duistatelaws.com Arizona is the state where a first offense has a jail floor written into the statute. Ten consecutive days at the ordinary limit, thirty at 0.15, forty-five at 0.20 — and the reading alone decides which, before anyone looks at the driving. What the judge can suspend depends on treatment or an interlock, and the statute sets that too.
Key takeaways
- The ordinary limit is 0.08, measured within two hours of driving, and the statute makes it a presumption rather than the only route.
- Two thresholds sit above it: extreme DUI at 0.15 and super extreme at 0.20, each a separate offense under section 28-1382.
- Jail on a first offense is at least 10 consecutive days; under section 28-1381(J) the judge may suspend all but one day once court-ordered screening or treatment is completed.
- The prior-offense window is 84 months and it is measured by the dates the offenses were committed, not by the order the cases were resolved.
- Which courthouse you go to is decided by whose city limits you were inside when you were stopped.
- Arizona has no expungement for a DUI. A set aside leaves the conviction on the record; sealing under section 13-911 is available three years after discharge for a misdemeanor DUI, and still counts as a prior.
to demand a hearing from Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division, counted from the notice you were served. A.R.S. § 28-1321(F), (G). This proceeding is separate from the criminal charge, it is decided by MVD rather than by a judge, and nothing about it happens automatically.
The same diagram as a table
| State | Days | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 7 | C.R.S. § 42-2-126(6)(d), (7)(b) |
| Virginia* | 7 | Va. Code § 46.2-391.2(A), (C) |
| Washington | 7 | RCW 46.20.308(7) |
| California | 10 | Cal. Veh. Code § 13558(b) |
| Florida | 10 | Fla. Stat. § 322.2615(1)(b)3. |
| Texas | 15 | Tex. Transp. Code §§ 524.031, 724.041 |
| Arizona | 30 | A.R.S. § 28-1321(F), (G) |
| Georgia | 30 | O.C.G.A. § 40-5-67.1(g)(1) |
| South Carolina | 30 | S.C. Code § 56-5-2951(B)(1) |
| Minnesota* | 60 | Minn. Stat. § 169A.53, subd. 2 |
Three statutes, not one: A.R.S. 28-1381, 28-1382 and 28-1383
Arizona splits impaired driving across three consecutive sections and which one you are charged under is most of the case. Section 28-1381 is the ordinary offense, a class 1 misdemeanor under subsection (C). Section 28-1382 is extreme DUI, which exists at two levels: 0.15 or more but less than 0.20, and 0.20 or more; it is also a class 1 misdemeanor, under subsection (K). Section 28-1383 is aggravated DUI, which is a felony. A complaint usually cites the exact subsection and paragraph — “28-1381(A)(1)” or “28-1382(A)(2)” — and each one is a different offense with its own proof.
A.R.S. 28-1381(A): five ways to commit the ordinary offense
Subsection (A) makes it unlawful to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle in Arizona in any of five circumstances:
- (A)(1) — impaired to the slightest degree. Under the influence of intoxicating liquor, any drug, a vapor releasing substance containing a toxic substance, or any combination, if the person is impaired to the slightest degree. No test number is needed. Subsection (B) adds that being entitled to use the drug under Arizona law is not a defense to this paragraph.
- (A)(2) — 0.08 within two hours. An alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more within two hours of driving or physical control, from alcohol consumed before or while driving.
- (A)(3) — a drug or its metabolite in the body. Any drug defined in section 13-3401, or its metabolite, in the person’s body. Subsection (D) says a person using a drug as prescribed by a licensed practitioner authorized to prescribe it is not guilty under this paragraph.
- (A)(4) — 0.04 in a commercial vehicle. An alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more in a commercial motor vehicle that requires a commercial driver license.
- (A)(5) — 0.04 for hire or rideshare. An alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more while operating a vehicle for hire or while providing transportation network services as a transportation network company driver.
Each paragraph is a separate way of committing the offense, with its own elements (the full walkthrough of A.R.S. 28-1381 covers every subsection). Subsection (G) then makes 0.08 a presumption rather than a conclusion for the (A)(1) question: 0.05 or less may be presumed not under the influence, a reading above 0.05 but below 0.08 gives rise to no presumption either way but may be weighed with other evidence, and 0.08 or more may be presumed under the influence. Those presumptions do not apply to commercial, for-hire or rideshare drivers. Subsection (F) requires the court to tell the defendant at arraignment that a jury trial may be requested and will be granted.
