California DUI Laws: The Complete 2027 Guide

California DUI Law Runs on Two Tracks

This is the single most important thing to understand, and the thing most websites blur: a California DUI sets off two independent proceedings at once. The DMV acts on your driving privilege through an administrative process; the court decides your criminal case. They have different judges, different standards of proof, different deadlines — and resolving one does not automatically resolve the other.

A conviction reduction in court — for example, a DUI pled down to a wet reckless — does not undo the APS suspension. The DMV’s decision stands on its own record. And because the tracks are independent, you must fight or resolve both: the hearing request goes to a Driver Safety Office, while the criminal case goes through the county courthouse.

BAC Limits in California

California’s “per se” DUI law (CVC §23152(b)) makes it a crime to drive with a blood alcohol concentration at or above the legal limit — no proof of bad driving required. The limit depends on who you are:

Note that California also punishes impairment itself: under CVC §23152(a) you can be charged for driving under the influence of alcohol even below 0.08% if the officer can show you were impaired — and under §23152(f) for driving under the influence of drugs, including prescription and over-the-counter medication. The law makes no distinction between illegal drugs and medicine from a doctor or pharmacy.

The APS Timeline: What Happens After a DUI Arrest

The DMV’s Administrative Per Se action starts the moment you’re arrested — not when you’re convicted. Here is the sequence, step by step:

One thing the DMV will not do at the hearing: “A request for a restricted license cannot be considered at the DMV hearing.” That request goes through a separate process.

First DUI: Is the Suspension 4 Months or 6 Months?

This is the most-asked suspension question in California — and the answer is both, depending on which track you mean:

• DMV (APS) track: 4 months for a first offense at 21+ with a 0.08%+ test result. This starts ~30 days after the arrest, regardless of the court case.
• Court track: 6 months (CVC §13352(a)(1)) — 10 months if your BAC was above 0.20%. This starts at conviction.
• Together: the DMV’s official flyer says the conviction-based suspension “may run concurrently” with the APS suspension. In practice the APS days count toward the court suspension, so the total is roughly the longer of the two (about 6 months) — not 4 + 6 stacked. Keep the DMV’s “may” wording: concurrency is credited, not guaranteed.

The same two-track logic explains why a case that ends well in court can still leave you suspended: if the DMV already upheld the APS action and the court outcome isn’t the equivalent of an acquittal, the DMV suspension stands.

First-Offense DUI Penalties (Current Law)

A first DUI without injury and without prior DUIs in the last 10 years is a misdemeanor under CVC §23152 / §23536. The statutory ranges:

Jail time on a first offense is usually served as the 96-hour minimum or converted to alternative sentencing at the court’s discretion — but the 6-month maximum is real, and judges use more of it when the facts are bad (high BAC, accident, child in the car).

Second, Third, and Fourth DUI: The Ladder (and What Changes in 2027)

California counts priors on a 10-year lookback from conviction date. Here is the ladder as it stands today, with what the 2026 legislation changes on January 1, 2027:

DUI school gets longer up the ladder too: an 18-month or 30-month program for a second offense, and a 30-month program for third and subsequent offenses. And a note many law-firm pages get wrong: some still claim a third DUI brings automatic felony charges — under current law it was a misdemeanor, and from 2027 it becomes a wobbler (prosecutor’s choice), not an automatic felony.

For the full breakdown of the new felony ladder, see our repeat DUI guide (publishing shortly) and the Braun’s Law guide.

Perspective: the DMV’s 32nd DUI Management Information System report counted 110,017 DUI arrests in 2021; of 2020 convictions, 74.7% were first-time offenders, 19.2% second-time, 4.6% third-time, and 1.4% fourth-or-subsequent.

