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Louisiana DWI penalties breakdown: every component, line by line
Our Louisiana DUI costs page gives the state overview. This page does the narrower job: it prices each component of La. Rev. Stat. §§ 14:98, 14:98.1, 14:98.2 and 14:98.3 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
Louisiana splits its DWI penalties into separate statutes per offence — § 14:98.1 for a first offence, § 14:98.2 for a second and § 14:98.3 for a third — which makes its components unusually easy to price exactly. A first offence carries a fine of $300 to $1,000 and imprisonment for ten days to six months, and the statute adds a further component most summaries miss: an additional $25 fee on a first conviction, forwarded to the state treasurer for the Louisiana Emergency Response Network Fund. The jail term can be suspended only on the statute's own conditions, which include serving 48 hours or performing 32 hours of community service that itself includes participation in a court-approved driver improvement programme, together with a substance abuse programme built on an evaluation of the driver.
Louisiana's high-BAC structure has two distinct tiers, and confusing them misprices a case. At 0.15 or more, a first offender's license is suspended for two years, the court must require an ignition interlock on any vehicle the driver operates during probation, and at least 48 hours of the sentence must be served without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension. At 0.20 or more, the fine range itself changes: the floor rises so the fine is $750 to $1,000, on top of the same non-suspendable 48 hours and two-year suspension. A restricted license during that suspension is available on proof to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections that the vehicle is equipped with a functioning interlock that meets § 32:378.2 — so at the high tiers, interlock spending is what converts a two-year suspension into two years of restricted driving.
Second and third offences, and what escalates
A second offence under § 14:98.2 carries a fine of $750 to $1,000 and thirty days to six months, of which at least 48 hours cannot be suspended, alongside community service and the same substance abuse and driver improvement programme structure. A third offence under § 14:98.3 is a felony: a $2,000 fine and one to five years, with a mandatory portion that cannot be suspended, plus exposure to seizure and sale of the vehicle used in the offence. Louisiana's child endangerment rule also removes discretion at every level it touches: where a child aged twelve or younger was a passenger, the minimum mandatory sentence cannot be suspended, so the community-service route that softens a standard first offence is not available.
Refusal, the restricted license, and reinstatement charges
The Office of Motor Vehicles runs the administrative track in parallel, on test failure and on refusal, and published OMV summaries put a first refusal at a one-year suspension and a later refusal at two years, separate from the criminal suspension in the table. Reinstatement at the end of either track requires satisfying the suspension period or the interlock-restricted route and the programme conditions imposed by the court; Louisiana does not publish those programme and interlock charges as a state tariff, because the substance abuse programme, the driver improvement course and the interlock lease are all delivered by approved providers at their own prices. This page therefore tables the statutory fines, the $25 additional fee and the suspension periods, and describes the provider components as requirements.
| DUI component | Published amount |
|---|---|
| First offence (§ 14:98.1) | Fine $300–$1,000, plus an additional $25 fee the statute directs to the Louisiana Emergency Response Network Fund; 10 days to 6 months, with suspension of the sentence available only on the statute's probation conditions including 48 hours or 32 hours of community service, a substance abuse programme and a driver improvement programme |
| First offence at 0.15+ (§ 14:98.1) | Driver's license suspended for 2 years; interlock required as a condition of driving during probation and suspension; at least 48 hours must be served without parole, probation or suspension |
| First offence at 0.20+ (§ 14:98.1) | Fine floor rises to $750–$1,000, with the same non-suspendable 48 hours and 2-year suspension |
| Second offence (§ 14:98.2) | Fine $750–$1,000; 30 days to 6 months, of which at least 48 hours may not be suspended; community service and programme conditions as in the statute |
| Third offence (§ 14:98.3) | Felony; fine $2,000; 1 to 5 years, with a mandatory portion that may not be suspended; vehicle seizure and forfeiture exposure under the felony tier |
| Refusal (implied consent, Title 32 summaries) | First refusal: 1-year license suspension in published OMV summaries; second or later refusal: 2 years — separate from the criminal tiers above |
Sources: La. Rev. Stat. §§ 14:98, 14:98.1 (first offence, $25 additional fee, 0.15 and 0.20 tiers verbatim), 14:98.2 and 14:98.3; La. Rev. Stat. § 32:667 and Office of Motor Vehicles implied-consent 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
Louisiana court costs vary by parish and court and are not fixed in §§ 14:98.1 to 14:98.3, and the substance abuse programme, driver improvement programme, any inpatient treatment ordered at the felony tier, probation supervision and interlock installation and leasing are provider-billed. Those components are listed as requirements here, not priced as state charges, and no total built by adding them to the statutory fine would be a Louisiana-published figure. There is likewise no published Louisiana figure for the effect of a DWI on car insurance prices, and none is estimated here; the state's priced components are the fines, the $25 Emergency Response Network fee and the suspension and interlock structure above.
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 Louisiana 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 $25 additional fee on a first Louisiana DWI?
- Section 14:98.1 imposes an additional $25 fine on a first conviction, forwarded by the sheriff to the state treasurer for the Louisiana Emergency Response Network Fund — it is on top of the $300–$1,000 fine range.
- What changes at a BAC of 0.20 in Louisiana?
- The fine floor rises to $750 (range $750–$1,000), at least 48 hours must be served without suspension, and the license is suspended for two years with interlock required for restricted driving.
- When does a Louisiana DWI become a felony?
- At the third offence, under § 14:98.3: a $2,000 fine, one to five years, and exposure to seizure of the vehicle.
Related cost guides: Louisiana DUI costs overview, second-offense DUI costs, DUI refusal costs, ignition interlock costs, license reinstatement fees.
Sources: La. Rev. Stat. §§ 14:98, 14:98.1 (first offence, $25 additional fee, 0.15 and 0.20 tiers verbatim), 14:98.2 and 14:98.3; La. Rev. Stat. § 32:667 and Office of Motor Vehicles implied-consent 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.