A.R.S. 28-1382(A): extreme and super extreme
Section 28-1382(A) has two paragraphs, both measured within two hours of driving or physical control (see the A.R.S. 28-1382 page for the whole section):
- (A)(1) — 0.15 or more but less than 0.20. A first conviction carries at least 30 consecutive days in jail and a fine of at least $250 under subsection (D). Subsection (I) lets the judge suspend all but nine days if the person fits a certified ignition interlock for twelve months.
- (A)(2) — 0.20 or more. At least 45 consecutive days and a fine of at least $500; the judge may suspend all but fourteen days on the same interlock condition.
An extreme conviction within 84 months of any earlier DUI, extreme DUI or aggravated DUI conviction, under subsection (E), raises the floors to 120 days (60 consecutive) for (A)(1) and 180 days (90 consecutive) for (A)(2), with fines of at least $500 and $1,000 and a license revocation of at least a year.
A.R.S. 28-1383(A): five routes to aggravated DUI
The aggravating routes are not about the reading at all. Section 28-1383(A) lists five (each is covered in detail on the A.R.S. 28-1383 page):
- (A)(1) — a DUI or extreme DUI committed while the license or privilege to drive is suspended, cancelled, revoked or refused (subsection (P) says that means any suspension, cancellation, revocation or refusal), or while it is restricted because of an earlier DUI or a section 28-1385 order.
- (A)(2) — a third or subsequent violation within 84 months, counting out-of-state offenses that would be violations here.
- (A)(3) — a DUI or extreme DUI while a person under fifteen is in the vehicle.
- (A)(4) — a DUI while ordered or required to have a certified ignition interlock on the vehicles the person operates.
- (A)(5) — a DUI while driving the wrong way on a highway, defined in (P) as moving against the legal flow of traffic, not counting a median crossing or a collision that leaves a car stopped facing the wrong way.
Subsection (O) grades them: paragraphs (1), (2), (4) and (5) are class 4 felonies; paragraph (3), the child passenger, is a class 6 felony. Under subsection (D), a conviction under (A)(1), under (A)(2) with two priors in 84 months, or under (A)(5) means at least four months in prison before any release; subsection (E) makes it eight months for (A)(2) with three or more priors. The child-passenger route instead carries the jail floors of section 28-1381 or 28-1382, under subsections (F) and (G). Aggravated DUI is a felony rather than a city or justice court misdemeanor, and it can attach to a first-ever drink-driving arrest.
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Jail set by the reading, before anyone reads the file
Arizona's sentencing provisions are written as floors rather than ranges, and each floor is followed by the same clause: the person “is not eligible for probation or suspension of execution of sentence unless the entire sentence is served”. Section 28-1382 then raises the floor twice on the strength of the number alone — not on the driving, not on the record, not on whether anyone was endangered. The exceptions are written into the same sections: section 28-1381(J) lets the judge suspend all but one day of a first-offense sentence once court-ordered screening, education or treatment is completed, and subsection (L) all but thirty days on a second; section 28-1382(I) allows all but nine days at 0.15, or fourteen at 0.20, with a twelve-month interlock.
