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New Mexico DWI penalties breakdown: every component, line by line
Our New Mexico DUI costs page gives the state overview. This page does the narrower job: it prices each component of NMSA 1978, § 66-8-102 for a first, second and third conviction, the aggravated tier at 0.16, and the felony fourth — with no added-up total.
The first offence, component by component
New Mexico uses the term DWI, and § 66-8-102(E) prices a first conviction as a misdemeanour punishable by imprisonment for not more than ninety days or a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or both. Where the sentence is suspended or deferred, probation may extend beyond ninety days but shall not exceed one year. The statute adds two mandatory components that are easy to miss in a headline fine figure: the offender shall be sentenced to not less than twenty-four hours of community service, and the court shall order participation in and completion of a screening programme and attendance at a driver rehabilitation programme for alcohol or drugs — DWI school — approved by the bureau, with any further rehabilitative services the court determines to be necessary.
The court may also require an additional fine of three hundred dollars ($300) on a first conviction, which is a separate statutory component from the $500 maximum fine and is therefore tabled separately below rather than merged into a single figure. License revocation on a first conviction is one year in the published state summaries, and New Mexico requires an ignition interlock licence for convicted offenders — the device, its installation and its monthly lease are charged by the approved provider the driver chooses, not set as a state tariff in § 66-8-102. Screening, DWI school and any treatment that follows a screening recommendation are likewise completion conditions billed by the provider, described here rather than priced as state charges.
Second and third offences, and what escalates
A second conviction under § 66-8-102(F)(1) carries imprisonment for not more than three hundred sixty-four days or a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both, but the mandatory floor is what drives the cost in time: not less than ninety-six consecutive hours in jail, not less than forty-eight hours of community service and a fine of five hundred dollars ($500), none of which may be suspended, deferred or taken under advisement. A second offender must also complete a twenty-eight-day inpatient treatment programme, a ninety-day outpatient programme, or other court-approved treatment, and probation may extend to five years. A third conviction under subsection (F)(2) raises the mandatory floor to not less than thirty consecutive days in jail, not less than ninety-six hours of community service and a fine of seven hundred fifty dollars ($750), within the same three-hundred-sixty-four-day and $1,000 outer limits, again with the inpatient or outpatient treatment component.
Aggravated DWI is a defined term in New Mexico: driving with an alcohol concentration of 0.16 or more within three hours of driving, causing bodily injury as a result of unlawful operation while under the influence, or refusing chemical testing under the Implied Consent Act where the court finds the driver was under the influence. On a first conviction the aggravated tier adds not less than forty-eight consecutive hours in jail; on a second it adds not less than ninety-six consecutive hours; and on a third not less than sixty consecutive days — each addition is non-suspendable. Failure to complete community service, screening, treatment or DWI school within the time the court specifies adds a further mandatory jail component — at least forty-eight consecutive hours on a first conviction and at least seven consecutive days on a second — which is why the programme components are priced in time on this page even where their tuition is provider-billed.
The felony line is crossed at the fourth conviction: a fourth DWI is a fourth-degree felony, with a mandatory minimum of six months in the published statutory summaries and a fine of up to $5,000, and later felony convictions carry progressively longer mandatory terms. License revocation lengthens with each tier in the published summaries — one year for a first conviction, two years for a second and three years for a third — and it runs through the Motor Vehicle Division separately from the criminal sentence, so a driver can face both tracks on different clocks.
Refusal, the interlock licence, and reinstatement
Refusal is handled under the Implied Consent Act, §§ 66-8-105 to 66-8-112, and it can both revoke the licence administratively and, where the court finds intoxication, convert the criminal case into an aggravated DWI with the mandatory jail additions described above. That dual effect makes refusal one of the most expensive components in New Mexico in time terms, even though no separate refusal fine is tabled in § 66-8-102 itself. The interlock licence is the restricted-driving route during revocation: the statute and Motor Vehicle Division guidance require the device, but the installation, lease, calibration and removal charges belong to the provider market, and this page does not invent a state price for them. Reinstatement after revocation requires the period to be served and the screening, school, treatment and interlock conditions to be completed; New Mexico does not publish a single DWI-specific reinstatement total separate from its ordinary licensing fees, so no such figure is tabled here.
