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Kentucky DUI penalties breakdown: every component, line by line

Our Kentucky DUI costs page gives the state overview. This page does the narrower job: it prices each component of Ky. Rev. Stat. § 189A.010 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

Kentucky's fine ranges are the lowest in this run, and its real pricing mechanism is the aggravating-circumstance list. A first offence within ten years under § 189A.010(5)(a) carries a fine of $200 to $500, or imprisonment for 48 hours to 30 days, or both, and after sentencing the driver may ask the judge for a community labour programme of 48 hours to 30 days in lieu of the fine or imprisonment. Standing alone, that is a comparatively light first-offence package. It changes completely if any circumstance in § 189A.010(11) is present: the mandatory minimum becomes four days that cannot be suspended, probated, conditionally discharged or released early in any form. The fine ceiling does not move — the jail floor does.

The aggravator list in subsection (11) is worth reading in full because several items surprise drivers. It covers exceeding the speed limit by 30 miles per hour or more, causing an accident that results in death or serious physical injury, refusing to submit to a requested test, having an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more, carrying a passenger under twelve, and driving the wrong way on a limited-access highway. A refusal therefore does double work in Kentucky: it is an aggravating circumstance that raises the mandatory jail minimum on conviction, quite apart from any administrative consequence. Our high-BAC and refusal pages place Kentucky's 0.15 aggravator alongside the states that use the same threshold as a separate enhancement tier instead.

Second and third offences, and what escalates

A second offence within ten years carries a fine of $350 to $500 — note the ceiling does not rise — and a mandatory jail term of seven days to six months, with possible additional community labour of ten days to six months, and an aggravated mandatory minimum of fourteen days. A third offence within ten years carries $500 to $1,000 and thirty days to twelve months, with an aggravated minimum of sixty days. A fourth offence within ten years is a Class D felony. On the licensing side, published Kentucky summaries put revocation at six months for a first offence and substantially longer for repeats, and the Kentucky Ignition Interlock Program offers a first offender a concrete trade: completing the programme for ninety consecutive days can reduce that first revocation, which is why interlock spending in Kentucky can buy time rather than merely satisfy a condition.

Refusal, the restricted license, and reinstatement charges

Reinstatement in Kentucky is one of the few priced steps in the state system: published Transportation Cabinet summaries put the reinstatement fee at $40, payable once the revocation period or interlock route is satisfied and the required alcohol or drug education or treatment programme is complete. Kentucky requires that programme for every offence level — ninety days at the first level and a full year for repeat offences in the programme structure — and the provider's charge for it is not the $40 state fee and is not set by the Transportation Cabinet. Keeping those two components separate, a $40 state reinstatement fee and a provider-billed programme, is the accurate way to budget the end of a Kentucky case.

DUI component	Published amount
First offence in 10 years (§ 189A.010(5)(a))	Fine $200–$500, or 48 hours to 30 days in the county jail, or both; community labour for 48 hours to 30 days may be permitted in lieu of fine or imprisonment; mandatory minimum rises to 4 days, non-suspendable, if an aggravating circumstance is present
Second offence in 10 years (§ 189A.010(5)(b))	Fine $350–$500 and 7 days to 6 months, plus possible community labour of 10 days to 6 months; aggravated mandatory minimum 14 days
Third offence in 10 years (§ 189A.010(5)(c))	Fine $500–$1,000 and 30 days to 12 months, plus possible community labour; aggravated mandatory minimum 60 days
Fourth offence in 10 years (§ 189A.010(5)(d))	Class D felony — identified by classification only here
Aggravating circumstances (§ 189A.010(11))	Driving 30 mph or more over the limit, causing an accident with death or serious injury, driving the wrong way on a limited-access highway, refusing a test, a concentration of 0.15+, or a passenger under 12
License revocation and reinstatement (§§ 189A.070, 189A.090 summaries)	Revocation periods in published summaries: 6 months for a first offence, longer for repeats (18 months second, 36 months third in those summaries); reinstatement fee $40; the Kentucky Ignition Interlock Program can shorten a first revocation where 90 consecutive interlock days are completed

What this state does not publish as a single figure

Kentucky court costs are assessed in the convicting court and are not fixed in § 189A.010, and the education or treatment programme, any community labour administration, probation supervision and an interlock provider's installation and monthly charges are all billed outside the statute. Those items are described as requirements here rather than priced as state charges, and the revocation durations for repeat offences are given as the ranges shown in published state summaries because courts retain discretion within the statutory structure. There is no published Kentucky figure for what a DUI does to the price of car insurance, and none is estimated here; the priced state components are the fines above and the $40 reinstatement fee.

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 Kentucky 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

Why is the Kentucky DUI fine so low compared with other states?: The § 189A.010 fine ceiling is $500 for both a first and a second offence. Kentucky prices repeat and aggravated cases mainly through mandatory jail minimums — 4, 14 and 60 days at the aggravated tiers — and long revocations, not through the fine.
What counts as an aggravating circumstance in Kentucky?: Under § 189A.010(11): speeding 30 mph or more over the limit, an accident causing death or serious injury, refusing a test, a concentration of 0.15 or more, a passenger under 12, or driving the wrong way on a limited-access highway.
How much is Kentucky's license reinstatement fee after a DUI?: $40 in published Transportation Cabinet summaries, after the revocation or interlock-programme route and the required education or treatment programme are completed.

Sources: Ky. Rev. Stat. § 189A.010(5) and (11) (penalty tiers and aggravator list, Kentucky Legislature); Ky. Rev. Stat. §§ 189A.070 and 189A.340 (revocation and interlock programme); Kentucky Transportation Cabinet reinstatement guidance ($40 reinstatement fee in published 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.