Is a DUI a Felony? When DUI Becomes a Felony by State (2026)

Is a DUI a felony? In every U.S. state and the District of Columbia, a first-offense DUI with no injuries and no child passenger is a misdemeanor, not a felony. DUI becomes a felony only when an aggravating factor is present — usually a prior DUI conviction within the state's lookback window, an injury or death caused by the impaired driving, a child passenger, an extremely high BAC, or a prior felony DUI on the record. The number of priors that triggers felony treatment, the lookback window, the felony class, and the maximum prison term are all set by state statute and vary widely. Use the 50-state table above to find the exact statute, felony trigger, and maximum penalty for your jurisdiction, then talk to a local DUI defense attorney about your specific case. This page is informational only, not legal advice.

In every U.S. state plus DC, a first-offense DUI/DWI/OWI/OVI with no aggravating factors is classified as a misdemeanor (or, in Wisconsin, a civil forfeiture that is not a crime at all, and in New Jersey, a motor-vehicle traffic offense that is not a criminal charge). Typical first-offense penalties include a driver's license suspension of 30 days to one year, a fine of $500 to $2,500, mandatory alcohol education or treatment, probation, and an ignition interlock requirement in the 35+ states with all-offense interlock laws. Jail time is possible — many states impose a short mandatory minimum (24 hours to a few days) — but a first offense rarely results in substantial incarceration absent injury, a child passenger, or an extremely high BAC. The legal BAC limit is 0.08 in every state except Utah, which lowered its per-se limit to 0.05 in 2018. A first offense at 0.08–0.14 is the baseline; a BAC of 0.15 or higher triggers enhanced penalties in most states even though the charge stays a misdemeanor. Commercial drivers face a 0.04 limit, and drivers under 21 face zero-tolerance laws (typically 0.00–0.02).

Five aggravating factors commonly turn a DUI into a felony. (1) Repeat offenses within a state's lookback period — the felony trigger is the 2nd offense in Connecticut, Indiana (within 5 yrs), and Oklahoma (within 10 yrs); the 3rd in Arizona (within 7 yrs), Alaska (within 10 yrs), Florida (within 10 yrs), Idaho (within 10 yrs), New York (DWI 2nd is class E, 3rd is class D), Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and others; the 4th in Alabama (within 5 yrs), California (wobbler within 10 yrs), Georgia (within 10 yrs), Kentucky (within 10 yrs), North Carolina (within 10 yrs), Ohio (within 10 yrs), Washington (within 15 yrs as of 2026), and others; the 5th or 6th in Hawaii, New Mexico, Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota (escalating classes). (2) DUI causing serious bodily injury or death — a felony in every state, charged under a DUI-manslaughter, vehicular-homicide, or intoxication-manslaughter statute (see the next section). (3) Driving impaired with a child passenger — a felony on the first offense in Arizona (ARS § 28-1383(A)(3), passenger under 15), New York under Leandra's Law (VTL § 1192(2)(a)(3), child under 16), Texas (Penal § 49.045, child under 15, state-jail felony), and Indiana (Code § 9-30-5-3(a)(2)(c), occupant under 18, level 6 felony); an enhancement in roughly 40 other states. (4) Extremely high BAC — usually .15 or .16 and above. Illinois escalates a 3rd-offense class 4 felony to a class 2 felony if BAC exceeds .16 (625 ILCS 5/11-501). Idaho makes a 2nd offense a felony if BAC is .20 or higher (Idaho Code § 18-8004C). Pennsylvania's 'highest BAC' tier (.16+) makes a 3rd offense a 3rd-degree felony and a 4th a 2nd-degree felony (75 Pa.C.S. § 3804). New York upgrades vehicular manslaughter from class D to class C when BAC is .18 or higher (Penal § 125.13). (5) A prior felony DUI conviction on the record — in Ohio (RC § 4511.19(G)), Minnesota (§ 169A.27), and Nevada (§ 484C.400), any prior DUI felony makes the next offense a felony regardless of how much time has passed.

DUI that causes death is a felony in every state. The charge is called different things — DUI manslaughter (Florida, § 316.193(3)(c)(3); California, Penal § 191.5), intoxication manslaughter (Texas, Penal § 49.08), vehicular homicide (Colorado § 18-3-106; New Jersey § 2C:11-5; Washington RCW § 46.61.520), homicide by vehicle while DUI (Pennsylvania § 3735), aggravated vehicular homicide (Ohio § 2903.06; Oregon § 163.149), and criminally negligent homicide (Alaska, under § 11.41.130; Arizona, § 13-1102). The maximum prison term ranges from 5 years (Maryland homicide while DUI, Crim. Law § 2-503) to life (Washington class A felony, RCW § 46.61.520; Nevada vehicular homicide with three priors, NRS § 484C.440; Texas intoxication manslaughter with a prior, 5–99 years or life under Penal § 49.09(b-2)). Florida's DUI manslaughter carries a 4-year mandatory minimum (extended to 30 years under Trenton's Law, HB 687, if the driver leaves the scene or has a prior conviction). Texas imposes a 2-year mandatory minimum. Louisiana's vehicular homicide has a 3-year mandatory minimum. DUI causing serious bodily injury short of death is also a felony in most states — Florida (§ 316.193(3)(c)(2), 3rd-degree felony, up to 5 years), California (Vehicle Code § 23153, a wobbler punishable as a felony with 16 months to 4 years, or up to 6 years if multiple victims), Pennsylvania (homicide by vehicle while DUI, 2nd-degree felony, 3–10 years), Ohio (aggravated vehicular assault, RC § 2903.08), and many others. California is unusual in that a DUI causing death can be charged as second-degree murder under People v. Watson (1981) when the defendant has a prior DUI conviction and knowledge of the dangers — carrying 15 years to life.