| DUI component | Published amount |
|---|---|
| The offence (§ 66-8-102(A)–(C)) | Driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a drug rendering the driver incapable of safely driving, or with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more in blood or breath within three hours of driving (0.04 for a commercial vehicle) |
| First conviction (§ 66-8-102(E)) | Misdemeanour; not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than $500, or both; not less than 24 hours of community service; screening and DWI school ordered; the court may also require an additional $300 fine; 1-year revocation and interlock licence in published state summaries |
| Second conviction (§ 66-8-102(F)(1)) | Not more than 364 days or $1,000, or both; mandatory not less than 96 consecutive hours in jail, 48 hours of community service and a $500 fine, non-suspendable; 28-day inpatient or 90-day outpatient treatment; 2-year revocation in published summaries |
| Third conviction (§ 66-8-102(F)(2)) | Not more than 364 days or $1,000, or both; mandatory not less than 30 consecutive days, 96 hours of community service and a $750 fine; treatment as for a second conviction; 3-year revocation in published summaries |
| Aggravated DWI (§ 66-8-102(D) and penalty subsections) | 0.16 or more, bodily injury, or refusal with a court finding of intoxication: additional mandatory jail — 48 consecutive hours (first), 96 consecutive hours (second), 60 consecutive days (third), non-suspendable |
| Fourth conviction | Fourth-degree felony in published statutory summaries; mandatory minimum 6 months; fine up to $5,000; later felony tiers carry longer mandatory terms |
| Failure to complete ordered programmes | First conviction: not less than an additional 48 consecutive hours in jail; second conviction: not less than an additional 7 consecutive days — neither suspendable |
Sources: NMSA 1978, § 66-8-102 (first, second, third, aggravated and failure-to-complete tiers, New Mexico Legislature text as reproduced in official-code references); §§ 66-8-105 to 66-8-112 (Implied Consent Act); New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division revocation and interlock-licence 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
New Mexico court costs and assessments are set by the court where the case is heard, not by § 66-8-102, and no single published DWI amount covers them. The screening, DWI school, inpatient and outpatient treatment components described above, any probation supervision, and an interlock provider's installation, monthly lease, calibration and removal charges are all billed outside the statute's fine and revocation figures. Those components are described as requirements on this page rather than priced as state charges. There is no published New Mexico figure for the effect of a DWI on car insurance prices, and none is estimated here — insurance is mentioned only where a filing requirement is itself a reinstatement component.
A deferred sentence on a first conviction still counts as a first conviction for determining later convictions under the statute, so the escalation ladder above applies to deferred first cases as well as to cases where the full sentence was imposed at once.
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 authority in this state has published. Use the table to price the components that apply to a specific case, and compare the national pattern in our first-offense cost guide, second-offense guide and third-offense guide.
Common questions
- What is the maximum fine for a first New Mexico DWI?
- $500 under § 66-8-102(E), alongside up to 90 days, at least 24 hours of community service, screening and DWI school. The court may also require an additional $300 fine, tabled separately on this page.
- What is mandatory on a second New Mexico DWI?
- At least 96 consecutive hours in jail, at least 48 hours of community service and a $500 fine, none suspendable, plus a 28-day inpatient or 90-day outpatient treatment programme, within outer limits of 364 days and $1,000.
- When does a New Mexico DWI become a felony?
- At the fourth conviction, a fourth-degree felony with a mandatory minimum of six months and a fine of up to $5,000 in the published statutory summaries.
Related cost guides: New Mexico DUI costs overview, second-offense DUI costs, DUI refusal costs, ignition interlock costs, license reinstatement fees.
Sources: NMSA 1978, § 66-8-102 (first, second, third, aggravated and failure-to-complete tiers, New Mexico Legislature text as reproduced in official-code references); §§ 66-8-105 to 66-8-112 (Implied Consent Act); New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division revocation and interlock-licence 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.