A.R.S. 28-1381: Arizona’s DUI statute, subsection by subsection

Section 28-1381 is Arizona’s ordinary DUI law. It lists five separate ways to commit the offense, attaches presumptions to the test result, and sets the jail floor, fines, assessments and interlock for a first and a second conviction. This page goes through it in the statute’s own order.

What section 28-1381 does

Section 28-1381 of the Arizona Revised Statutes is the state’s ordinary DUI law. Its title lists what it covers — driving or actual physical control while under the influence, trial by jury, presumptions, admissible evidence, sentencing, a time limitation, violation, classification and a definition — and its eighteen lettered subsections run from (A) to (R). Two other sections sit beside it: section 28-1382 for extreme DUI, and section 28-1383 for aggravated DUI, the felony. Each paragraph of subsection (A) is a distinct way of committing the offense, with its own elements.

Subsection (A): the five ways to commit it

Subsection (A) makes it unlawful to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle in Arizona under any of the following circumstances. The statute covers being in actual physical control as well as driving; the section itself does not define the term.

One non-defense and one defense. Subsection (B) says it is not a defense to an (A)(1) charge that the person is or was entitled to use the drug under Arizona law. Subsection (D) points the other way for (A)(3): a person using a drug as prescribed by a medical practitioner licensed under title 32 and authorized to prescribe it is not guilty of violating paragraph (3). Read together, a prescription can answer a metabolite charge under (A)(3), but entitlement to use a drug is no defense to a charge of being impaired to the slightest degree under (A)(1).

Classification, priors and the jury

Class 1 misdemeanor. Subsection (C) makes a conviction under section 28-1381 a class 1 misdemeanor. That is true whichever paragraph of subsection (A) is charged, and it remains true on a second conviction; the route to a felony runs through section 28-1383.

Alleging priors. Subsection (E) requires the State, in any prosecution under the section, to allege for classification and sentencing all prior convictions under sections 28-1381, 28-1382 or 28-1383 occurring within the past thirty-six months, unless there is an insufficient legal or factual basis to do so. The second-offense sentencing window in subsection (K) is longer — 84 months — and subsection (M) counts it by the dates the offenses were committed, regardless of the order they were committed in.

The jury. Subsection (F) requires the court, at arraignment, to tell the defendant that a jury trial may be requested and that the request, if made, will be granted.

Subsection (G): what the number proves

For a 28-1381 or 28-1383 case — other than one involving a commercial vehicle, a vehicle for hire or a TNC driver — subsection (G) attaches presumptions to the alcohol concentration within two hours of driving, as shown by a blood, breath or other bodily substance test:

• 0.05 or less: it may be presumed the person was not under the influence of intoxicating liquor.
• Above 0.05 but below 0.08: no presumption either way, but the reading may be considered with other competent evidence.
• 0.08 or more: it may be presumed the person was under the influence.

Subsection (H) adds that subsection (G) does not limit any other competent evidence on whether the person was under the influence. The presumptions go to whether the person was under the influence of intoxicating liquor; the (A)(2) offense is defined by the 0.08 number itself.

Sentencing: subsections (I) to (P), and the time limit

Subsection (I): a first conviction

A person convicted under section 28-1381:

1. shall serve not less than ten consecutive days in jail, and is not eligible for probation or suspension of execution of sentence unless the entire sentence is served;
2. shall pay a fine of not less than $250;
3. may be ordered to perform community restitution;
4. shall pay a $500 assessment to the prison construction and operations fund, not subject to surcharge;
5. shall pay a further $500 assessment to the public safety equipment fund, also not subject to surcharge;
6. if the violation involved intoxicating liquor, shall be required by the department to equip any vehicle the person operates with a certified ignition interlock under section 28-3319 — and the court may order it for more than twelve months from the date the person completes screening or treatment and is otherwise eligible to reinstate;
7. shall be required to complete an approved traffic survival school course; and
8. may, at the person’s own option, be ordered to take part in a court-approved religious program, which must be voluntary.

Subsection (J) — the treatment exception. Notwithstanding the ten-day floor, at sentencing the judge may suspend all but one day if the person completes court-ordered alcohol or other drug screening, education or treatment, or evidence-based psychotherapy. If the person does not finish it and is not on probation, the court must issue an order to show cause why the rest of the jail sentence should not be served. Subsection (R) defines evidence-based psychotherapy by who may provide it: a licensed psychologist, a behavioral health professional, or another title 32 professional licensed to provide psychotherapy independently, such as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, psychiatric physician assistant or psychiatrist.

Subsection (K): a second conviction within 84 months

Subsection (K) applies when, within 84 months, a person has a second 28-1381 conviction, or a 28-1381 conviction plus a prior under section 28-1382 or 28-1383 or an out-of-state act that would be one of those here. The person:

1. shall serve not less than 90 days in jail, 30 of them consecutive, without probation or suspension unless the whole sentence is served;
2. shall pay a fine of not less than $500;
3. shall perform at least 30 hours of community restitution;
4. shall have the driving privilege revoked for one year, with an interlock required if the violation involved liquor;
5. shall pay a $1,250 assessment to the prison construction and operations fund;
6. shall pay a further $1,250 assessment to the public safety equipment fund; and
7. shall complete traffic survival school.

Subsection (L) mirrors (J): the judge may suspend all but thirty days if the person completes court-ordered screening, education, treatment or evidence-based psychotherapy. Subsection (N) says a conviction for an offense arising out of the same series of acts is not a second violation, and subsection (O) makes a person revoked and sentenced under (K) eligible for a special ignition interlock restricted license under section 28-1401.

Drug-only cases and the time limit

Interlock without alcohol. Subsection (P) lets the court order an interlock for a conviction that does not involve intoxicating liquor; the department then requires it under section 28-3319.

A two-year clock for serious collisions. Subsection (Q) says a prosecution under the section involving a collision that caused serious physical injury or death, as identified in a written accident report, must be commenced within two years after actual discovery of the offense by the State or the political subdivision having jurisdiction, or when it should have been discovered with reasonable diligence, whichever comes first.

Common questions

Statute text read on azleg.gov on October 20, 2026. This page explains what the section says; it is not legal advice about any case.