Home › Alaska DUI penalties breakdown
Alaska DUI penalties breakdown: every component, line by line
Our Alaska DUI costs page gives the state overview. This page does the narrower job: it prices each component of Alaska Statutes § 28.35.030 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
Alaska prices a DUI from mandatory minimums, not from ranges the court can waive. Under AS 28.35.030(b), a first conviction is a class A misdemeanour and the court shall impose at least 72 consecutive hours of imprisonment and a fine of not less than $1,500, and it may not suspend imposition of sentence or grant probation except on condition that the minimum imprisonment and fine are served and paid. The court also revokes the driver's license — the published revocation for a first conviction is 90 days — and an ignition interlock is required after the driver regains the privilege to drive, for a minimum of six months in the published summaries of the current statute. A substance abuse screening and any recommended treatment through an approved programme are sentencing conditions on top of those priced components, billed by the provider rather than set as a state tariff.
Two Alaska features change how the components should be read. First, the statute also reaches aircraft and watercraft, but this page prices only the motor-vehicle case, which is the case the license revocation and interlock components attach to. Second, Alaska's minimums are floors with no published maximum fine in the DUI subsection itself for the misdemeanour tiers — the class A misdemeanour framework supplies the outer limits — so the honest table entry is the mandatory minimum the court must impose, not an invented range. The cost of imprisonment can also be charged back within the limits the statute sets, which is a case-specific court order, not a published fee, and it is therefore described here rather than tabled as a fixed amount.
Second and third offences, and what escalates
A second conviction under AS 28.35.030(b) raises the mandatory minimum to 20 days of imprisonment and a fine of not less than $3,000, with a one-year license revocation in the published summaries and a longer interlock period after privileges return. A driver convicted twice more inside the misdemeanour ladder faces minimums of 60 days and $4,000 at the next step. The felony line is crossed under subsection (n): a person with two or more prior convictions within the preceding ten years is guilty of a class C felony, the court shall impose a fine of not less than $10,000 and minimum imprisonment of 120 days for a third offence, 240 days for a fourth and 360 days for a fifth or later offence, the license is permanently revoked subject to the restoration review in subsection (o), and vehicle forfeiture is ordered under AS 28.35.036. Subsection (o) allows the department to review a permanent revocation only after at least ten years, with no intervening criminal conviction and proof of financial responsibility — so at the felony tier the license component is measured in a decade, not in months.
Refusal, the restricted license, and reinstatement charges
Refusal to submit to a chemical test is a separate offence in Alaska under AS 28.35.032, with its own mandatory minimums, and it also triggers an administrative revocation by the Division of Motor Vehicles that runs separately from the criminal case; the published first-refusal revocation is 90 days, rising for repeat refusals. A limited license may be available in some cases, and where an interlock is a condition of that limited privilege the device, its installation and its monthly lease are charged by the approved provider the driver chooses — Alaska publishes the requirement, not a state price for the device. Reinstatement after a misdemeanour revocation requires the period to be served, the interlock condition to be met and the screening or treatment conditions to be completed; Alaska does not publish a single DUI-specific reinstatement tariff separate from its ordinary licensing fees, so this page prices the statutory fine minimums and periods and describes the rest rather than inventing a restoration figure.
| DUI component | Published amount |
|---|---|
| The offence (§ 28.35.030(a)) | Operating or driving a motor vehicle while under the influence, or with 0.08 percent or more by weight of alcohol in the blood or 0.08 grams or more per 210 litres of breath on a test taken within four hours |
| First offence (§ 28.35.030(b)) | Class A misdemeanour; minimum 72 consecutive hours of imprisonment and a fine of not less than $1,500; 90-day license revocation in published summaries; ignition interlock required after privileges return, minimum six months in those summaries; screening and any recommended treatment as a sentencing condition |
| Second offence (§ 28.35.030(b)) | Minimum 20 days of imprisonment and a fine of not less than $3,000; one-year revocation in published summaries; longer interlock period after privileges return |
| Further misdemeanour step (§ 28.35.030(b)) | Where the felony tier does not apply: minimum 60 days and a fine of not less than $4,000 for a driver previously convicted twice |
| Felony tier (§ 28.35.030(n)) | Class C felony where two or more priors fall within the preceding 10 years; fine of not less than $10,000; minimum 120 days (third), 240 days (fourth) or 360 days (fifth or later); permanent license revocation subject to review after at least 10 years under subsection (o); vehicle forfeiture under AS 28.35.036 |
| Refusal (§ 28.35.032 and DMV summaries) | Separate offence with its own mandatory minimums, plus an administrative revocation — 90 days for a first refusal in published Division of Motor Vehicles summaries, longer for repeats — running separately from the criminal case |
Sources: Alaska Statutes § 28.35.030 (misdemeanour minimums and the subsection (n) felony tier, Alaska State Legislature); AS 28.35.032 (refusal); Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles revocation and interlock summaries. 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
Alaska court costs and assessments are set by the court and the county or municipality where the case is heard, not by Alaska Statutes § 28.35.030, and no single published DUI amount covers them. The evaluation, education or treatment components described above, any probation or programme supervision, and an interlock provider's installation, monthly lease, calibration and removal charges are all billed outside the statute's fine and revocation figures. Those components are described as requirements on this page rather than priced as state charges. There is no published Alaska figure for the effect of a DUI on car insurance prices, and none is estimated here — insurance is mentioned only where a filing requirement such as SR-22 proof of financial responsibility is itself a reinstatement component.
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 Alaska 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 minimum fine for a first Alaska DUI?
- $1,500 under AS 28.35.030(b), alongside a mandatory minimum of 72 consecutive hours of imprisonment; the court may not suspend imposition of sentence except on condition that those minimums are met.
- When does an Alaska DUI become a felony?
- Under subsection (n), where the driver has two or more prior convictions within the preceding ten years: a class C felony with a fine of not less than $10,000, minimum imprisonment starting at 120 days, and permanent revocation reviewable only after at least ten years.
- Does Alaska require an interlock after a first DUI?
- Yes — the published summaries of § 28.35.030 require an ignition interlock after the driver regains the privilege to drive, for a minimum of six months after a first conviction, longer after repeats; the device itself is billed by the approved provider.
Related cost guides: Alaska DUI costs overview, second-offense DUI costs, DUI refusal costs, ignition interlock costs, license reinstatement fees.
Sources: Alaska Statutes § 28.35.030 (misdemeanour minimums, interlock condition and the subsection (n) felony tier with subsection (o) restoration review, Alaska State Legislature); AS 28.35.032 and AS 28.35.036 (refusal and forfeiture); Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles revocation summaries. 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.