duistatelaws.com Key takeaways
- The Florida Supreme Court’s schedule, AOSC25-69, lists DUI and BUI bond at $500, $750 or $1,000 for release before first appearance in 2026.
- It applies when police, jail or pretrial release staff release someone before first appearance; it does not bind the judge at first appearance.
- The Nineteenth Circuit’s order holds anyone who was already on pretrial release, probation or community control for first appearance — without the statute’s “any felony” limit.
- Each crime of arrest needs a separate bond, under section 903.02(4).
- The State Attorney says a first appearance hearing is held within 24 hours of an arrest.
- Florida’s license clock: 10 days from the notice.
from the date you were served with the notice to demand a hearing from Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The request goes to the department, not to the court, and no judge in St. Lucie County will make it for you. Fla. Stat. § 322.2615(1)(b)3.
St. Lucie County is one of four counties in Florida’s Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, with Indian River, Martin and Okeechobee. The circuit’s county court criminal division handles misdemeanors and criminal traffic, and it names DUI, alongside driving while license suspended and no valid license, as an example of criminal traffic. Those cases are heard by judges, not by the hearing officers who take most civil traffic infractions.
This page is about the first hours and weeks: what bond is before a judge sees the case, who is held for first appearance, and what the State Attorney does next. The penalties are on the Florida DUI law page.
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. |
The St. Lucie County courthouses
The circuit lists two courthouses in St. Lucie County: the St. Lucie West Annex at 250 NW Country Club Drive in Port St. Lucie (772-807-4370), with free parking in the lot in front of the entrance, and the main St. Lucie County Courthouse at 218 South 2nd Street in Fort Pierce (772-462-6900), with free parking in the garage on 2nd Street. It warns that much of downtown Fort Pierce’s street and lot parking is limited to two hours. The circuit’s pages do not say which building hears a given DUI.
St. Lucie West Annex Courthouse
- Listed as
- The Nineteenth Judicial Circuit’s courthouse in Port St. Lucie
- Building
- St. Lucie West Annex Courthouse
- Address
- 250 NW Country Club Dr., Port Saint Lucie, FL 34986
- Detail
- Free parking in the open lot in front of the entrance
St. Lucie County Courthouse – Main
- Listed as
- The main St. Lucie County courthouse, in Fort Pierce
- Building
- St. Lucie County Courthouse – Main
- Address
- 218 S 2nd St., Fort Pierce, FL 34950
- Detail
- Free parking in the courthouse garage on 2nd Street
- Phone
- 772-462-6900
Section 903.011(6), as the Supreme Court’s order quotes it, bars release before first appearance for a person who was on pretrial release, probation or community control at the time of an arrest for any felony. The Nineteenth Circuit’s Administrative Order 2026-02 drops the felony qualifier: anyone who was on pretrial release (including own recognizance), probation or community control at the time of arrest is not eligible for release before first appearance. For a DUI arrest — a felony under section 316.193 only for a third violation within ten years, a fourth at any time, or serious bodily injury or death — that difference can decide whether the scheduled bond is available at all.
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Bond before first appearance, in 2026
Florida now has one bond schedule for the whole state when police, jail or pretrial release employees release someone before first appearance. The Florida Supreme Court issued it as AOSC25-69, effective January 1 through December 31, 2026, and the Nineteenth Circuit adopted it by Administrative Order 2026-02. For people arrested for driving or boating under the influence, and not otherwise held, it sets:
- $500 for a first offense charged as a second degree misdemeanor;
- $750 for a second offense charged as a second degree misdemeanor;
- $1,000 for a DUI charged as a first degree misdemeanor.
The same schedule sets $500 for other first degree misdemeanors that do not involve any force or threat of force against a person, and $150 for second degree misdemeanors of that kind, and lists DUI and BUI separately from both. It says each crime of arrest requires a separate bond, under section 903.02(4) and Rule 3.131. A chief judge may add conditions or raise the amounts locally, and a judge conducting first appearance is not bound by the schedule.
Who is held for a judge. No scheduled bond applies to a person who meets one of the section 903.011(6) criteria the order quotes — among them three or more arrests in the six months before this one, a sexual offender designation, or an arrest for violating a protective injunction — or who is arrested for a dangerous crime under section 907.041. Those people stay in custody until first appearance.
