Criminal defense
DUI in Florida
Two cases start at once, and the one with the ten-day deadline is not the criminal one
A DUI arrest in Florida starts two separate cases. The criminal case moves through the county or circuit court on its own schedule. The administrative case about your driver license starts immediately and gives you ten days to request a review. Most people only learn about the second one after the window has closed. There is also a feature of Florida DUI law that changes everything about how a plea should be approached: a court may not withhold adjudication for DUI, so a plea is always a conviction.
01 Quick answers
- What is the ten-day deadline?
- Ten days from the issuance of the notice of suspension to request a formal or informal review of the administrative license suspension. Fla. Stat. § 322.2615.
- When does the suspension start?
- On the date the notice of suspension is issued — not when the criminal case ends, and not when you are convicted of anything.
- Can a DUI get a withhold of adjudication?
- No. Fla. Stat. § 316.656(1) bars a court from withholding adjudication for a DUI. A plea or a finding of guilt is a conviction.
- Can a DUI be reduced to reckless driving?
- Sometimes — but not where the breath or blood result was 0.15 or higher, or in a § 316.193(3) case. § 316.656(2) removes that option.
- What happens if I refused the test?
- Refusal carries its own license suspension, longer than the one for a failed test, and a second refusal can be charged as a separate misdemeanor.
- Can a DUI be sealed later?
- No. Sealing requires a withheld adjudication, and Florida does not allow one for DUI. That is why the outcome matters more here than in most misdemeanors.
02 Two cases
The criminal case, and the one about your license
An arrest for driving under the influence produces two proceedings that run in parallel and do not wait for each other.
The criminal case is the one people picture. It is prosecuted by the State Attorney under § 316.193, which reaches someone driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle while their normal faculties are impaired, or with a breath or blood alcohol level at or above 0.08. It takes months.
The administrative case is run by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and it is about the license alone. It begins at the arrest. Under § 322.2615 the suspension period commences on the date the notice of suspension is issued, and there are ten days to request a formal or informal review.
Ten days is short, it includes weekends, and nothing in the criminal courtroom will remind anyone it is running. Letting it pass does not end the license problem — it ends the chance to contest it, which is a different and worse thing. The review is also one of the few early opportunities to put an officer under oath about what actually happened at the roadside.
Ten days, counted from the notice. Nothing in the criminal courtroom will remind you it is running.
03 No withhold
Why a DUI plea is different from almost every other plea
In most Florida misdemeanors a court can withhold adjudication, which for many purposes means there is no conviction. It is the outcome defense lawyers work toward, and it is what later makes a case sealable.
DUI is carved out. Section 316.656(1) says that no court may suspend, defer, or withhold adjudication of guilt or imposition of sentence for any violation of § 316.193. A plea to DUI is a conviction. There is no version of it that is not.
Three consequences follow, and they are all permanent. It can never be sealed, because sealing requires a withhold. It is a conviction for federal immigration purposes with no argument available about Florida labels. And it counts as a prior for every future DUI, which is how a second offense within five years becomes a mandatory jail case and a third within ten becomes a felony.
That is why the charge itself matters more than the sentence here. Where a reduction to reckless driving is available, it is frequently worth far more than a shorter probation, because reckless driving can be withheld and a DUI cannot. Section 316.656(2) removes that option entirely where the breath or blood result was 0.15 or higher, or in a § 316.193(3) case — so the number on the report shapes the whole negotiation.
04 The evidence
What is actually contested in a DUI case
The stop. An officer needs a lawful basis to stop a vehicle. If the stop fails, what follows it can go with it. The reason given in the report and the reason visible on video are not always the same.
The roadside exercises. Field sobriety tasks are standardized, and the standardization is the point: administered differently, they prove much less than they appear to. Age, weight, injuries, footwear, the slope and surface of the roadside and the lighting all matter and are all documented or not.
The breath test. The instrument has maintenance and inspection records, the agency has an approved procedure, and the twenty-minute observation period is a requirement rather than a formality. Those records are obtainable and they are where breath cases are won or lost.
Blood. A blood draw has its own rules about who may draw, how it is stored and how the chain of custody is kept. Fermentation and contamination are real issues with a real documentary trail.
Refusal. Under the implied consent law a refusal carries a longer license suspension than a failed test, and a second refusal can itself be charged. The warning actually given is part of the record and it is worth reading rather than assuming.
05 What it costs
The consequences people do not price in
A first DUI conviction brings a fine, probation, community service, a vehicle impound period, DUI school and possible jail, with higher exposure where the result was 0.15 or above or a minor was in the vehicle. Ignition interlock is required in defined circumstances.
What is usually underestimated is everything outside the courtroom. Insurance for years. Employment where driving is part of the job, or where a professional license requires reporting. A commercial license, which has its own rules and its own consequences for a conviction in a personal vehicle.
Priors never go away, because the conviction cannot be sealed. A second within five years carries mandatory jail; a third within ten is a third-degree felony. A DUI from a decade ago in another state still counts.
For someone who is not a United States citizen, a DUI conviction can matter a great deal depending on the full record, and because there is no withhold available there is no argument that it was not a conviction. That is a reason to raise it at the first meeting rather than after a plea.
06 The statutes
- Fla. Stat. § 316.193 Driving under the influence The offense, the 0.08 threshold, and how penalties escalate with priors.
- Fla. Stat. § 322.2615 Administrative suspension The ten-day review window, and the suspension commencing when the notice is issued.
- Fla. Stat. § 316.656 Mandatory adjudication No withhold for DUI, and no plea to a lesser offense at 0.15 or above.
- Fla. Stat. § 316.1932 Implied consent The tests, the warning, and what a refusal costs.
DUI questions, answered
I blew over the limit. Is there anything to do?
Usually yes, and not in the way people expect. A breath result rests on an instrument with maintenance records, an approved procedure and an observation period, and all of those are documented and obtainable.
Even where the result holds, the charge is not the only variable. Where a reduction is legally available it is worth more than a shorter sentence, because reckless driving can be withheld and DUI cannot.
I already missed the ten days.
Then the review is gone, and the remaining question is a hardship reinstatement, which has its own requirements and timing. It is worth asking about immediately rather than waiting for the criminal case.
Missing it does not affect the criminal case, which is separate and still open.
Should I have refused the test?
That decision is behind you, and the honest answer is that refusal avoids one kind of evidence and creates another — a longer suspension, and a refusal the State can comment on. A second refusal can be charged as its own misdemeanor.
What matters now is what the warning actually said and whether it was given properly, which is in the record.
Will I lose my job?
It depends on the job and on whether a license or an employer policy requires reporting. For a commercial driver the consequences are more severe and can follow from a conviction in a personal vehicle.
Where reporting obligations exist they usually have their own deadline, independent of the court case.
Can I get it off my record later?
Not if it ends as a DUI conviction, and it cannot end any other way, because no withhold is available. That is the clearest reason to take the charge itself seriously at the start rather than focusing on the sentence.
What does a DUI defense cost?
Criminal matters are handled on a flat fee set by the charges and the scope of the representation, with no payment plans. Any consultation charge is disclosed before the appointment. The administrative license review is part of the scope discussed at the outset, because of the deadline.
Criminal matters are handled on a flat fee, set by the charges and the scope of the representation. Any consultation charge is disclosed before the appointment. There are no payment plans.
07 Keep reading
Talk to Jose A. Dapena about your dui matter
You speak with the attorney who would handle the case, not an intake department. Practicing in Florida since 1998, Florida Bar number 152358.
Criminal matters are handled on a flat fee, set by the charges and the scope of the representation. Any consultation charge is disclosed before the appointment. There are no payment plans.