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Alabama DUI penalties breakdown: every component, line by line
Our Alabama DUI costs page gives the state overview. This page does the narrower job: it prices each component of Alabama Code § 32-5A-191 for a first, second and third conviction, the mandatory minimums, the restricted-license and interlock route, and the reinstatement charges the state actually publishes — with no added-up total.
The first offence, component by component
A first Alabama DUI under § 32-5A-191 is a misdemeanour punishable by up to one year in the county or municipal jail, a fine of $600 to $2,100, or both, and the statute sets no mandatory minimum jail term for a standard first conviction. The licensing consequence is separate: the Secretary of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency suspends the driving privilege for 90 days, but that suspension is stayed if the driver elects to install an approved ignition interlock for 90 days, presents proof of installation to ALEA and obtains an interlock-restricted license, with the remainder commuted on successful completion. Every convicted driver, first offenders included, must also complete a court-referred DUI or substance abuse programme, and that programme requirement is a condition of getting the license back rather than an optional extra the court can waive.
Alabama doubles the minimum punishment where the case carries one of the statute's aggravating markers. If the driver refused to provide a breath or blood result, carried a child under 14 as a passenger, injured someone other than themselves, or recorded 0.15 or higher, the first-offence suspension still runs 90 days but interlock is required for a full year from the issue of the restricted license, and at 0.15 or higher the court must impose at least double the minimum penalty that would otherwise apply — so the fine floor moves from $600 toward $1,200 before any other element is considered. That doubling rule is the single most overlooked line in § 32-5A-191, because it changes the mandatory part of the sentence, not just the ceiling a judge could reach in a serious case.
Second and third offences, and what escalates
A second conviction within ten years remains a misdemeanour but loses the first offence's discretion: the sentence must include at least five days in jail or 30 days of community service, and that minimum cannot be suspended or probated, alongside a fine of $1,100 to $5,100 and up to a year in jail. The license is revoked for one year and interlock is required for two years. A third conviction within ten years carries a mandatory 60 days, a fine of $2,100 to $10,100 and a three-year revocation with three years of interlock. A fourth conviction is a Class C felony with a five-year revocation. Our second-offense and third-offense pages explain how those national patterns compare with Alabama's unusually long interlock tails.
Refusal, the restricted license, and reinstatement charges
Refusal and reinstatement run through ALEA rather than the sentencing court. Refusal is itself one of the aggravating markers above, so a driver who refuses and is then convicted faces the one-year interlock requirement on top of any administrative action ALEA takes on the refusal. Reinstatement is not a single published DUI tariff in Alabama: the driver must satisfy the suspension or revocation period or the interlock-restricted route, complete the court referral programme the court ordered, and meet ALEA's ordinary restoration requirements for the license type held. Because ALEA does not publish one all-in DUI reinstatement figure, this page does not invent one — it prices the statutory fines and describes the restoration steps instead.
| DUI component | Published amount |
|---|---|
| First offence (§ 32-5A-191) | Up to 1 year in county or municipal jail; fine $600–$2,100; 90-day suspension, stayed if the driver elects an ignition interlock for 90 days and obtains an interlock-restricted license |
| First offence — aggravated (§ 32-5A-191) | Where the driver refused testing, had a BAC of 0.15+, had a child under 14 as a passenger, or injured another person: 90-day suspension plus 1 year of interlock; minimum penalties are doubled at 0.15+ |
| Second offence in 10 years (§ 32-5A-191) | Mandatory minimum 5 days in jail or 30 days of community service, up to 1 year; fine $1,100–$5,100; 1-year revocation; interlock for 2 years |
| Third offence in 10 years (§ 32-5A-191) | Mandatory minimum 60 days, up to 1 year; fine $2,100–$10,100; 3-year revocation; interlock for 3 years |
| Fourth offence (§ 32-5A-191) | Class C felony; 5-year revocation — identified by classification only in the table above the felony line |
| Court referral programme | Completion of a court-referred DUI or substance abuse programme is required for every conviction; programme charges are provider charges, not a state tariff |
Sources: Alabama Code § 32-5A-191 (first, second, third and felony tiers, interlock stay and doubling rule); Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) ignition-interlock and suspension guidance summarising § 32-5A-191. Last verified: October 2026.
The fine is one line in a longer stack — court costs, program fees, interlock, supervision and reinstatement all bill separately. Price the layers that apply to your case in the calculator.
Open the DUI cost calculatorWhat this state does not publish as a single figure
Alabama court costs are assessed by the convicting court and vary by county and municipality, and the court referral programme, any treatment that follows an evaluation, probation supervision and the interlock lease itself are all billed by the provider or supervising authority rather than set in § 32-5A-191. Those components are therefore described as requirements on this page, not priced as state charges. There is likewise no published Alabama figure for what a DUI does to the price of insuring a car, and none is estimated here; Alabama's insurance interest in a DUI case is the financial-responsibility and interlock-restricted licensing structure described above, not a state-set premium.
There is no added-up statewide total on this page for the same reason: the published components above are the figures the statute, the licensing agency or the court schedule actually sets, and the remaining components are billed case by case. Adding them together would produce a number no Alabama authority has published. Use the table to price the components that apply to a specific case, and use our first-offense cost guide, second-offense guide and third-offense guide for the national pattern each component follows.
Common questions
- What is the fine for a first Alabama DUI?
- $600 to $2,100 under § 32-5A-191, alongside up to one year in jail, a 90-day suspension that can be stayed by electing interlock for 90 days, and a mandatory court referral programme.
- When are Alabama DUI minimums doubled?
- Where the BAC was 0.15 or higher — and the same aggravated tier also applies to a refusal, a child passenger under 14, or injury to another person — the minimum penalty is doubled and interlock runs for a year on a first offence.
- How long is interlock after a second Alabama DUI?
- Two years, after a one-year revocation; a third offence carries three years of interlock after a three-year revocation.
Related cost guides: Alabama DUI costs overview, second-offense DUI costs, DUI refusal costs, ignition interlock costs, license reinstatement fees.
Sources: Alabama Code § 32-5A-191 (first, second, third and felony tiers, interlock stay and doubling rule); Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) ignition-interlock and suspension guidance summarising § 32-5A-191. Last verified: October 2026. This page is educational information about costs only — not legal advice. Laws and fees change; confirm current figures with your court and your state's driver-licensing agency.