A first-offense DUI under Va. Code § 18.2-266 is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

• Up to 12 months in jail and a fine up to $2,500
• Mandatory minimum fine of $250
• Your license is revoked for one year. This is a mandatory revocation, not a discretionary suspension, and not “up to” a year.
• 7-day administrative suspension at the time of arrest
• Mandatory ASAP enrollment
• Ignition interlock required for a restricted license

Mandatory jail based on BAC:

• 0.15 to 0.20: 5 days mandatory minimum
• Above 0.20: 10 days mandatory minimum

Virginia has no first-offender diversion program for DUI. There is no deferred disposition that makes this disappear on completion of a class. ASAP is not an alternative to a conviction. It is a requirement that follows one.

On the license, get the words right, because they mean different things. A suspension ends and your privilege returns. A revocation means the license is gone and you must apply for a new one after the period runs. A first DUI is a one-year revocation.

Yes. The terms are legally identical here and are used interchangeably. Both refer to Va. Code § 18.2-266. There is no separate, lesser “DWI” charge in Virginia, whatever you may have heard in another state.

For the first 7 days, no. An administrative suspension takes effect immediately on arrest.

After that, the answer is more encouraging than most people are told, and it depends on one thing.

If you took the test: on a first offense, once the 7-day administrative suspension expires, your license is generally returned and you may drive normally while the case is pending, unless something else is suspending you. You have not been convicted of anything yet. The restricted license and the interlock come after a conviction, not before it.

If you refused the test: this is different, and it is the trap. A first refusal carries a 12-month license revocation with no restricted license available at all. Not a restricted license with an interlock. None. See question 8.

So the answer to “can I drive” turns on what happened at the station, not on what happens in court. Anyone telling you that you need a restricted license and an interlock to drive at all before trial is describing the wrong stage of the case.

A breathalyzer wired to your ignition that prevents the engine from starting if it detects alcohol. In Virginia it is required as a condition of a restricted license following a DUI conviction, regardless of your BAC. The 0.15 threshold triggers mandatory jail. It is not what determines whether you need an interlock.

How it works:

• You blow before the car starts
• The vehicle will not start above 0.02
• Random rolling retests while driving
• Every test is recorded and reported

Duration: at least six months on a first offense.

Cost: installation plus a monthly monitoring fee, at your expense, for the full period. Rates vary by provider, so get a current quote rather than relying on any published figure.

A failed or missed test gets reported to the court and can put you back in front of a judge on a violation. The device is a monitoring program, not just a lock.

A second offense under Va. Code § 18.2-270(B) is still a Class 1 misdemeanor, and the mandatory minimums change everything.

Second offense within less than 5 years:

• Confinement of not less than one month, with 20 days as a mandatory minimum
• Mandatory minimum $500 fine
• Three-year license revocation, with no restricted license until after one year
• Ignition interlock

Second offense within 5 to 10 years:

• Confinement of not less than one month, with 10 days as a mandatory minimum
• Mandatory minimum $500 fine
• Three-year license revocation, with no restricted license until after four months
• Ignition interlock

The BAC enhancement doubles on a second offense, and this gets missed. Under § 18.2-270(B)(3), on a second offense within 10 years:

And the minimums stack. Under § 18.2-270(F), mandatory minimum punishments are cumulative and mandatory terms of confinement are served consecutively.

This is the question this page most needs, and it has more answers than people expect.

Third offense within 10 years, § 18.2-270(C)(1):

• Class 6 felony
• Mandatory minimum 90 days
• If the three offenses fall within 5 years: mandatory minimum 6 months
• Mandatory minimum $1,000 fine
• Indefinite license revocation

Fourth or subsequent within 10 years: mandatory minimum one year of imprisonment plus a $1,000 mandatory fine.

Any DUI after a prior felony DUI or a DUI-related violent offense, § 18.2-270(C)(2): a person previously convicted of DUI manslaughter (§ 18.2-36.1), maiming while intoxicated (§ 18.2-51.4), or a felony violation of § 18.2-266 is guilty of a Class 6 felony on a subsequent DUI, with a mandatory minimum one year of imprisonment and a $1,000 fine.

