DUI Laws in Oregon (DUII)
Oregon uses the term "DUII" for impaired driving offenses. The standard BAC limit is 0.08%. The lookback period is Felony DUII: prior convictions within 10 years (ORS 813.011). Class C felony if at least two times in the 10 years before the current offense the defendant has been convicted of DUII. Below are the full details of Oregon's DUI laws and penalties.
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Overview
Oregon uses the term DUII — Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants — which covers alcohol, controlled substances, inhalants, and any combination thereof. Oregon employs a unique 'diversion' program that is one of the most accessible in the nation, allowing eligible defendants to avoid a criminal conviction entirely. A prior felony DUII conviction makes every subsequent DUII a felony for life, and a third DUII conviction — at any point in a driver's life — triggers permanent license revocation. Oregon's Measure 73 (2010) established a mandatory minimum sentence for felony DUII, and a BAC of 0.15% raises the minimum fine from $1,000 to $2,000.
Official term: DUII
BAC Limits
| Driver Type | BAC Limit |
|---|---|
| Standard (21+) | 0.08% |
| Commercial (CDL) | 0.04% |
| Under 21 | 0.00% (any amount) |
| Enhanced Penalty | 0.15% |
Penalties by Offense
| Offense | Classification | Jail Time | Fines | License Suspension | IID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Offense | Class A misdemeanor | Up to 1 year. Every DUII conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 48 consecutive hours of imprisonment or 80 hours of community service (ORS 813.020(2)), which the court must impose and cannot suspend. A BAC of 0.15%+ does not change the jail minimum — it raises the minimum fine. | $1,000 minimum; up to $6,250. $2,000 minimum if BAC ≥ 0.15%. If there was a passenger under 18 at least three years younger than the driver, the maximum fine rises to $10,000 (ORS 813.010(7)). | 1-year DMV suspension upon conviction (ORS 813.400; ORS 809.428 Schedule II). A failed breath test also triggers a 90-day implied-consent suspension, effective the 30th day after arrest (the license is confiscated at arrest and a temporary permit issued; ORS 813.410). A hardship permit is available after 30 days with an IID. | Required for hardship permit during suspension; 1 year after reinstatement |
| 2nd Offense | Class A misdemeanor | Up to 1 year, with the same mandatory minimum as any DUII conviction — 48 consecutive hours of imprisonment or 80 hours of community service (ORS 813.020(2)). Typical county sentences range from 10 to 60 days. | $1,500 minimum; up to $6,250 | 3-year DMV suspension if you had a prior DUII conviction within the preceding 5 years (ORS 809.428; State v. Oeleis), otherwise 1 year — and no hardship permit is available for the 3-year second-offense suspension (ORS 807.240(8)(d)) | Required for any hardship permit (when available) and for 2 years after the suspension ends (ORS 813.602(1)(c)) |
| 3rd Offense | Class C felony (if at least two prior DUII-type convictions — Oregon or out-of-state counterparts — occurred within the 10 years before the current offense; ORS 813.011(1). Diversions do not count) | 90 days mandatory minimum; up to 5 years in state prison | $2,000 minimum; up to $125,000 (felony fine schedule) | Permanent revocation (may apply for reinstatement after 10 years) | Required for any future driving privileges; may be required indefinitely |
| Felony | Class C felony | 90 days mandatory minimum; up to 5 years in state prison. Measure 73 mandates 90-day minimum for felony DUII. | $2,000 minimum; up to $125,000 | Permanent revocation. May petition for reinstatement after 10 years with IID requirement. | Required indefinitely upon any future license reinstatement |
Felony threshold: Class C felony if at least two times in the 10 years before the current offense the defendant has been convicted of DUII, its statutory counterpart in another jurisdiction, or a foreign impaired-driving/BAC-limit offense (ORS 813.011(1)); ORS 813.010(5) separately makes DUII a felony with at least three such convictions within 10 years. Once a person has been sentenced for felony DUII, any subsequent DUII is a Class C felony regardless of how much time passes (ORS 813.011(2)). Diversions are not convictions and do not count.. Lookback period: Felony DUII: prior convictions within 10 years (ORS 813.011) — and for life once a felony DUII sentence has been imposed. DMV consequences: second conviction within 5 years brings a 3-year suspension (ORS 809.428); a third conviction at any time brings permanent revocation (ORS 809.235). Diversions are not convictions for these counts..
