Will You Go to Jail for a First DUI in Arizona?

Will you go to jail for a first DUI in Arizona?

Almost certainly some, yes. Arizona requires jail on every DUI conviction, including a first, and a standard first offense carries a minimum of 10 consecutive days. The judge may suspend all but one of those days if you complete a court ordered screening, education, or treatment program. One day is the practical floor, not zero.

This surprises people, and it is the part worth understanding before anything else. Arizona did not leave first-offense jail to a judge's discretion the way many states do. The statute writes the minimum in, then writes one narrow exception to it, and the exception is permissive rather than automatic.

How much jail time does Arizona require?

Blood alcohol concentration sets the tier, and the tiers are steep. All three of these are first offenses.

Bottom line: the number that matters is not the headline minimum, it is what is left after a suspension the judge is permitted but not required to grant. On a standard first offense that is one day. At 0.20 or above it is 14 days, and no program completion brings it lower.

Two details in the statutory language do real work here. The minimum days are consecutive, so they cannot be served as a series of weekends unless a program allows it. And the standard DUI statute states that a person is not eligible for probation or suspension of execution of sentence unless the entire sentence is served, with the partial suspension appearing separately as an exception to that rule.

What counts as a first offense?

Arizona looks back 84 months, which is seven years.

Within that window the state counts prior convictions under the standard DUI statute, the extreme DUI statute, the aggravated DUI statute, and equivalent offenses committed in other jurisdictions. A conviction from eight years ago sits outside the window. One from six years ago does not.

Two wrinkles are worth knowing. The aggravated DUI statute says the dates the offenses were committed are the determining factor, regardless of the sequence in which they were committed. And time a person spends incarcerated, or on absconder status while on probation, is excluded when measuring the 84 months, so the clock is not always the calendar.

Can you get a DUI in Arizona without driving?

It is possible, and this is one of the most misunderstood features of Arizona DUI law.

Both the standard and the extreme statutes reach a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence. Actual physical control is a separate basis for liability, written into the title of both statutes. It is why the question of what someone was doing in a stationary car comes up so often.

Whether a given set of facts amounts to actual physical control is decided case by case rather than by a bright-line rule in the statute, which is precisely why people in that situation tend to take it to a defense attorney rather than assume the answer either way.

What does a first DUI cost beyond jail?

The fine is the small part. On a standard first offense the statute requires:

• A fine of not less than $250
• An assessment of $500 to the prison construction and operations fund
• An assessment of $500 to the public safety equipment fund, and neither assessment is subject to surcharge
• A certified ignition interlock device on any vehicle the person operates, ordered by the department on report of the conviction, with the court able to extend it beyond twelve months
• Traffic survival school, required by the department
• Community restitution, which the court may order

Extreme DUI raises the money as well as the days. At 0.15 to 0.19 the minimum fine is $250, and at 0.20 or above it is $500, in both cases alongside an additional $250 assessment to the DUI abatement fund and two further assessments of $1,000 each.

None of that includes what people actually spend: towing, the interlock's installation and monthly leasing costs, higher insurance, lost work, and, if they hire one, an attorney. Arizona publishes the statutory amounts. It does not publish the real total, and any figure you see for that is an estimate.

What happens to your driver license?

Separately, and often faster than the criminal case.

Arizona's implied consent law treats driving as consent to testing. Two different consequences follow:

• If you take the test and the result is over the limit, the license or permit is suspended or denied for not less than 90 consecutive days.
• If you refuse, the driver is to be informed that the license or permit will be suspended or denied for 12 months, or two years for a second or subsequent refusal within 84 months.

The deadline that catches people is procedural. When the department sends the notice, it must state that the suspension takes effect 30 days after the notice is issued, and that a hearing will be provided if the person requests one in writing or online within 30 days of the notice date. Miss that window and the order of suspension becomes final.

That clock runs on its own. It does not wait for the criminal case, and winning or resolving the criminal case later does not retroactively create a hearing right that expired.

When does a DUI become a felony in Arizona?

Only in defined situations, none of which is simply having a high reading.

A DUI is aggravated, and therefore a felony, when a person commits one of the DUI offenses and any of the following is true:

1. Their license or privilege to drive is suspended, cancelled, revoked, or refused, or restricted as a result of an earlier DUI
2. It is a third or subsequent violation within 84 months
3. A person under fifteen years of age is in the vehicle
4. They are required to have an ignition interlock at the time
5. They are driving the wrong way on a highway

The grades differ. Aggravated DUI under grounds 1, 2, 4, and 5 is a class 4 felony. The child-passenger ground is a class 6 felony. For several of these, the statute states the person is not eligible for probation, pardon, commutation, suspension of sentence, or release on any other basis until they have served not less than four months in prison.