The lookback period is the window of time a state uses to count prior DUI convictions for enhancement purposes. If a prior falls outside the lookback, the new offense is charged as a first offense. Common lookback periods: 5 years (Alabama, Arkansas for the 1st-offense tier, Guam); 7 years (Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota); 10 years — the most common (Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota for aggravating-factor counting, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York DWI, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming); 12 years (Iowa, Nebraska); 15 years (New York DWI 4th+, North Dakota 4th+, and as of January 1, 2026, Washington — extended from 10 to 15 years under RCW § 46.61.5055). Several states use a lifetime lookback for at least some repeat-offender enhancements: Mississippi (4th offense is an automatic felony regardless of years passed, Miss. Code § 63-11-30), Texas (under the enhanced repeat-offender statute, Penal § 49.09), and Wisconsin (4th offense in a lifetime is a class H felony). Maryland, DC, and New Jersey never make a non-injury DUI a felony regardless of the number of priors. Out-of-state DUI convictions generally count toward the lookback, although a handful of states have specific rules limiting which out-of-state convictions qualify. A prior DUI that has been expunged or vacated typically does not count. Once a prior is itself a felony, the lookback often no longer matters — Ohio (RC § 4511.19(G)), Minnesota (§ 169A.27), and Nevada (§ 484C.400) all make any new DUI a felony if there is any prior DUI felony on the record, regardless of how long ago.

Felony DUI prison sentences range from under a year in county jail (Ohio 4th-degree felony, 6–18 months) to decades or life. Class X felony in Illinois (6th+ DUI, 625 ILCS 5/11-501) carries 6–30 years and the offender must serve 85% of the sentence. Class A felony vehicular homicide in Washington (RCW § 46.61.520) carries life imprisonment with a 31–177 month sentencing-guideline range. Texas intoxication manslaughter with a prior (Penal § 49.09(b-2)) is a 1st-degree felony with 5–99 years or life. Florida DUI manslaughter (§ 316.193(3)(c)(3)) carries up to 15 years with a 4-year mandatory minimum and mandatory lifetime license revocation. Fines typically run $2,000–$15,000, but Utah and Oregon can impose up to $375,000 in vehicular-homicide cases. Driver's license revocation for felony DUI typically runs 1–10 years and is lifetime in some states for vehicular homicide (Florida mandates lifetime revocation on a DUI-manslaughter conviction). Ignition interlock is required after a felony DUI in every state with an all-offense or repeat-offense interlock law — roughly 35 states — typically for 1–5 years. Restitution to victims is mandatory in every state for injury or death cases and can include medical bills, funeral costs, lost wages, and property damage. Probation, community service, mandatory alcohol treatment, and vehicle forfeiture are common. A felony DUI sentence is almost always non-expungeable.

A felony DUI conviction follows you well beyond the criminal sentence. For non-citizens, a felony DUI can be deportable or inadmissible. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA § 101(a)(43)), a DUI that is punishable by a sentence of at least one year can qualify as an 'aggravated felony' — a deportable offense with limited relief. A DUI with injury or death can be a 'crime involving moral turpitude' depending on the statute and the mens rea required. Even a misdemeanor DUI can affect a non-citizen's good-moral-character determination for naturalization (INA § 101(f)). For commercial drivers, a second or felony DUI triggers lifetime CDL disqualification under 49 CFR § 383.51. A first DUI while operating a commercial vehicle triggers a 1-year CDL suspension even if the driver was in a personal vehicle. Federal firearms law (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)) prohibits anyone convicted of a felony from possessing a firearm — this includes a felony DUI. A felony DUI on your criminal record appears on every employment background check, can disqualify you from professional licenses (nursing, teaching, law, medicine, real estate, financial services), can bar you from public housing, can affect child-custody determinations, and can be used to deny credit or insurance. Some states impose additional collateral consequences — Florida imposes lifetime license revocation for DUI manslaughter; California imposes a 5-year IID restriction for repeat offenders; Texas and others impose surcharges or driver-responsibility fees. A felony DUI is generally not expungeable in most states, though a few states allow record-sealing after a long waiting period for certain non-violent felony DUIs.

If you are arrested for or charged with a DUI — especially one that could be charged as a felony — take it seriously from day one. First, do not make statements to the police beyond identifying yourself; invoke your right to counsel. Second, contact a DUI defense attorney licensed in the state where you were charged as soon as possible — DUI laws, lookback periods, and felony triggers are state-specific and change often (Washington's 2026 lookback extension and Florida's Trenton's Law are recent examples). Third, preserve evidence: request a copy of the police report, the breath or blood test results, and any dashboard or body-camera footage; note witnesses. Fourth, do not refuse a chemical test without understanding your state's implied-consent law — refusal can mean an automatic license suspension and, in some states (Florida under Trenton's Law), a separate criminal charge. Fifth, if you are on probation, parole, or immigration status, notify your attorney immediately — a new DUI can trigger a probation or parole hold, an immigration detainer, or revocation of release. Sixth, consider treatment: many states reduce or suspend sentences for defendants who complete alcohol evaluation and treatment before sentencing, and some (Washington, Minnesota) offer deferred-prosecution or treatment-sentencing options for felony DUI. Seventh, if you cannot afford private counsel, request a public defender at your first appearance. Eighth, do not assume your first offense will stay a misdemeanor — a high BAC, a child passenger, an accident, or a prior out-of-state conviction you forgot about can elevate the charge. This page is informational only and is not legal advice; only a lawyer licensed in your state can advise you on your specific case.