duistatelaws.com In most states the license suspension that follows a DUI arrest is scheduled. In Florida it has already started. Section 322.2615 runs the suspension from the date the notice is issued, hands you a permit that expires in 10 days, and gives you the same 10 days to ask for a review that does not pause any of it.
Key takeaways
- Florida has one impaired-driving offense and calls it DUI, at 0.08 blood or breath alcohol under section 316.193(1).
- The officer takes the license at the roadside and issues a permit that dies on the tenth day. The same ten days is the review deadline.
- A request for review does not stay the suspension — section 322.2615(9) says so in terms.
- A reading of 0.15 or above, or a passenger under 18, lifts the fine and the jail ceiling on a first conviction.
- No Florida court may withhold adjudication for a DUI, which is why the conviction cannot later be sealed.
- A fourth conviction is a third-degree felony regardless of when the earlier ones happened, and the revocation is permanent.
to demand a hearing from Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, counted from the notice you were served. Fla. Stat. § 322.2615(1)(b)3. This proceeding is separate from the criminal charge, it is decided by the department 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)(a) |
| 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(G), (H) |
| Georgia | 30 | O.C.G.A. § 40-5-67.1(g)(1) |
What the offense actually is
Section 316.193(1) is short and it has three limbs. A person is guilty of driving under the influence if they drive or are in actual physical control of a vehicle and either are under the influence of alcoholic beverages or a chemical or controlled substance to the extent that their normal faculties are impaired, or have a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams per 100 milliliters of blood, or have a breath-alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams per 210 liters of breath.
Two phrases in that sentence do more work than the number does. Actual physical control reaches people who were not driving: Florida cases turn on where the keys were and whether the vehicle was operable, and being asleep in a parked car has produced convictions. Normal faculties impaired is the route that needs no test at all, which is why refusing a breath test leaves the prosecution with a case rather than with nothing.
What makes Florida distinctive is what sits on top of the offense. Subsection (3) escalates the same conduct into a first-degree misdemeanor for property damage or injury, a third-degree felony for serious bodily injury, and DUI manslaughter with a mandatory minimum term of four years where someone dies. Those are not enhancements of the DUI sentence; they are separate offenses built on the same subsection (1) finding.
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The ladder, with two windows in it
Florida's penalty structure is unusual in that the fine and the jail ceiling live in section 316.193(2), while the mandatory minimums and the vehicle immobilisation live in section 316.193(6), and the revocation lives in an entirely different chapter, section 322.28. All three have to be read together to see what a conviction actually does.
The same diagram as a table
| Offense | Confinement | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| First conviction | up to 6 months | § 316.193(2)(a) |
| First conviction, 0.15 or above | up to 9 months | § 316.193(4) |
| Second conviction within 5 years | at least 10 days, up to 9 months | § 316.193(6)(b) |
| Third conviction within 10 years | at least 30 days | § 316.193(2)(b)1. |
| Fourth conviction, any interval | set by §§ 775.082–775.084 | § 316.193(2)(b)3. |
| Offense | Level | Confinement | Fine | License | Also required |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First conviction | Misdemeanor § 316.193(2)(a) | up to 6 months no statutory minimum on a plain first offense | $500 to $1,000 § 316.193(2)(a)1.a. | 180 days to 1 year § 322.28(2)(a)1. | — |
| First conviction, 0.15 or above | Misdemeanor § 316.193(4) | up to 9 months the same enhancement applies with a passenger under 18 in the car | $1,000 to $2,000 § 316.193(4)(a)1. | 180 days to 1 year § 322.28(2)(a)1. | — |
| Second conviction within 5 years | Misdemeanor § 316.193(6)(b) | at least 10 days, up to 9 months at least 48 hours of it consecutive, plus 30 days of vehicle immobilisation | $1,000 to $2,000 § 316.193(2)(a)1.b. | at least 5 years § 322.28(2)(a)2. | Interlock at least 1 year |
| Third conviction within 10 years | Third-degree felony § 316.193(2)(b)1. | at least 30 days plus 90 days of vehicle immobilisation under § 316.193(6)(c) | set by §§ 775.082–775.084 § 316.193(2)(b)1. | at least 10 years § 322.28(2)(a)3. | Interlock at least 2 years |
| Fourth conviction, any interval | Third-degree felony § 316.193(2)(b)3. | set by §§ 775.082–775.084 the ten-year window stops mattering at the fourth | not less than $2,000 § 316.193(2)(b)3. | Permanent revocation § 322.28(2)(d) | — |
Five years for the second-conviction mandatory jail and the five-year revocation. Ten years for the felony third. And then no window at all for the fourth: section 316.193(2)(b)3. makes a fourth conviction a third-degree felony regardless of when any prior conviction occurred, and section 322.28(2)(d) makes the revocation permanent. A Florida DUI from 1998 still counts toward that fourth.
