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Nevada DUI penalties breakdown: every component, line by line
Our Nevada DUI costs page gives the state overview. This page does the narrower job: it prices each component of NRS 484C.400 for a first and second offence inside Nevada’s seven-year window, the DUI school and victim impact panel every first offender completes, the 185-day revocation and its interlock, and the DMV reinstatement charges — with no added-up total.
The seven-year ladder: § 484C.400 from two days to a felony
A first DUI within seven years is a misdemeanour under NRS 484C.400: not less than two days nor more than six months in jail — or, in the court's discretion, 48 to 96 hours of community service in distinctive garb in place of the jail term — and a fine of $400 to $1,000. Two programme components attach to every first offence and are not optional extras: attendance at an approved DUI school (the standard course is eight hours) and attendance before a victim impact panel, each at the driver's expense at the provider's published tuition. Where the concentration was 0.16 or higher, a substance-abuse evaluation is also mandatory before sentencing under NRS 484C.350. A separate $35 civil penalty attaches to the conviction under Nevada's DUI penalty provisions, in addition to the fine.
A second offence within seven years remains a misdemeanour but the minimums change character: the mandatory jail minimum is now twenty days (doubled from ten by 2025 legislation effective October 1, 2025) up to six months, the fine is $750 to $1,000, treatment is mandatory rather than evaluation-only, and the revocation runs a full year. A third offence within seven years is a category B felony: one to six years in state prison, a fine of $2,000 to $5,000, and a three-year revocation — and any later DUI after a felony DUI conviction is a felony permanently, with no seven-year washout. Our second-offence page compares Nevada's doubled minimum with other states' second-offence floors.
The 185-day revocation, interlock, and DMV reinstatement
The license consequence of a first conviction is a 185-day revocation, administered by the Department of Motor Vehicles separately from the court sentence; a first refusal or failure on the administrative side carries the same 185-day period, rising to one year on a second and three years on a third. Nevada allows driving during the revocation only on a restricted license with an ignition interlock installed, and the interlock term for a first offence runs 185 days. The device is leased from a state-approved vendor at the vendor's rates, as our interlock page explains.
Reinstatement at the end of the revocation is a DMV transaction: the published charges are a $125 reinstatement fee together with the $35 civil penalty where it has not already been collected, plus proof of financial responsibility — an SR-22 filing maintained for three years, made by the insurer as our SR-22 page describes. A driver whose case qualifies may also be diverted into the misdemeanour DUI court programme under NRS 484C.320, an intensive treatment programme whose completion can avoid the conviction itself; its programme charges are set by the programme rather than printed in the statute. Our reinstatement page and classes page cover the reinstatement package and DUI school in detail.
| DUI component | Published amount |
|---|---|
| First offence in 7 years (NRS 484C.400) | Misdemeanour; 2 days–6 months jail, or 48–96 hours community service; fine $400–$1,000 |
| Civil penalty | $35, in addition to the fine |
| Programme components, first offence | DUI school (standard 8-hour course) + victim impact panel, at the driver’s expense; substance-abuse evaluation mandatory at 0.16+ (NRS 484C.350) |
| Second offence in 7 years (NRS 484C.400) | Misdemeanour; 20 days–6 months (minimum doubled eff. Oct 1, 2025); fine $750–$1,000; mandatory treatment; 1-year revocation |
| Third offence in 7 years | Category B felony; 1–6 years state prison; fine $2,000–$5,000; 3-year revocation |
| Revocation, first offence | 185 days; driving only on a restricted license with interlock for 185 days |
| DMV reinstatement | $125 reinstatement fee; SR-22 maintained 3 years |
Sources: Nevada Revised Statutes §§ 484C.400, 484C.350, 484C.320, 484C.460; Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles DUI revocation and reinstatement schedules. 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
Nevada court costs and the administrative fees assessed by the sentencing court vary by court, and DUI school, victim impact panel and evaluation charges are the providers' published tuitions rather than figures printed in NRS 484C.400 — the standard eight-hour DUI school is commonly listed at around one hundred dollars by approved schools, but because that is a provider price and not a statutory fee this page describes it as a component rather than tabling it as a state charge. The interlock is likewise a vendor lease for the 185-day term.
There is no published Nevada figure for the effect of a DUI on the price of insuring a car, and none is estimated here; the state's interest in insurance is the three-year SR-22 filing discussed above. Felony DUI ranges from the third offence onward are stated by classification and are deliberately not blended into the misdemeanour table.
Common questions
- Can a first Nevada DUI really be served as community service?
- Yes — § 484C.400 allows 48 to 96 hours of community service in place of the two-day jail minimum on a first offence, though the $400–$1,000 fine, DUI school, victim panel and 185-day revocation all still apply.
- What changed for a second Nevada DUI in 2025?
- The mandatory minimum jail term doubled, from ten days to twenty days, for offences on or after October 1, 2025 — the fine range ($750–$1,000) and the one-year revocation were unchanged.
- How long is the interlock on a first Nevada offence?
- 185 days — the same length as the revocation — and it is the condition of any restricted driving during that period.
Related cost guides: Nevada DUI costs overview, second-offense DUI costs, DUI classes and programme fees, ignition interlock costs, license reinstatement fees.
Sources: Nevada Revised Statutes §§ 484C.400, 484C.350, 484C.320, 484C.460; Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles DUI revocation and reinstatement schedules. 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.