In Canada, a DUI warn range reading — a blood alcohol concentration from 0.05 up to (but not including) 0.08 on a roadside screening device — does not produce a criminal charge, but it does trigger immediate provincial penalties: your licence is seized at the roadside, your vehicle is towed and impounded at your expense, and you pay a monetary penalty before you can get back on the road. The sanctions escalate sharply for a second or third warn within a defined lookback period, and the suspension stays on your driving record even though no court is involved.
What the Warn Range Actually Means
Every province and territory sets a threshold below the federal criminal limit where administrative penalties begin. The warn range generally covers 0.05 up to just under 0.08, which is where criminal liability starts under the Criminal Code.1Government of Ontario. Impaired Driving The screening device sorts your reading into one of three results: Pass (under 0.05), Warn (0.05 to just under 0.08), or Fail (0.08 and above).
A warn is not a criminal matter. It does not generate a criminal record, it does not go to court, and it does not carry the minimum fines set out in the Criminal Code. What it does carry is a package of provincial administrative sanctions that take effect on the spot. People who assume 0.08 is the only number that matters are often caught off guard when they lose their licence at a reading well below the criminal limit.
What Happens the Moment You Blow a Warn
When the screening device registers a warn, the officer acts immediately. Your licence is physically seized. You receive a notice of suspension that takes effect right there at the roadside. Your vehicle is impounded, and a tow truck is dispatched whether you own the car or not. There is no judicial hearing before any of this happens.
The roadside notice is the legal basis for both the suspension and the impoundment. It replaces your licence for the duration of the prohibition, and the prohibition covers any vehicle — not just the one that was towed. You cannot drive at all until the suspension period ends and you have paid what’s owed to get your licence reinstated.
How Long the Suspension Lasts
Suspension lengths for a warn vary by province, and they climb quickly for repeat results within the lookback window.
In British Columbia, a first warn brings a 3-day driving prohibition. A second within five years brings 7 days. A third brings 30 days.2Province of British Columbia. Alcohol and Drug Related Driving Prohibitions and Suspensions
Ontario is tougher at the first step. A first warn brings a 7-day suspension, a second brings 14 days, and a third brings 30 days.1Government of Ontario. Impaired Driving
Repeat warn results also pull in longer education and treatment requirements before the licence comes back, which is covered below.
What You’ll Pay
The suspension itself is only part of the cost. Ontario charges a $250 administrative monetary penalty for a first warn range suspension, $350 for a second, and $450 for a third.3Ontario.ca. Ontario Regulation 273/07 – Administrative Penalties On top of that, Ontario charges a $281 reinstatement fee before your licence is returned.4Government of Ontario. Reinstate a Suspended Drivers Licence
You also owe all towing and daily storage charges from the impoundment. Those come from the tow operator, not the government, and they accumulate for every day the vehicle sits in the yard.
For a second or third warn, provinces require completion of a remedial education program before reinstatement. Ontario’s Back on Track program includes workshops and treatment sessions covering alcohol and drug awareness. The fee is $344 for drivers serving an administrative suspension only, or $894 for those with a criminal conviction.5Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Back on Track British Columbia runs its own Responsible Drivers Program with similar requirements.
Repeat warns can also pull in an ignition interlock requirement. The device will not let the engine start without a clean breath sample, and the driver pays all costs: installation, monthly monitoring (around $99 in some provinces), calibration, and removal.6Manitoba Public Insurance. Ignition Interlock Program7Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators. Canadian Guidelines for Interlock Programs Added together, a single warn routinely runs into four figures once program fees, penalties, reinstatement, and impoundment charges are totalled.
Insurance and Your Driving Record
A warn range suspension does not produce a criminal record, but it does go on your provincial driving history, and insurers can see it. Drivers in this situation are often reclassified as high-risk and pushed into specialized coverage at substantially higher premiums. The long-term insurance cost after a warn frequently outweighs everything you paid in fines and fees to get your licence back.
Challenging a Warn Range Prohibition
You can ask for a review, but the window is short and the grounds are narrow. In British Columbia, you have 7 days from the date the prohibition was served to apply for a review, pay the fee, and book a hearing. For a 90-day prohibition the fee is $100 for a written review or $200 for an oral hearing; shorter warn range prohibitions use the same tight timeline through RoadSafetyBC.8Province of British Columbia. Apply for a Driving Prohibition Review
In Ontario, administrative suspensions can be appealed to the Licence Appeal Tribunal, but only on limited grounds such as a medical condition that prevented compliance with the breath demand, or mistaken identity. The driver carries the burden on a balance of probabilities and must bring medical evidence or other documentation.9Licence Appeal Tribunal. Administrative Drivers Licence Suspension Appeal Information Sheet Arguing that you were not actually impaired is not a recognized ground.
Miss the deadline and the prohibition stands. If you intend to challenge a warn, the clock starts the moment the officer hands you the notice, not when you get around to calling a lawyer.
Refusing the Breath Test Is Worse
Some drivers assume refusing to blow will keep them out of the warn range. It does the opposite. Refusing or failing to comply with a lawful breath demand is itself a criminal offence, with a minimum fine of $2,000 on a first offence — higher than the $1,000 minimum for a standard first-offence impaired driving conviction.10Department of Justice. Criminal Code RSC 1985 c C-46 – Section 320.19 You get a criminal record, a court-ordered driving prohibition, and the provinces treat a refusal the same as a fail for administrative purposes, so the 90-day administrative prohibition applies as well.1Government of Ontario. Impaired Driving Police also do not need to suspect you’ve been drinking before demanding a sample; since December 2018, any officer with an approved screening device can demand a breath sample during a lawful traffic stop.11Department of Justice. Criminal Code RSC 1985 c C-46 – Section 320.27
Commercial Drivers Don’t Have a Warn Range
If you hold a commercial-class licence or operate under a Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration, zero tolerance applies. Any detectable alcohol or drugs trigger penalties, regardless of whether the reading would be a pass for a regular driver. In Ontario, a first zero-tolerance violation brings a 3-day suspension, an 8-hour education course, and a $250 penalty. A second adds a 16-hour treatment program and a $350 penalty. A third triggers six months of interlock and a $450 penalty.1Government of Ontario. Impaired Driving These sit on top of any sanctions a commercial driver would face under the general framework.
If the Reading Is a Fail, Not a Warn
A fail (0.08 or above) is a different situation. It opens the door to criminal charges under the Criminal Code with minimum fines starting at $1,000 and climbing with higher BAC readings, mandatory driving prohibitions of at least one year on a first offence, and jail time for repeat offences.10Department of Justice. Criminal Code RSC 1985 c C-46 – Section 320.19 A fail also triggers a 90-day administrative prohibition in most provinces, and the criminal record that follows a conviction can create inadmissibility problems at the Canadian and U.S. borders for years afterward.12Government of Canada. Convicted of Driving While Impaired None of that follows from a warn result alone, which is the practical reason the distinction between the two readings matters so much on the roadside.