The vehicle immobilisation is the part people are least prepared for. On a second conviction inside five years the court must, as a condition of probation, order all vehicles owned by the defendant impounded or immobilised for 30 days; on a third inside ten years, 90 days. The statute requires that it not run concurrently with any jail term, which means it starts after release rather than during it.
The suspension that has already started
Every other state on this site gives you a grace period. Florida does not. Under section 322.2615(1)(a) the officer suspends the driving privilege at the roadside on behalf of the department, takes the license, and issues a 10-day temporary permit. Subsection (1)(b)2. says the suspension period “shall commence on the date of issuance of the notice of suspension”. It is running while you read this.
The review is requested within 10 days of the date the notice was issued, and you choose between an informal review — a hearing officer reading the paperwork, with no witnesses — and a formal review, at which the driver may subpoena the arresting officer and the breath technician. Section 322.2615(11) contains the provision that makes the formal review worth requesting: if a subpoenaed arresting officer or breath technician fails to appear, the department shall invalidate the suspension.
What the review does not do is stop anything. Section 322.2615(9) is explicit: “A request for a formal review hearing or an informal review hearing shall not stay the suspension of the person's driver license.” The one exception in the same subsection is procedural — if the department fails to schedule the formal review within 30 days of the request, it must invalidate the suspension.
The same diagram as a table
| Step | Criminal case — decided by a court | License case — decided by the state licensing agency |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrest and booking, hour 0 | Notice of suspension served, day 0 |
| 2 | Charge filed by the prosecutor | Deadline to demand a hearing, frequently 7 to 30 days |
| 3 | First court setting, on a date the court picks | Hearing held if the request was filed — the suspension is stayed until the judge rules |
| 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 | 6 months | 1 year | Fla. Stat. § 322.2615(1)(b)1.b. |
| Refused the test | 1 year | 18 months | Fla. Stat. § 322.2615(1)(b)1.a. |
The suspension lengths depend on what happened at the roadside rather than on what happens in court: six months for a first unlawful-level reading, a year if the privilege has been suspended under this section before, a year for a first refusal and eighteen months for a later one. The conviction later produces a second, longer revocation under section 322.28, and the two are separate events with separate paperwork.
Priors, and the fourth that never expires
Florida runs 5 years for the second, 10 years for the felony third, and then stops counting time altogether. The second-conviction mandatory ten days and the five-year revocation under section 322.28(2)(a)2. both turn on a prior inside five years. The felony third under section 316.193(2)(b)1. turns on a prior inside ten. A third conviction that falls outside the ten years is not a felony: section 316.193(2)(b)2. gives it a $2,000 to $5,000 fine and up to twelve months instead.
The fourth is where the arithmetic changes character. It is a third-degree felony regardless of interval, and the permanent revocation in section 322.28(2)(d) applies as long as at least one of the convictions was for conduct after 1 July 1982. The same paragraph counts an out-of-state conviction for driving under the influence, driving while intoxicated, driving with an unlawful blood-alcohol level “or any other similar alcohol-related or drug-related traffic offense”. Moving states does not reset it.
Interlock, and when it stops being optional
Florida's device requirement is graded and it becomes mandatory earlier than most people expect. On a first conviction the court may order at least six continuous months where the reading was 0.08 or higher. From the second conviction it is mandatory, at the convicted person's sole expense, on every vehicle individually or jointly leased or owned and routinely operated by that person.
| Situation | Term | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| First conviction, 0.08 or above | Court may order at least 6 continuous months | § 316.193(2)(c) |
| Second conviction | At least 1 year, mandatory | § 316.193(2)(a)3. |
| Third conviction within 10 years | At least 2 years, mandatory | § 316.193(2)(b)1. |
Why a Florida DUI can never be sealed
The reason is not in the sealing statute. It is in section 316.656(1), which says that notwithstanding the general probation provisions, “no court may suspend, defer, or withhold adjudication of guilt or imposition of sentence” for a violation of section 316.193.
