is paid out of pocket, with costs that vary by length and type. Vehicles may be impounded for 30 days after an Extreme or Aggravated DUI arrest, with daily storage fees running throughout the hold. Add fines, surcharges, screening and treatment, IID costs, and the multi-year insurance increase together and a first-time standard DUI often exceeds $5,000. For Extreme, Super Extreme, and Aggravated DUI, the total climbs into the tens of thousands.