The same diagram as a table
| Offense | Confinement | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| First offense | at least 10 consecutive days | § 28-1381(C) |
| Extreme DUI, 0.15 to 0.20 | at least 30 consecutive days | § 28-1382(K) |
| Super extreme DUI, 0.20 or more | at least 45 consecutive days | § 28-1382(K) |
| Second offense within 84 months | at least 90 days, 30 of them consecutive | § 28-1381(C) |
| Aggravated DUI | set by the felony sentencing provisions | § 28-1383(O) |
| Offense | Level | Confinement | Fine | License | Also required |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First offense | Class 1 misdemeanor § 28-1381(C) | at least 10 consecutive days no probation or suspended sentence unless the whole term is served | at least $250 § 28-1381(I)(2) | Interlock ordered on conviction § 28-3319 | $500 prison fund and $500 public safety assessments |
| Extreme DUI, 0.15 to 0.20 | Class 1 misdemeanor § 28-1382(K) | at least 30 consecutive days the floor triples on the strength of the reading alone | at least $250 § 28-1382(D)(2) | Interlock ordered on conviction § 28-3319 | $250 abatement plus $1,000 and $1,000 assessments |
| Super extreme DUI, 0.20 or more | Class 1 misdemeanor § 28-1382(K) | at least 45 consecutive days same offense class, a longer mandatory floor | at least $500 § 28-1382(D)(2) | Interlock ordered on conviction § 28-3319 | $250 abatement plus $1,000 and $1,000 assessments |
| Second offense within 84 months | Class 1 misdemeanor § 28-1381(C) | at least 90 days, 30 of them consecutive the same section revokes the license for a year | at least $500 § 28-1381(K)(2) | 1 year revocation § 28-1381(K)(4) | $1,250 and $1,250 assessments |
| Aggravated DUI | Class 4 felony (class 6 with a passenger under 15) § 28-1383(O) | set by the felony sentencing provisions a DUI while suspended, a third offense in 84 months, an interlock order or wrong-way driving; or a passenger under 15. Subsection (D) sets at least four months in prison on some routes; (F) and (G) apply the misdemeanor floors to the child-passenger route | at least $750 § 28-1383(J)(3) | Revocation; no new license within 1 year § 28-1383(J)(1) | $250 abatement plus $1,500 and $1,500 assessments |
The fines look small next to other states. They are not the bill. Section 28-1381(I) adds a $500 prison construction and operations assessment and a $500 public safety equipment assessment on top of a first-offense fine of at least $250, and section 28-1382 raises both to $1,000 and adds a further $250 to the DUI abatement fund. On a second offense the two assessments become $1,250 each. The statute is explicit that these assessments are not subject to surcharge, which means they are stated in full rather than multiplied afterwards — but they are still mandatory, and they are larger than the fine they sit on top of.
Every conviction involving intoxicating liquor also carries an interlock requirement imposed by the department on report of the conviction, under section 28-3319, and the court may extend it beyond the statutory term. The device attaches to any vehicle the person operates, not only to a vehicle they own.
The MVD case, and the thirty days that do two jobs
Arizona's administrative suspension runs on a thirty-day fuse that is easy to misread because the same number appears three times. Under section 28-1385, an officer who has an affidavit and a test result at or above 0.08 serves an order of suspension that is “effective thirty days after the date that the order is served”, hands over a temporary driving permit valid for thirty days, and has thirty days to file the certified report with the department.
The request for a hearing runs on the same clock: sections 28-1321(G) and (H) require the department to receive the written or online request within thirty days of the notice, and say that the order becomes final if it does not. A timely request stays the suspension until the hearing is held, and the department has sixty days from receipt to set it.
The suspension that follows is at least ninety consecutive days under section 28-1385(H), and the department may only reinstate after alcohol or drug screening has been completed. Refusing the test is handled under section 28-1321(B) and costs more: twelve months for a first refusal, two years for a second within 84 months.
The same diagram as a table
| Step | Criminal case — decided by a court | License case — decided by a state agency |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrest and booking, hour 0 | Notice of suspension served, day 0 |
| 2 | Charge filed by the prosecutor | Deadline to demand a hearing: 7 to 30 days in the eight states on this site that use an agency hearing |
| 3 | First court setting, on a date the court picks | Hearing held if the request was filed — whether the suspension waits for the ruling is set by each state's statute |
| 4 | One or more pretrial settings | Suspension takes effect automatically with no hearing |
| 5 | Trial, plea or dismissal | — |
| Clock | Weeks to months. No filing deadline runs against the driver. | Counted in days from the notice, and fixed by statute. |
| What happened | First time | With a prior | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failed the test | at least 90 days | — | A.R.S. § 28-1385(H) |
| Refused the test | 12 months | 2 years | A.R.S. § 28-1321(B) |
One detail is worth keeping in view because it is the thing that turns an ordinary case into a felony. Section 28-1383(A)(1) makes it aggravated DUI to commit a DUI while the license is suspended, cancelled, revoked or refused — for any reason — or restricted as a result of an earlier DUI or a section 28-1385 order. The administrative suspension is not a separate, lesser world: a DUI committed while it is in effect — not merely driving during it — becomes aggravated DUI, a class 4 felony under subsection (O)(1).