Wet Reckless: The Common Plea-Down

Many first-time DUI cases don’t end as DUIs at all — they’re negotiated down to “wet reckless” (CVC §23103.5, reckless driving involving alcohol). It’s still a misdemeanor and still priorable for 10 years, but the penalties are lighter:

• Jail: 5–90 days county jail (rarely imposed on a first offense; usually probation)
• Fine: $145–$1,000 base, plus assessments (real-world totals roughly $700–$4,500, county-dependent)
• Program: ~12-hour alcohol program instead of the 3-month DUI school
• License: no court suspension — but legal sources typically report 2 DMV points, and the APS 4-month suspension can still apply if your BAC was 0.08%+ or you refused
• Probation: up to 3 years (commonly 1–2)

Refusing the Chemical Test

California’s implied-consent law means that by driving here, you’ve agreed to submit to a chemical test if lawfully arrested for DUI. Refusing — or failing to complete — the test triggers a separate, harsher APS ladder, and it does not help your criminal case the way people hope:

Refusal also upgrades your DUI school to the 9-month / 60-hour program on conviction, and prosecutors routinely argue refusal as consciousness of guilt. The 10-day hearing deadline applies to refusals exactly the same way — and at a refusal hearing the DMV adds a fourth issue: whether you were properly told that refusal would suspend or revoke your license.

Under 21: Three Different Rules

Drivers under 21 face a triple tier — and competitors routinely compress it into one line. Here’s the actual structure:

• 0.01%+ (CVC §23136, “zero tolerance”): any measurable alcohol — 1-year DMV suspension. Not a crime; an administrative action.
• 0.05%–0.079% (CVC §23140): an infraction — 1-year suspension, $100 fine, and a 3-month alcohol program if you’re 18 or older.
• 0.08%+: charged as a standard adult DUI (misdemeanor) with the full first-offense penalty range.

Refusal under 21: 1-year suspension for a first refusal, 2-year revocation for a second, 3-year revocation for a third or more. Reissue after a zero-tolerance suspension costs $100 instead of the adult $125.

California’s New DUI Laws: The 2026 Package (Honest Dates)

On September 25, 2026, the Governor signed a four-bill DUI package — the biggest change to California DUI law in years. The single most confusing thing about it is the timing: half takes effect in 2027, half waits until 2031. Here is the confusion-killer table:

SB 907 — Braun’s Law (operative Jan 1, 2027)

Named in the statute itself (new CVC §23635(a)), Braun’s Law closes a paperwork hole: the Watson murder advisement used to be keyed to DUI convictions, so a DUI pled down to wet reckless never generated the on-the-record warning. From 2027, whenever a DUI charge is pled down to a lesser or different offense, the court must give the advisement: “You are hereby advised that being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or both, impairs your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle… If you continue to drive while under the influence… and, as a result of that driving, someone is killed, you can be charged with murder.” It also rewrites hit-and-run tiers: with a qualifying prior DUI/reckless/manslaughter conviction within 10 years, an injury hit-and-run becomes state prison 2/3/4 years, and a death-or-permanent-serious-injury hit-and-run becomes state prison 3/4/5 years and a $1,000–$10,000 fine. Full chaptered-text detail: Braun’s Law (SB 907) guide.

AB 1546 — the felony ladder (core operative Jan 1, 2027)

The bill that ends the old “4th = felony” shorthand: a 3rd DUI in 10 years becomes a wobbler (misdemeanor or felony, prosecutor’s choice); a 4th stays a wobbler (clarified to exactly 3 priors); and a new 5th tier — DUI with 4+ priors in 10 years — is a straight felony with no misdemeanor option. Conforming changes: the child-in-the-car add-ons remap (48 hours / 10 days / 30 days / 90 days by offense number) and a felony DUI now disqualifies the 20% good-driver insurance discount. What AB 1546 does not do: it contains no IID mandate and no revocation-period changes — claims to the contrary come from committee-era coverage of provisions that never made the chaptered text.

AB 1685 — the points change (operative Jan 1, 2031)

Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated with gross negligence (Penal Code §191.5(a)) goes from 2 to 3 DMV violation points, with 10-year disclosure of the conviction/accident abstracts. Ordinary DUI and DUI-causing-injury stay at 2 points. Deep dive: California point system (publishing shortly).

AB 1687 — Irene’s Law (operative Jan 1, 2031)

New CVC §13352.7: an injury-DUI (CVC §23153) within 10 years of 4 or more prior DUI convictions triggers a 72-month DMV revocation. Full reinstatement waits the full 72 months; a restricted license is possible after 12 months with a mandatory 72-month certified IID; reinstatement requires proof of insurance and a 30-month DUI program (18-month where none is offered in the county). Older drafts of this bill described an 8-year revocation with 3+ priors — the chaptered text says 72 months / 4+ priors; sources repeating “eight years” are stale. Deep dive: Irene’s Law guide.

