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California DUI penalties breakdown: every component, line by line
Our California DUI costs page gives the state overview. This page does the narrower job: each separate component of a California DUI — the Vehicle Code fine, the penalty assessments on top of it, the DMV fees, the program lengths — with the code section that sets each one, and no added-up total, because the assessments and program length depend on the county and the alcohol level.
The base fine: §§ 23536–23550 hold it at $390–$1,000 while everything else moves
California is unusual: the base fine for a misdemeanour DUI does not rise with the offence count. A first conviction under § 23536 carries imprisonment in the county jail for 96 hours to six months and a fine of not less than $390 or more than $1,000. Where probation is granted, § 23538 imposes the same $390–$1,000 fine as a condition, with at least 48 hours of confinement. A second conviction within ten years under §§ 23540–23542 carries 90 days to one year and the same $390–$1,000 fine range; a third under §§ 23546–23548 carries 120 days to one year and the same fine range; a fourth or subsequent conviction can be charged as a felony under § 23550. What escalates in California is custody, license time and program length — not the base fine.
The base fine is also not what the court collects. California law adds penalty assessments and statutory fees on top of the base fine — state and county penalty assessments, court construction and other fund assessments prescribed by the Penal and Government Codes — and those add-ons are calculated from the base fine, so two drivers with different base fines pay proportionally different totals, and the multiplier varies with the assessments in force in the county. Because no single statute publishes "the" resulting amount, this page quotes the base fine the Vehicle Code sets and states that assessments are added, rather than present an unofficial multiplied figure as if it were official. Your sentencing minute order is the document that states the actual amount.
License and program components
On conviction, § 13352 sets the suspension: six months for a first conviction, two years for a second within ten years, three years for a third. The DMV's administrative per se suspension from the arrest — four months on a first test failure for a driver 21 or older — runs on its own track, and a refusal brings a one-year revocation with no restricted license, as our refusal page sets out. The DMV fees are published: a $125 reissue fee for the administrative per se action for a driver 21 or older, and a $55 reissue fee for a conviction-based suspension, with an added restriction fee where an ignition-interlock restriction is issued. A first offender may drive sooner on an interlock-restricted license under the DMV program; the device itself is charged by the approved provider, not the DMV.
Program length is set by § 23538: a first offender below 0.20 alcohol concentration is referred to a licensed program of at least three months; a first offender at 0.20 or higher, or who refused testing, to a nine-month program; and a second offender to an 18-month program under § 23542. Programs are licensed by the Department of Health Care Services, and their fees are set in each program's filed schedule — California publishes the lengths, not a statewide price, so this page does not quote one. Section 23578 also directs courts to consider a refusal or an alcohol level of 0.15 or higher as a special factor that can justify enhanced terms, including a longer program — an exposure stated here without a dollar figure, because the statute sets none. The evaluation and treatment page explains the DHCS fee-schedule framework in full.
| California DUI component | Published amount |
|---|---|
| Base fine — first conviction (§§ 23536, 23538) | $390–$1,000, plus statutory penalty assessments; 96 hours–6 months (48 hours minimum on probation) |
| Base fine — second conviction in 10 years (§§ 23540, 23542) | $390–$1,000, plus assessments; 90 days–1 year |
| Base fine — third conviction in 10 years (§§ 23546, 23548) | $390–$1,000, plus assessments; 120 days–1 year |
| License suspension on conviction (§ 13352) | 6 months first; 2 years second; 3 years third |
| DMV reissue fees (DMV published fees) | $125 administrative per se reissue (21+); $55 conviction-suspension reissue; restriction fee additional where an interlock restriction is issued |
| DUI program (§§ 23538, 23542; DHCS-licensed) | 3 months (first, below 0.20); 9 months (first, 0.20+ or refusal); 18 months (second) — fee per program's filed schedule; no statewide price published |
| Restitution fine (Penal Code § 1202.4) | $150–$1,000 on a misdemeanour conviction, as set by the court within the statutory range |
Sources: California Vehicle Code §§ 23536, 23538, 23540, 23542, 23546, 23548, 23578, 13352; California Penal Code § 1202.4; California DMV reissue-fee schedule; DHCS DUI program licensing framework (Health and Safety Code § 11836). 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 California does not publish
Three figures readers most often ask for have no official California source, and this page leaves them blank on purpose. There is no statewide DUI program price — each DHCS-licensed program files its own schedule, and ability-to-pay assessments can reduce it. There is no official "fine with assessments" total — the assessments are real and substantial, but they are a calculation, not a published fee, and the county's schedule controls. And there is no published figure for what a DUI does to the price of insuring a car; the SR-22 filing requirement itself is a DMV fact (proof of financial responsibility maintained for three years), but the premium is set by insurers and is not a state charge. Pages that present any of these three as official numbers are estimating, and the estimate is not labelled as one.
County-level charges — booking fees, probation supervision charges and local assessments — sit in the same category: real, case-specific, and stated on the judgment rather than in a statewide table. The components above are the ones the Vehicle Code, the Penal Code and the DMV publish uniform figures or ranges for, which is the standard this site prices to.
Common questions
- Why is the fine the same for a first and a third DUI?
- Because the Vehicle Code holds the base fine at $390–$1,000 across §§ 23536–23548. California escalates custody (96 hours to 120 days minimum), suspension (six months to three years) and program length (three to eighteen months) instead.
- Is the $125 DMV fee the same as the $55 fee?
- No — they clear different actions. The $125 reissue fee addresses the administrative per se suspension from the arrest; the $55 reissue fee addresses the conviction-based suspension. A driver who has both actions on the record can owe both.
- Does a wet reckless cost less on this breakdown?
- Yes, on the fine line: a § 23103.5 wet reckless carries a fine of $145–$1,000 with no court-ordered suspension — see our wet reckless page for that full comparison.
Related cost guides: California DUI costs overview, wet reckless costs, test refusal costs, and evaluation and treatment costs.
Sources: California Vehicle Code §§ 13352, 23536–23550, 23578; California Penal Code § 1202.4; California DMV fee schedule. 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.