That matters because Florida's sealing regime is built on withheld adjudication. A charge that ends with adjudication withheld can be sealed; a charge that ends in an adjudication of guilt cannot. Section 316.656 removes the first option from every DUI case in the state, which closes the second door without ever mentioning it. A DUI that is reduced to reckless driving before disposition is a different matter, because it is no longer a violation of 316.193 — and that is precisely why reduction, rather than sentence, is what Florida DUI cases are usually fought over.
Section 316.656(2)(a) closes that route too in one specific circumstance: no trial judge may accept a plea to a lesser offense from a person who was given a breath or blood test showing 0.15 percent or more.
What a Florida DUI lawyer is actually working with
A ten-day clock that has already started, a review that does not pause it, and a conviction that is permanent on the record by operation of a statute that never mentions records. The shape of the work follows from those three.
The formal review is the first thing that happens, and it is doing two jobs at once. The stated job is to invalidate the suspension. The unstated one is that the subpoena power in section 322.2615(6) puts the arresting officer and the breath technician under oath months before trial, and section 322.2615(11) makes their non-appearance fatal to the suspension. That is a rare combination and it is why the review gets requested in cases where nobody expects the suspension to survive anyway.
On the criminal side, because adjudication cannot be withheld, the meaningful outcomes are a dismissal, an acquittal, or a reduction to an offense that is not section 316.193. That is the whole list. Everything else leaves a permanent, unsealable adjudication of guilt, and a lawyer working a Florida DUI is working toward one of those three or toward mitigating a sentence.
Common questions about Florida DUI law
How long do I have to request a Florida DUI license review?
Ten days from the date the notice of suspension was issued, under Florida Statutes section 322.2615(1)(b)3. That is the same day the temporary permit expires: section 322.2615(1)(b)4. says the permit is valid until midnight of the tenth day following issuance of the notice. The two clocks run out together.
Does asking for a review stop my license from being suspended?
No. Section 322.2615(9) says a request for a formal or informal review hearing shall not stay the suspension. The suspension commenced on the date the notice was issued. The one thing that helps is procedural: if the department fails to schedule the formal review within 30 days of the request, the same subsection requires it to invalidate the suspension.
Can a Florida DUI be sealed or expunged?
No. Section 316.656(1) forbids any court from suspending, deferring or withholding adjudication of guilt for a violation of section 316.193. Florida's sealing regime depends on adjudication having been withheld, so a DUI conviction is outside it. A charge reduced to something other than 316.193 before disposition is a different question.
What does a 0.15 reading change in Florida?
Section 316.193(4) raises the fine on a first conviction to between $1,000 and $2,000 and the jail ceiling to nine months, and does the same on a second and third. The same enhancement applies where a person under 18 was in the vehicle. Separately, section 316.656(2)(a) forbids a judge from accepting a plea to a lesser offense where a breath or blood test showed 0.15 percent or more.
When does a Florida DUI become a felony?
A third conviction for an offense that occurs within ten years of a prior conviction is a third-degree felony under section 316.193(2)(b)1. A fourth conviction is a third-degree felony regardless of when the earlier ones happened, under section 316.193(2)(b)3. A first offense can also be a felony where it caused serious bodily injury, under section 316.193(3)(c)2.
Will my car be taken?
On a second conviction within five years the court must order all vehicles you own impounded or immobilised for 30 days as a condition of probation, and on a third within ten years for 90 days. Section 316.193(6) requires that the immobilisation not run concurrently with any incarceration, so it starts after release rather than during it.
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More for Florida
- 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 Florida
- Refusing the test — what implied consent costs here against what it buys
- SR-22 insurance after a Florida suspension — what the filing certifies and how long the state holds you to it
- Ignition interlock providers and costs in Florida — in preparation
Sources
- Fla. Stat. § 316.193(1)(b)–(c) — read in force 2026
- Fla. Stat. § 322.2615(1)(b)3. — read in force 2026
- Fla. Stat. § 322.28(2) — read in force 2026
- Fla. Stat. § 316.656(1) — read in force 2026
- Fla. Stat. § 316.1939(1)(d), (2) — 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.