Separate felonies entirely:

• DUI involuntary manslaughter (§ 18.2-36.1): causing a death while driving under the influence. Up to 10 years. Aggravated involuntary manslaughter, where the conduct showed a reckless disregard for human life, carries up to 20.
• Maiming while intoxicated (§ 18.2-51.4): causing serious bodily injury resulting in permanent and significant physical impairment.

One enhancement that has nothing to do with priors. Under § 18.2-270(D), a DUI committed while transporting a passenger 17 or younger carries an additional mandatory minimum 5 days in jail and an additional mandatory minimum $500 fine. A first offense, a low BAC, and a child in the back seat is not a first-offense case.

ASAP is the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program, and it is mandatory on a DUI conviction. You cannot obtain a restricted license or complete your sentence without it.

What it involves:

• A comprehensive alcohol assessment
• Education classes over a period of weeks
• Ongoing monitoring during probation, which can include testing
• A program fee, at your expense

The assessment matters more than people realize. ASAP evaluates you and can recommend treatment beyond the standard classes. That recommendation becomes part of what you have to complete.

Failing to complete ASAP is a probation violation and can bring you back before the court on the suspended portion of your sentence. People treat it as an administrative box and then lose their restricted license over it.

Refusal is governed by Virginia’s implied consent law, Va. Code § 18.2-268.3, and the consequence is worse than most people assume in one specific way.

A first refusal:

• A civil offense, not a crime
• 12-month license revocation
• No restricted license is available during it. None. This is the part that gets left out, and it is the whole point. A first DUI conviction with a test result gets you a restricted license with an interlock. A first refusal gets you twelve months of not driving.
• The revocation runs in addition to anything the DUI case produces

Repeat refusals within 10 years are charged as criminal offenses, with a longer revocation and a mandatory fine.

Refusal can also be used as evidence in the DUI prosecution. It does not make the case go away. It frequently makes it worse while costing you your license anyway.

What implied consent does not cover:

• Field sobriety tests. The walk-and-turn, the one-leg stand, the eye test. These are voluntary and refusing them carries none of these penalties.
• The preliminary breath test at roadside under § 18.2-267, which is also voluntary and separate from the evidentiary test at the station

The distinction is the one thing worth knowing before it happens. Implied consent attaches to the evidentiary breath or blood test after a lawful arrest. It does not attach to the roadside tests that produced the arrest.

Yes. A DUI conviction is a major offense under 49 CFR § 383.51 and carries a one-year disqualification whether you were in a commercial vehicle or your own car, off duty.

• Three years if you were transporting placarded hazardous materials
• A second major offense means a lifetime disqualification, with possible reinstatement after 10 years on completing an approved program. It is not automatic.
• There is no hardship or restricted CDL. No state may issue a permit allowing CMV operation during a disqualification. Your Virginia restricted license does not cover your job.
• Refusing the test counts the same as the DUI for federal purposes
• 0.04 is the disqualifying level while operating a CMV, half the ordinary limit, and 0.02 puts you out of service for 24 hours under 49 CFR § 392.5
• You must notify your employer within 30 days of the conviction
• Federal anti-masking rules prevent using a diversion or improvement program to keep the conviction off your record

If you hold a CDL, say so at the first conversation. The analysis is different, because the federal consequence is frequently larger than the sentence.

Service members face the civilian case and a separate military track, and the two do not wait for each other.

• Command notification obligations attach to criminal charges
• The same conduct may draw UCMJ action independently, including non-judicial punishment
• Base driving privileges may be affected immediately, which is a practical problem separate from the court case
• Administrative action and effects on retention and advancement are possible
• Outcomes vary by branch, rank, record, and facts. No one can tell you in advance what your command will do.

On security clearances:

• A DUI raises the guidelines addressing alcohol consumption, criminal conduct, and personal conduct
• Adjudication weighs the whole person. A single first offense does not automatically cost a clearance. The circumstances, whether there is a pattern, whether you reported it, and what you did afterward all count.
• Failing to self-report is treated as a personal conduct issue in its own right, and it is frequently the more serious problem
• A pattern of alcohol-related incidents weighs far more heavily than one

If you serve or hold a clearance, raise it early. The reporting obligation has its own timing, and the collateral consequence often shapes what a resolution needs to look like more than the sentence does.

Results depend on the specific facts of each case. Prior outcomes do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any other matter.

Schedule a free consultation about a DUI/DWI charge in Virginia with Weiland Button.