Additional Penalty Details
| Offense | Community Service | Probation | DUI School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Offense | 80 hours minimum if no jail imposed; may be ordered in addition to jail | Up to 5 years (bench probation); conditions include substance abuse treatment and abstinence monitoring | Mandatory screening and completion of an alcohol/drug treatment program recommended by a certified evaluator |
| 2nd Offense | 80 hours is the statutory alternative to the 48-hour jail minimum; more may be ordered at court discretion | Up to 5 years supervised; intensive conditions including frequent testing | Full substance abuse evaluation and mandatory completion of recommended treatment program, which may include residential treatment |
| 3rd Offense | May be ordered as part of probation conditions | Up to 5 years post-prison supervision; intensive supervision with strict conditions | Full substance abuse evaluation and mandatory completion of intensive treatment; residential/inpatient treatment commonly required |
| Felony | May be ordered as probation condition | Up to 5 years post-prison supervision; intensive supervision with residential treatment, random testing, and abstinence monitoring | Mandatory intensive substance abuse treatment; residential/inpatient treatment typically required as condition of probation or post-prison supervision |
Implied Consent Law
Under ORS § 813.100, any person operating a motor vehicle in Oregon is deemed to have consented to a chemical test of breath or blood when an officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person is DUII; ORS § 813.131 adds implied consent to a urine test when drugs are suspected. The officer must inform the driver of the consequences of refusal, and the license is confiscated on the spot with a temporary permit issued until the suspension begins on the 30th day after arrest.
Refusal penalties: Refusal: 1-year license suspension, or 3 years if within the 5 years before the arrest there was any implied-consent suspension, a DUII conviction, or participation in a diversion/rehab program (ORS 813.420 and 813.430). Refusal is also itself a specific-fine traffic violation (presumptive fine $650, ORS 813.095) and is admissible as evidence at the DUII trial (ORS 813.310). No hardship permit is available for at least 90 days after a refusal — possibly for the full 3 years (ORS 813.130(3)(d)). A refused suspension runs alongside, not instead of, any court suspension from a conviction — many defendants have multiple suspensions running at the same time (Oregon State Bar).
Aggravating Factors
| Factor | Impact |
|---|---|
| BAC of 0.15% or higher | Raises the minimum fine from $1,000 to $2,000 (ORS 813.010(6)(e)); the 48-hour jail / 80-hour community-service minimum applies to every DUII conviction regardless of BAC |
| Passenger under 18 in vehicle | If the passenger is under 18 and at least three years younger than the driver, the maximum fine rises to $10,000 (ORS 813.010(7)); it is a factor a court weighs against diversion (ORS 813.220(5)) and separate child-endangerment charges are possible |
| Excessive speed (30+ mph over limit) while DUII | No specific statutory speed-based DUII enhancement in Oregon, but it can support a separate reckless driving charge and is weighed in sentencing and in the court's diversion decision |
| Prior DUII convictions (10-year felony window; lifetime consequences after) | Two convictions within the prior 10 years make a new DUII a Class C felony with a 90-day mandatory minimum (ORS 813.011); after a felony DUII sentence, every future DUII is a felony for life; a third conviction at any time triggers permanent revocation (ORS 809.235). Diversions count toward implied-consent suspension enhancements (ORS 813.430), not toward felony status. |
| Driving on a DUII-suspended license | Driving while suspended after a DUII suspension is a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to 1 year in jail and an additional suspension period on conviction |
DUI with Injury
Classification: Class A or Class B felony (assault/homicide charges arising from the DUII)
DUII causing serious physical injury is charged as assault in the second degree (Class B felony, up to 10 years) or assault in the first degree (Class A felony, up to 20 years). DUII causing death is charged as manslaughter in the second degree (a Class A felony, up to 20 years), manslaughter in the first degree (Class A), or criminally negligent homicide (Class B). Measure 11 mandatory minimums apply: 120 months for manslaughter I, 75 months for manslaughter II, 90 months for assault I, and 70 months for assault II (ORS 137.700). With a prior DUII-related conviction, a death case can be charged as aggravated vehicular homicide (ORS 163.149), a Measure 11 offense with a 10-year mandatory minimum.
