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High-BAC DUI costs: the 0.15 line where the fine schedule changes

Most states do not just punish a DUI — they punish a high reading more. At a blood- or breath-alcohol level of 0.15, roughly double the per-se limit, separate enhancement statutes switch on: higher fine ranges, mandatory jail measured in weeks instead of days, and longer interlock terms. At 0.20, Arizona adds a second, harsher tier. This page compares those published thresholds and the figures attached to each.

Arizona: the most explicit price ladder in the country

Arizona writes its high-BAC tiers directly into statute. A standard first DUI under A.R.S. § 28-1381 carries a 10-day jail minimum and a $250 base fine plus $1,000 in statutory assessments. An extreme DUI — a BAC of 0.15 to 0.199 within two hours of driving, under § 28-1382 — raises the jail minimum to 30 consecutive days and the total of fines, surcharges and assessments to at least $2,500. A super-extreme DUI at 0.20 or higher raises the minimum to 45 consecutive days and the financial total to at least $3,250, with an 18-month interlock term instead of 12.

Arizona's numbers are unusually complete because the statute itself sets the assessment amounts, rather than leaving them to local court-cost schedules. Even so, the figures in the table are the statutory floors for a first offense; a second extreme or super-extreme offense within 84 months raises both the jail minimums (120 and 180 days respectively in published summaries of § 28-1382) and the amounts owed. Screenings, education and treatment ordered after assessment bill separately, as on any Arizona DUI.

Florida and Texas: a doubled fine range and a higher charge class

Florida uses the same 0.15 trigger inside its main DUI statute. Under Florida Statutes § 316.193(4), a first conviction with a level of 0.15 or higher — or with a passenger under 18 — is punished by a fine of $1,000 to $2,000 instead of the standard $500 to $1,000, and by up to 9 months in jail instead of 6. A second conviction in that tier fines $2,000 to $4,000, and a third or subsequent conviction carries a fine of not less than $4,000. The same subsection makes an ignition interlock mandatory for at least six months on a first enhanced conviction.

Texas reaches a similar result by elevating the charge rather than the fine schedule. Under Texas Penal Code § 49.04(d), a first DWI with an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more is a Class A misdemeanor instead of a Class B — which under § 12.21 raises the maximum fine from $2,000 to $4,000 and the maximum confinement from 180 days to one year. Texas also imposes its statutory state fine on DWI convictions; the component figures are listed on our Texas DUI costs page rather than restated as a total here.

Sources: A.R.S. §§ 28-1381, 28-1382; Florida Statutes § 316.193(4) (Online Sunshine / Florida Legislature); Texas Penal Code §§ 49.04(d), 12.21; California Vehicle Code §§ 23536, 23578 (California Legislative Information). Last verified: October 2026.

California: an enhancement factor with no fixed dollar amount

California's approach is the honest counterexample. Vehicle Code § 23578 provides that a concentration of 0.15 or more 'shall be considered' by the court as a special factor that may justify enhancing penalties, probation terms and conditions — but it sets no additional fine and no fixed extra jail term. In practice the enhancement appears as a longer DUI program (nine months is commonly imposed instead of three), stricter probation conditions and, at 0.20 or higher, conditions such as a longer program still.

Because § 23578 fixes no dollar figure, any page quoting a precise 'California high-BAC fine' is inventing it. What can be priced in California is the underlying first-offense fine range of $390 to $1,000 under § 23536, plus penalty assessments, and the longer program and interlock periods the enhancement produces — both billed at the rates in our program fees and interlock costs guides. The lesson generalizes: in some states high BAC has a price tag printed in the statute; in others it has a price tag printed on the program invoice instead.

Common questions

Is 0.15 a separate charge or an enhancement?

Both models exist. Arizona charges extreme DUI as its own offense under § 28-1382. Florida and Texas keep one DUI/DWI charge and enhance its punishment tier. California treats 0.15 as a sentencing factor under § 23578.

Does a high BAC change the license suspension too?

It can. Several states lengthen suspensions or make an ignition interlock mandatory at the 0.15 tier — Florida requires at least six months of interlock on a first enhanced conviction, and Arizona extends the interlock term at the super-extreme tier.

Why is there no single 'high-BAC DUI cost'?

Because the enhancement is built differently in each state — a fixed assessment ladder in Arizona, a doubled fine range in Florida, a higher charge class in Texas, and an unfixed sentencing factor in California. Adding those into one national figure would mix unlike components.

Sources: A.R.S. § 28-1382; Florida Statutes § 316.193(4); Texas Penal Code §§ 49.04(d), 12.21; California Vehicle Code § 23578. 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.