Eighty-four months, counted by the date of the offense
Arizona's window is 84 months — seven years — and section 28-1383(B) is unusually precise about how to count it. “The dates of the commission of the offenses are the determining factor,” it says, “regardless of the sequence in which the offenses were committed.” So it does not matter which case was resolved first, or which conviction was entered first. What matters is when each offense happened.
For the aggravated count only — the third-offense route in subsection (A)(2) and the eight-month floor in (E) — the same subsection stops the clock for time the person spent on absconder status while on probation, and for time incarcerated in any state, federal, county or city facility. The second-offense windows in sections 28-1381(M) and 28-1382(F) carry no such exclusion.
The subsection also says a third or subsequent violation does not include a conviction for an offense “arising out of the same series of acts”, which is the provision that stops a single incident producing two priors.
Interlock, and the deferral nobody mentions
Section 28-3319 sets the device term and section 28-3319(H) contains a provision that is rarely described anywhere: the department shall defer the remainder of a twelve-month term, starting from the later of six months after installation or the completion of the listed requirements, where the person has met the conditions — including not having attempted to operate the vehicle at 0.08 or more two or more times during the restriction. The deferral is permanent unless there is a new arrest during it.
| Situation | Term | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| First conviction involving liquor | 12 months | § 28-3319(D)(1) |
| Second or subsequent within 84 months | 12 months | § 28-3319(D)(1)(b) |
| Super extreme with a prior within 84 months | 24 months | § 28-3319(D)(3)(a) |
No expungement for a DUI in Arizona: a set aside, and sealing
Arizona has two remedies, and neither erases the conviction. The first is a set aside under A.R.S. section 13-905. On application after discharge, the court may set aside the judgment of guilt, dismiss the complaint, information or indictment, and release the person from the penalties and disabilities resulting from the conviction — except, among a few others, license actions by the Department of Transportation under the sections listed in subsection (D)(1). The conviction itself remains on the record and remains visible, and subsection (E)(3) says it may still be used as a prior conviction.
The second is sealing under section 13-911, a separate petition that does reach a DUI. Subsection (E)(3) sets the wait at three years after discharge for a class 1 misdemeanor, which is what section 28-1381(C) makes a DUI. Once the records are sealed, subsection (I)(5) lets the person state that they were never arrested for, charged with or convicted of the offense, except in listed situations — one of which, (I)(5)(f), is a DUI record when applying for a job that involves operating a motor vehicle. And subsection (B)(5) keeps sealed records usable to enhance the sentence for a later DUI under sections 28-1381 and 28-1382. Advertising in this state uses the word expungement freely; for a DUI the statute's word is sealing, and it is narrower.
What an Arizona DUI lawyer is actually working with
Mandatory consecutive days that the judge can suspend only on the statute’s own conditions, a jail floor set by a number, and a felony route that opens with a DUI during a suspension. Arizona gives a sentencing judge less room than almost any state here, and that pushes the work earlier.
Because the floor is fixed by the reading, the questions that actually move an Arizona case are about the reading: whether the two-hour relation-back in section 28-1381(A)(2) is satisfied, how the sample was taken and held, and whether the instrument's records support the number. A case that moves from 0.15 to below it moves from a thirty-day floor (nine days with an interlock) to a ten-day floor (one day with treatment). That is a larger swing than most sentencing arguments are worth.
The other early question is jurisdictional and it is peculiar to this state. Which court hears the case is decided by whose city limits the stop happened inside, and the prosecuting office changes with it. That is covered on the Phoenix page, because in the Phoenix metro it is the difference between four or five different courthouses for the same stretch of road.
Where the case is actually heard
Common questions about Arizona DUI law
How much jail time is mandatory for a first Arizona DUI?
