A.R.S. 28-1383: aggravated DUI in Arizona

Section 28-1383 is the felony. It takes a DUI, an extreme DUI or, on four routes, an aggravated DUI and adds one of five circumstances — a suspended license, a third offense, a child in the car, an interlock order, or wrong-way driving. This page goes through each route, the prison floors and what follows a conviction, in the statute’s own order.

What section 28-1383 does

Section 28-1383 turns an ordinary or extreme DUI into aggravated driving or actual physical control while under the influence, a felony. None of its routes depends on the alcohol reading. Routes (A)(1), (2), (4) and (5) take a violation of section 28-1381, section 28-1382 or section 28-1383 itself; route (A)(3) takes only a violation of section 28-1381 or 28-1382. Each adds a circumstance: the state of the person’s license, their record, who was in the car, an interlock requirement, or the direction they were driving.

Subsection (A): the five routes

Definitions. Subsection (P) says “suspension, cancellation, revocation or refusal” means any of them — which on its face is not limited by cause — and defines “wrong way” as movement opposing the legal flow of traffic, not including a median crossing or a collision that leaves a vehicle stopped facing the wrong way. Subsection (C) says notice of a suspension or revocation is effective as provided in section 28-3318, or under the laws of the state that issued the license.

How the routes are built. Every route names its base offense. Routes (A)(1), (A)(2), (A)(4) and (A)(5) can rest on a violation of section 28-1381, section 28-1382 or section 28-1383 itself; route (A)(3) rests only on section 28-1381 or 28-1382. The alcohol reading still matters on the child-passenger route, because subsections (F) and (G) borrow the jail minimum from whichever base section applies. The third-offense route also reaches convictions from other jurisdictions for acts that would be violations of these sections in Arizona.

Counting priors, and the prison floors

Subsection (B): counting the 84 months

For the third-offense route, the dates the offenses were committed decide the count, regardless of the order they were committed in, and a conviction arising out of the same series of acts does not count separately. For both the third-offense route and subsection (E), subsection (B) also excludes two kinds of time from the 84 months: time a probationer is found to be on absconder status, and time the person is incarcerated in any state, federal, county or city jail or correctional facility.

Subsections (D) to (G): the prison floors

• Four months. Under subsection (D), a person is not eligible for probation, pardon, commutation, suspension of sentence or release on any other basis until they have served at least four months in prison if convicted under (A)(1), under (A)(2) with two prior violations within 84 months, or under (A)(5).
• Eight months. Under subsection (E), the floor is eight months for a conviction under (A)(2) with three or more priors within 84 months.
• The child-passenger route. Subsections (F) and (G) set its floor by the base offense: at least the minimum incarceration of section 28-1381 where the base offense is a 28-1381 violation, and of section 28-1382 where it is extreme DUI.

The statute sets no separate floor for the interlock route, (A)(4). Subsection (N) lets the sheriff of a county with fewer than 500,000 people set up an aggravated DUI jail program, which cannot start until the state department of corrections enters an agreement with the county under section 31-234. If the violation occurs in a county that has implemented one, or a county next to it, a person placed on probation may serve the mandatory term in the program county’s jail instead of prison, without access to release, work detail or monitoring programs they would not have had in prison.

After a conviction: treatment, license and money

Subsections (H) and (I): treatment as a condition

A person convicted under the section must attend and complete alcohol or other drug screening, education or treatment from an approved facility, or evidence-based psychotherapy, as the court orders. If they do not and are on probation, the court may order incarceration as a term of probation — up to four months at a time and a year in total for someone sentenced under (D), up to eight months at a time and two years in total under (E). Subsection (I) says that custody time does not count toward the sentence if probation is later revoked and the person is sent to prison.

Subsection (J): license, fines and assessments

On conviction the court reports it to the department, which revokes the driving privilege and may not issue a new license within one year of the conviction; if the violation involved liquor, the department requires an interlock under section 28-3319, and the court may order it for more than twenty-four months from completion of screening or treatment. The court also orders:

• a $250 assessment to the DUI abatement fund, paid after the fine, assessments, restitution and incarceration costs;
• a fine of not less than $750; and
• two assessments of $1,500 each to the prison construction and operations fund and the public safety equipment fund.

Subsection (K) requires traffic survival school. Subsection (L) lets a person revoked for the child-passenger route apply for a special ignition interlock restricted license under section 28-1401 after the section 28-1385 suspension. Subsection (M) lets the court order an interlock even where the violation did not involve liquor.

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.