Legal BAC Limits By State

Legal BAC Limits By State

DUI/DWI LAWS

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have per se laws defining it as a crime to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above a proscribed level, 0.08 percent.

License suspension or revocation traditionally follows conviction for alcohol-impaired driving. Under a procedure called administrative license suspension, licenses are taken before conviction when a driver fails or refuses to take a chemical test. Because administrative license suspension laws are independent of criminal procedures and are invoked right after arrest, they've been found to be more effective than traditional post-conviction sanctions. Forty-one states and the District of Columbia have administrative license suspension laws.

Forty-five states permit some offenders to drive only if their vehicles have been equipped with ignition interlocks. These devices analyze a driver's breath and disable the ignition if the driver has been drinking.

In 30 states, multiple offenders may forfeit vehicles that are driven while impaired by alcohol.

Forty-three states and Washington D.C. have laws prohibiting the driver, passengers or both from possessing an open container of alcohol in the passenger compartment of a vehicle.

State BAC Defined as illegal per se Administrative license suspension 1st offense?¹ Restore driving privileges during suspension?^1,2 Do penalties include interlock/forfeiture?³ Open container laws

Alabama 0.08 90 days no no/no driver/passenger

Alaska 0.08 90 days after 30 days yes/yes driver

Arizona 0.08 90 days after 30 days yes/yes driver/passenger

Arkansas 0.08 120 days yes yes/yes --

California 0.08 4 months after 30 days yes/yes
driver/passenger

Colorado 0.08 3 months yes yes/no --

Connecticut 0.08 90 days yes no/no --

Delaware 0.08 3 months no yes/no --

District of Columbia 0.08 2-90 days yes yes/no driver/passenger

Florida 0.08 6 months after 30 days yes/yes driver/passenger

State BAC Defined as illegal per se Administrative license suspension 1st offense?¹ Restore driving privileges during suspension?^1,2 Do penalties include interlock/forfeiture?³ Open container laws

Georgia 0.08 1 year yes yes/yes driver/passenger

Hawaii 0.08 3 months after 30 days yes/no driver/passenger

Idaho 0.08 90 days after 30 days yes/no driver/passenger

Illinois 0.08 3 months after 30 days yes/yes driver/passenger

Indiana 0.08 180 days after 30 days
yes/no

driver⁴

Iowa 0.08 180 days after 90 days yes/no driver/passenger

Kansas 0.08 30 days no yes/no driver

Kentucky 0.08 -- -- yes/yes driver/passenger

Louisiana 0.08 90 days after 30 days yes/yes driver/passenger

Maine 0.08 90 days yes yes/yes driver/passenger

State BAC Defined as illegal per se Administrative license suspension 1st offense?¹ Restore driving privileges during suspension?^1,2 Do penalties include interlock/forfeiture?³ Open container laws

Maryland 0.08 45 days yes yes/no driver/passenger

Massachusetts 0.08 90 days no no/no driver/passenger

Michigan 0.08⁵ -- -- yes/yes driver/passenger

Minnesota 0.08
(eff. 08/01/05) 90 days after 15 days yes/yes driver/passenger

Mississippi 0.08 90 days no yes/yes
--

Missouri 0.08 30 days no yes/yes --

Montana 0.08 -- -- yes/yes driver/passenger

Nebraska 0.08 90 days after 30 days yes/no driver/passenger

Nevada 0.08 90 days after 45 days yes/no driver/passenger

New Hampshire 0.08 6 months no yes/no driver/passenger

State BAC Defined as illegal per se Administrative license suspension 1st offense?¹ Restore driving privileges during suspension?^1,2 Do penalties include interlock/forfeiture?³ Open container laws

New Jersey 0.08 -- -- yes/no driver/passenger

New Mexico 0.08 90 days after 30 days yes/no driver/passenger

New York 0.08 variable⁶ yes yes/yes driver/passenger

North Carolina 0.08 30 days after 10 days yes/yes driver/passenger

North Dakota 0.08 91 days after 30 days yes/yes
driver/passenger

Ohio 0.08 90 days after 15 days yes/yes driver/passenger

Oklahoma 0.08 180 days yes yes/yes driver

Oregon 0.08 90 days after 30 days yes/yes driver/passenger

Pennsylvania 0.08 -- -- yes/yes driver/passenger

Rhode Island 0.08 -- -- yes/yes driver

State BAC Defined as illegal per se Administrative license suspension 1st offense?¹ Restore driving privileges during suspension?^1,2 Do penalties include interlock/forfeiture?³ Open container laws

South Carolina 0.08 -- -- yes/yes driver/passenger

South Dakota 0.08 -- -- no/no driver/passenger

Tennessee 0.08 -- -- yes/yes driver⁷

Texas 0.08 90 days yes yes/yes driver/passenger

Utah 0.08 90 days no yes/no
driver/passenger

Vermont 0.08 90 days no no/yes driver/passenger

Virginia 0.08 7 days no yes/yes

Washington 0.08 90 days after 30 days yes/yes driver/passenger

West Virginia 0.08 6 months after 30 days yes/no --

Wisconsin 0.08 6 months yes yes/yes driver/passenger

Wyoming 0.08 90 days yes no/no driver

¹Information pertains to drivers in violation of the BAC defined as illegal per se for all drivers, not the special BAC for young drivers.

²Drivers usually must demonstrate special hardship to justify restoring privileges during suspension, and then privileges often are restricted.

³A multiple offender's vehicle may be seized and disposed.

⁴In Indiana, the open container restriction only applies if the driver has a BAC of 0.04.

⁵The 0.08 per se BAC law in Michgan contains a sunset clause which states that the legal BAC will revert to 0.10 on October 1, 2013.

⁶In New York, administrative license suspension lasts until prosecution is complete.

⁷In Tennessee, the open container law does not prohibit any municipality, by ordinance, or any county, by resolution, from prohibiting passengers from possessing an open container.

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