Underage DUI
Oregon has a strict zero-tolerance law for drivers under 21. Any detectable amount of alcohol (0.01% or more by BAC) results in a one-year administrative license suspension. This is a civil/administrative penalty, not criminal. If the underage driver's BAC is 0.08% or above, full criminal DUII charges apply with the same penalties as adult offenders.
Diversion Programs
Program: DUII Diversion Program
Oregon's DUII Diversion Program (ORS § 813.200) is one of the most comprehensive in the nation. Eligible first-time offenders can petition for diversion, which requires completion of a substance abuse treatment program, victim impact panel attendance, an IID for 1 year, abstinence from alcohol/drugs, and payment of approximately $1,000–$2,000 in fees. The program lasts 1 year, and upon successful completion, the DUII charge is dismissed. A diversion completion is not a conviction and does not count toward felony DUII status, but it counts against you for implied-consent suspension enhancements (ORS 813.430) and for diversion eligibility in the future.
Eligibility: Available to defendants who (ORS 813.215(1)) have no other pending DUII-type charge; have had no DUII-type conviction within the 15 years before the current offense; have never been convicted of felony DUII; have not participated in any DUII diversion or similar alcohol/drug rehabilitation program within the prior 15 years; have no pending or 15-year conviction for vehicular homicide, murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, or assault arising from vehicle operation; did not hold commercial driving privileges and were not driving a commercial vehicle at the time; and whose offense did not involve a crash causing death or physical injury to anyone else. The petition must be filed within 30 days after the first court appearance (ORS 813.210). A second diversion is possible under ORS 813.215(4) if all conditions are met and there is no other motor-vehicle criminal conviction within 15 years.
How Long a DUI Stays on Your Record
A DUII conviction remains on your Oregon driving record and criminal record permanently. Oregon counts all prior DUII convictions and diversion completions for life when determining repeat offender status. A DUII diversion completion (dismissed charge) also remains visible on court records. Oregon law does not currently allow expungement of DUII convictions. Diversion completions may be eligible for expungement after the statutory waiting period, but the DMV record of the diversion remains.
Key Statutes
- ORS § 813.010
- Driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII); prohibited conduct and BAC levels
- ORS § 813.011
- DUII penalties; mandatory minimums; felony DUII classification
- ORS § 813.100
- Implied consent to breath or blood test; officer obligations and driver rights
- ORS § 813.200–813.270
- DUII Diversion Program; eligibility, requirements, completion, and revocation procedures
- ORS § 813.400–813.410
- Administrative license suspension for DUII arrest; implied consent refusal penalties
Frequently Asked Questions
What does DUII mean in Oregon?
What is the penalty for a first DUII in Oregon?
How does Oregon's DUII diversion program work?
When does a DUII become a felony in Oregon?
How long does a DUII stay on your record in Oregon?
What happens if you refuse a breathalyzer in Oregon?
Can I get a hardship permit after a DUII in Oregon?
Does marijuana DUII have the same penalties as alcohol DUII in Oregon?
Related Guide
DUI license recovery in Oregon→Step-by-step guide to getting your license back after a DUI in Oregon — suspension periods, IID requirements, SR-22 insurance, reinstatement fees, and process.
Take Action — Direct Links
- Oregon DMV — DUII & Implied Consent
Official Oregon DMV page on DUII-related license suspensions, reinstatement requirements, and hardship permits
- Oregon Revised Statutes — Chapter 813 (DUII)
Full text of Oregon DUII statutes including penalties, implied consent, diversion program, and license suspension provisions
- Oregon Judicial Department — DUII Diversion Program
Court information on DUII diversion eligibility, requirements, and local court procedures
- Oregon DUII Multi-Agency Information System
ODOT safety resource with information on Oregon's impaired driving laws, statistics, and prevention programs
- Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service
Find a qualified DUII defense attorney through the Oregon State Bar's lawyer referral service
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