What the package does NOT change

• First and second DUI penalties are untouched.
• Plea bargaining still exists — Braun’s Law adds the warning to the plea; it does not ban pleas.
• Ordinary DUI stays at 2 DMV points — only PC §191.5(a) moves to 3, in 2031.
• No new IID or revocation periods in AB 1546.
• The 3-year-per-prior enhancement never became law — it was dropped before passage.
• Not retroactive: offenses are judged under the law in effect on the offense date. Talk to a lawyer about how a pending case is affected.
• Braun’s Law is not third-DUI-felony law — that’s AB 1546. And the Watson advisement is not a murder conviction — it’s the warning that makes a future Watson-murder prosecution possible.

Ignition Interlock Devices & Restricted Licenses

An ignition interlock device (IID) is a breathalyzer wired to your car’s ignition — the car won’t start unless you blow under the limit. In California, the IID is both a punishment and a path back to driving:

• During an APS suspension, a first offender can get an IID-restricted license immediately under CVC §13353.6 — no 30-day hard-suspension wait. You can drive anywhere, as long as the vehicle has a certified IID installed. The alternative: wait 30 days, then apply for a restricted license limited to driving to/from work and the DUI program.
• Requirements: enrollment in a DUI program + SR-22 insurance filing + IID installation verified on form DL 920 + the reissue fee.
• Second DUI in 10 years: after 1 year of suspension, you can apply for a restricted license (to/from the alcohol program and work) with program enrollment, insurance proof, and a $100 reissue fee.
• Third or subsequent DUI in 10 years: the DMV says you are not entitled to apply for any type of restricted license.
• CDL holders: must downgrade to a Class C license for a restricted license.
• Costs: legal sources report roughly $50–$170 for installation and $60–$120/month for the lease and calibration — totals vary widely by vendor and county, so treat any single figure as a rough estimate.

The IID-restricted path during APS suspensions remains operative under current law. Full detail on devices, vendors, and costs: ignition interlock guide and restricted license guide (publishing shortly).

Getting Your License Back: The Reinstatement Path

Reinstatement after a DUI suspension is a checklist, not a waiting game. The DMV will not hand your license back automatically when the suspension period ends — you must complete every step:

What that misdemeanor actually costs depends on why you were suspended: our driving on a suspended license guide gives the cause-by-cause penalty table, the 30-day impound rule, and the knowledge rule.

Step-by-step forms, office visits, and timelines: suspended license reinstatement guide (publishing shortly) and our SR-22 California guide.

Mistakes That Cost People Their Licenses

These come straight from the questions real drivers ask attorneys after a DUI arrest — and from what the DMV’s own rules punish:

• Missing the 10-day hearing deadline. The single most common and most expensive mistake. The pink order looks like a temporary license (it is), so people file it away — and the suspension takes effect by default. Request the hearing through a Driver Safety Office within 10 calendar days, even if you plan to hire a lawyer later.
• Assuming the court case controls everything. Getting the criminal charge reduced or dismissed does not automatically undo the APS suspension. Handle the DMV track separately. See the dismissed-case fork: what a DUI dismissal does — and does not do — at the DMV.
• Refusing the test to “protect” the case. Refusal buys you a longer DMV suspension (1–3 years), a longer DUI school, and a prosecutor who will argue consciousness of guilt.
• Driving before the DMV reissues your license. The suspension ending and your license being reissued are two different events. Driving in between is a misdemeanor (CVC §§14601–14601.5).
• Letting the SR-22 lapse. Three years means three continuous years. A cancelled policy can trigger a fresh suspension.
• Trusting stale penalty tables. Many ranked pages still say a third DUI is a misdemeanor-only or that a fourth is the automatic felony — both are superseded by AB 1546 from January 1, 2027. Check the date on anything you read.
• Ignoring the under-21 rules. At 0.01% there is no “I felt fine” defense — any measurable alcohol means a 1-year suspension.

Related Guides

Last verified against dmv.ca.gov and leginfo.legislature.ca.gov: October 23, 2026. Laws change — confirm current law on the California Legislative Information site or with a California criminal defense lawyer before acting.