The license. Separately, Florida gives 10 days from the notice to request review of the administrative suspension from the department.
| 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. |
First appearance, and the weeks after
First appearance. The 19th Circuit State Attorney’s office describes a hearing held within 24 hours of an arrest, at which the judge hears the facts and decides whether to set bond and how much. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.130, as the circuit’s order recites it, requires the State Attorney and the Public Defender, or their designees, to be present and ready. The circuit’s Administrative Order 2026-08 has the clerk or sheriff give each of them, and Pretrial Services, an unredacted copy of the arrest or probable cause affidavit for every defendant on the first appearance docket, whether or not indigency has been decided. The order says it does not entitle the public to the unredacted affidavit, and does not authorize giving it unredacted to privately retained defense counsel.
The State Attorney hearing. The office’s general guide to the process, written for crime victims, describes a meeting at its own offices, without the accused or the defense lawyer, where the assigned prosecutor takes sworn statements from witnesses to decide what can be proven. Its page says criminal charges must be filed with the court within 21 days of the arrest. If the evidence is enough, the prosecutor files an information; if not, a “No Information” ends the case.
Arraignment. The office says arraignment comes two to four weeks after the information is filed, and that a defendant represented by counsel may sometimes enter a written plea of not guilty instead of appearing. A not guilty plea puts the case on a trial docket.
The 2026 statewide bond schedule for DUI
As AOSC25-69 lists it.
| Arrest (as the schedule lists it) | Bond before first appearance |
|---|---|
| DUI or BUI, first offense, second degree misdemeanor | $500 |
| DUI or BUI, second offense, second degree misdemeanor | $750 |
| DUI or BUI, first degree misdemeanor | $1,000 |
| Any arrest meeting a section 903.011(6) criterion, or a dangerous crime under 907.041(5)(a) | None — held for first appearance |
The schedule does not bind the judge at first appearance, and each crime of arrest needs a separate bond.
Other Florida pages on this site: Tampa, Sarasota, Miami and Orange County.
Common questions about Port St. Lucie DUI cases
What is the bond for a DUI in Florida before first appearance?
Under the Florida Supreme Court's 2026 statewide schedule, AOSC25-69: $500 for a first offense charged as a second degree misdemeanor, $750 for a second offense charged as a second degree misdemeanor, and $1,000 for a first degree misdemeanor.
Can a judge set a different DUI bond in St. Lucie County?
Yes. The schedule applies to release by police, jail or pretrial staff before first appearance and does not bind the judge conducting first appearance.
Who cannot bond out before first appearance in the 19th Circuit?
Among others, anyone on pretrial release, probation or community control at the time of arrest, anyone arrested three or more times in the previous six months, and anyone arrested for a dangerous crime.
How soon is first appearance after a DUI arrest in St. Lucie County?
The State Attorney's office says the first appearance hearing is held within 24 hours of an arrest.
Where are the courthouses in St. Lucie County?
The St. Lucie West Annex, 250 NW Country Club Dr., Port St. Lucie, and the main courthouse at 218 S 2nd St., Fort Pierce.
When are charges filed in St. Lucie County?
The State Attorney's general guide to the criminal process says criminal charges must be filed within 21 days of the arrest; that page is written for crime victims and does not address DUI specifically.
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More for Florida
- Florida DUI law — the full penalty matrix, the statutes, and the rules on priors and interlock
- Miami — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Fort Lauderdale and Broward County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- St. Petersburg and Pinellas County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Lakeland and Polk County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Orange County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Panama City and Bay County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Naples and Collier County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- St. Augustine and St. Johns County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Key West and Monroe County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Sarasota — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Tampa and Hillsborough County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Refusing a breathalyzer — what implied consent costs here against what it buys
- How long it stays on your record — three records, three clocks
- SR-22 insurance after a Florida suspension — what the filing certifies and how long it runs
- Ignition interlock providers and costs in Florida — what the device costs and who installs it
Sources
- Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, St. Lucie West Annex Courthouse — read October 15, 2026
- Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, St. Lucie County Courthouse – Main — read October 15, 2026
- Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Criminal Division — read October 15, 2026
- Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Administrative Order 2026-02, 2026 Local Bond Schedule (PDF) — read October 15, 2026
- Supreme Court of Florida, AOSC25-69, Uniform Statewide Bond Schedule (Exhibit A to AO 2026-02, PDF) — read October 15, 2026
- Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Administrative Order 2026-08, Required First Appearance Documentation (PDF) — read October 15, 2026
- Office of the State Attorney, 19th Circuit, criminal justice process — read October 15, 2026
- Fla. Stat. § 316.193(2)(b), (3) (felony DUI) — read October 15, 2026
- Fla. Stat. § 316.193(1)(b)–(c) and the rest of the Florida statutes cited on this page — read in force 2026
Court addresses, hours and phone numbers were read from each court’s or office’s own published page on October 15, 2026. Those change without notice; confirm before you rely on them. No judge is named anywhere on this page, because a roster is exactly the kind of detail that goes stale silently.