The first ground is the one that turns an ordinary case serious without anyone intending it. Someone whose license was already suspended, including for an earlier DUI, is not looking at a misdemeanor.

Do you need a lawyer for a first DUI?

A first DUI is a criminal charge with mandatory jail attached, a license consequence on a 30 day fuse, and a record that counts against you for the next seven years. Most people facing one consult a criminal defense attorney, and the reasons are structural rather than about how strong any individual case is.

The statutes above describe what happens on conviction. They say nothing about whether the stop was lawful, whether the testing was done correctly, whether actual physical control is even established on the facts, or what a prosecutor might agree to. Those are the questions that determine which tier someone ends up in, and they are not answerable from a statute book.

Two practical notes. The 30 day window to request a license hearing runs from the notice, not from your court date, so it can expire while someone is still waiting for the criminal case to begin. And if cost is the barrier, a defendant who cannot afford counsel in a criminal case may be entitled to appointed counsel, which is a different route from the private hiring covered in our guide to finding and vetting a lawyer.

Nothing here predicts what will happen in a particular case. Sentencing turns on the charge that survives, the tier, the record, and the court, and that is the work an attorney does.

Frequently asked questions

Is jail mandatory for a first DUI in Arizona?

Yes. Arizona law says a person convicted of driving under the influence shall be sentenced to serve not less than ten consecutive days in jail and is not eligible for probation or suspension of execution of sentence unless the entire sentence is served. A separate subsection lets the judge suspend all but one day if the person completes a court ordered screening, education, psychotherapy, or treatment program, so the practical floor for a standard first offense is one day rather than ten. That suspension is discretionary.

What blood alcohol level counts as extreme DUI in Arizona?

Arizona sets two extreme tiers by alcohol concentration within two hours of driving or being in actual physical control. Extreme is 0.15 or more but less than 0.20. Super extreme is 0.20 or more. The ordinary DUI statute applies below that, and the extreme statute carries higher mandatory minimums than a standard first offense.

Is a first DUI a felony in Arizona?

Usually not. A violation of the standard DUI statute and a violation of the extreme DUI statute are each a class 1 misdemeanor. A DUI becomes aggravated, and therefore a felony, only in defined circumstances, such as driving on a suspended, revoked, cancelled, or refused license, a third violation within 84 months, having a passenger under fifteen years of age, being required to use an ignition interlock at the time, or driving the wrong way on a highway.

How far back does Arizona look when deciding if a DUI is a repeat offense?

Eighty-four months, which is seven years. Arizona counts prior violations of its DUI statutes, and equivalent offenses from other states, within that window. The statute says the dates the offenses were committed are what matter, regardless of the order in which they were committed, and time spent incarcerated or on absconder status is excluded when measuring the period.

Can you be charged with DUI in Arizona while parked or asleep in your car?

It is possible. The Arizona statutes reach driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence, and actual physical control is a separate basis for liability from driving. Whether a particular set of facts amounts to actual physical control is decided case by case, so this is a question people in that situation commonly take to a defense attorney.

How long do you have to challenge a license suspension after a DUI arrest in Arizona?

Thirty days. When the department sends notice, it must tell the person that the suspension takes effect thirty days after the notice is issued and that a hearing will be provided if a written or online request is received within thirty days after the date of the notice. If no request arrives in that window, the order of suspension becomes final. This deadline runs independently of the criminal case.

Does refusing a breath test in Arizona help you?

It carries its own penalty. Under Arizona's implied consent law, a driver who refuses testing is to be informed that their license or permit will be suspended or denied for twelve months, or for two years for a second or subsequent refusal within eighty-four months. That administrative suspension is separate from whatever happens in the criminal case.

Sources

• A.R.S. 28-1381, driving or actual physical control while under the influence · Arizona State Legislature · checked 2026-08-10
• A.R.S. 28-1382, driving under the extreme influence of intoxicating liquor · Arizona State Legislature · checked 2026-08-10
• A.R.S. 28-1383, aggravated driving or actual physical control while under the influence · Arizona State Legislature · checked 2026-08-10
• A.R.S. 28-1321, implied consent; refusal to submit to test; order of suspension · Arizona State Legislature · checked 2026-08-10

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