At least ten consecutive days under A.R.S. section 28-1381(I)(1), and the same paragraph says the person is not eligible for probation or suspension of execution of sentence unless the entire sentence is served — but subsection (J) lets the judge suspend all but one day once court-ordered screening, education or treatment is completed. At 0.15 or more, section 28-1382(D)(1) raises the floor to thirty consecutive days; at 0.20 or more, to forty-five.
What is extreme DUI in Arizona?
A separate offense under section 28-1382, committed by driving with an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more within two hours of driving. The section sets two levels: 0.15 or more but less than 0.20, and 0.20 or more, which practitioners call super extreme. Each has its own mandatory jail floor and its own fine and assessments.
How long do I have to request an MVD hearing in Arizona?
Thirty days. Sections 28-1321(G) and (H) require the department to receive a written or online request within thirty days of the date of the notice, after which the order of suspension becomes final. A timely request stays the suspension until a hearing is held, and the department has sixty days to set it.
How far back does Arizona count prior DUIs?
Eighty-four months. Section 28-1383(B) says the dates the offenses were committed are the determining factor regardless of the sequence in which they were committed, and excludes time spent on absconder status or incarcerated from the count. A conviction for an offense arising out of the same series of acts does not count as a separate prior.
When does an Arizona DUI become a felony?
Under section 28-1383(A), when it is committed while the license is suspended, cancelled, revoked or refused, or restricted because of an earlier DUI or a section 28-1385 order; when it is a third or subsequent violation within 84 months; when a passenger under fifteen was in the vehicle; when the driver was under an interlock requirement; or when driving the wrong way on a highway. Subsection (O) makes the child-passenger route a class 6 felony and the other four class 4 felonies.
Can an Arizona DUI be expunged?
Not expunged, but it can be sealed. If the court grants it, a set aside under section 13-905 releases the person from the penalties and disabilities of the conviction, except license actions by the Department of Transportation, and the conviction stays on the record. Sealing under section 13-911 is a separate petition, available three years after discharge for a misdemeanor DUI under subsection (E)(3). Both leave the conviction usable as a prior: sections 13-905(E)(3) and 13-911(B)(5).
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More for Arizona
- Phoenix and Maricopa County — which court hears the case, and what the first weeks look like on the ground
- Gilbert and Maricopa County — which court hears the case, and what the first weeks look like on the ground
- Scottsdale and Maricopa County — which court hears the case, and what the first weeks look like on the ground
- Mesa and Maricopa County — which court hears the case, and what the first weeks look like on the ground
- Tempe and Maricopa County — which court hears the case, and what the first weeks look like on the ground
- Tucson and Pima County — which court hears the case, and what the first weeks look like on the ground
- What the charge is called in each state — the terminology table, and why searching the wrong acronym returns the wrong penalty
- How long it stays on your record — the three separate records a single arrest creates
- Expungement, sealing and set aside — which of the three, if any, exists in Arizona
- Refusing the test — what implied consent costs here against what it buys
- SR-22 insurance after an Arizona suspension — what the filing certifies and how long the state holds you to it
- Ignition interlock requirements — when Arizona orders the device, for how long, and what driving without it costs
- DUI classes and evaluations — the program attached to the sentence, its deadline, and what not finishing costs
- Are DUI checkpoints legal in Arizona? — no unguided discretion, per Ekstrom (1983)
- Field sobriety tests in Arizona — corroborate or attack, never quantify, per Blake (1986)
- Device cost and providers in Arizona — our sister site, written around the SR-22 filing
Sources
- A.R.S. § 28-1381(A)(2) — read in force 2026
- A.R.S. § 28-1382(A) — read in force 2026
- A.R.S. § 28-1321(F), (G) — read in force 2026
- A.R.S. § 28-1385(H) — read in force 2026
- A.R.S. § 28-3319(D) — read in force 2026
- A.R.S. § 13-911(B)(5), (E)(3), (I)(5) — read in force 2026
- A.R.S. § 28-1383(B) — read in force 2026
- A.R.S. § 13-905 — read in force 2026
- A.R.S. § 22-402(B) — read in force 2026
- A.R.S. § 22-301(A)(1) — read in force 2026
Each entry names the section that carries the figure and the document that was actually opened to read it. Where the two differ, the state’s own publication is linked as well. Statutes change; check the linked text before relying on a number from any website, including this one.