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South Carolina DUI penalties breakdown: every component, line by line

Our South Carolina DUI costs page gives the state overview. This page does the narrower job: it prices each component of S.C. Code §§ 56-5-2930, 56-5-2933 and 56-5-2990 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

South Carolina is the only state in this run that prices a first DUI by the driver's own BAC tier, in the text of § 56-5-2930 itself. Below 0.10, the punishment is a fine of $400 or imprisonment for 48 hours to thirty days. From 0.10 to under 0.16, it is a fine of $500 or 72 hours to thirty days. At 0.16 or higher, it is a fine of $1,000 or thirty to ninety days. At each tier the court may provide for public service employment equal to the minimum jail term in lieu of serving it, but the statute is explicit that the court may not compel the offender to accept public service instead of the minimum sentence. The related offence of driving with an unlawful alcohol concentration under § 56-5-2933 carries the same penalty structure, so the tier table applies whichever of the two charges the case proceeds on.

One figure in South Carolina summaries needs separating before it is used. The $400, $500 and $1,000 amounts above are the statutory fines in § 56-5-2930. Published total-cost summaries of a first offence at the lowest tier quote a figure approaching $992 for the amount actually paid on that $400 fine, because court assessments and surcharges are added to the statutory fine at sentencing. Those assessments are real money, but they are not the fine, they are not set by § 56-5-2930, and they vary with the court — so this page tables the statutory fine and names the assessments as a separate component, rather than presenting an assessment-inclusive figure as if the legislature had set it. Any South Carolina quote that shows a single first-offence number without saying which of the two it is should be read with that distinction in mind.

Second and third offences, and what escalates

Every first offence, at every tier, carries a six-month license suspension and mandatory enrolment in the Alcohol and Drug Safety Action Program, and the license cannot be reinstated until ADSAP is completed — which makes the programme's own provider-set fees a gating cost, not an optional one, because driving legally again depends on finishing it. Under § 56-5-2990 as expanded by Emma's Law, interlock is part of the route back as well: published summaries put a six-month interlock requirement before reinstatement for first offenders, and a driver who needs to drive during the suspension does so through the interlock programme or a temporary alcohol license route rather than by simply waiting. Our hardship and interlock pages explain those two routes and how they differ.

Refusal, the restricted license, and reinstatement charges

The BAC tiers keep scaling on repeat offences, which is why the table gives the lowest-tier figures and says so. A second offence at the lowest tier carries a fine of $2,100 to $5,100 and five days to one year, with a one-year suspension in published summaries and a two-year interlock requirement; the fine and jail figures rise again at the 0.10 and 0.16 tiers. A third offence at the lowest tier carries $3,800 to $6,300 and sixty days to three years, a two-year suspension that becomes four years if the offence falls within five years of the first, and exposure to vehicle confiscation where the offence falls within ten years of the first. Priors are counted over a ten-year lookback, so a South Carolina driver pricing a new case first has to establish which tier — offence number and BAC — the case actually sits in.

DUI component	Published amount
First offence, BAC under 0.10 (§ 56-5-2930)	Fine of $400 or imprisonment for 48 hours to 30 days; the court may provide for 48 hours of public service employment in lieu of the 48-hour minimum, but may not compel it
First offence, BAC 0.10 to under 0.16 (§ 56-5-2930)	Fine of $500 or imprisonment for 72 hours to 30 days; 72 hours of public service may be provided in lieu of the minimum
First offence, BAC 0.16+ (§ 56-5-2930)	Fine of $1,000 or imprisonment for 30 to 90 days; 30 days of public service may be provided in lieu of the minimum
License and programme (first offence)	6-month suspension at every BAC tier; mandatory enrolment in the Alcohol and Drug Safety Action Program (ADSAP), with reinstatement unavailable until it is completed; interlock under § 56-5-2990 — published summaries put a 6-month interlock requirement before reinstatement for first offenders
Second offence (§§ 56-5-2930, 56-5-2933)	Fine $2,100–$5,100 and 5 days to 1 year at the lowest BAC tier, rising by tier; 1-year suspension in published summaries, with a longer interlock requirement
Third offence (§§ 56-5-2930, 56-5-2933)	Fine $3,800–$6,300 and 60 days to 3 years at the lowest BAC tier, rising by tier; 2-year suspension, 4 years if the offence falls within 5 years of the first

What this state does not publish as a single figure

South Carolina does not publish a single statewide price for ADSAP: the programme is delivered through county alcohol and drug authorities and its assessment and course fees are set at that level, and interlock installation and leasing, probation supervision and the court assessments discussed above are likewise not fixed in § 56-5-2930. Those components are described as requirements on this page rather than priced as state charges, and the assessment-inclusive totals quoted by third-party summaries are deliberately not reproduced as statutory figures. There is no published South Carolina figure for the effect of a DUI on car insurance prices, and none is estimated here; the state's priced components are the BAC-tiered fines and the suspension, ADSAP and interlock structure.

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 South Carolina 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 do South Carolina summaries quote $992 for a $400 fine?: Because assessments and surcharges are added to the $400 statutory fine in § 56-5-2930 at sentencing. The fine and the assessment-inclusive amount paid are two different components, and only the $400 is set by the statute.
What is ADSAP and is it optional?: The Alcohol and Drug Safety Action Program is mandatory on every DUI conviction in South Carolina, and the license cannot be reinstated until it is completed — its fees are set by the county programme provider, not by the statute.
How does BAC change a first South Carolina DUI?: Directly, in the statute: $400 or 48 hours to 30 days below 0.10; $500 or 72 hours to 30 days from 0.10 to under 0.16; and $1,000 or 30 to 90 days at 0.16 or higher, with a six-month suspension at every tier.

Sources: S.C. Code § 56-5-2930 (BAC-tiered first, second and third offence penalties verbatim); S.C. Code §§ 56-5-2933 and 56-5-2990 (DUAC penalties and interlock); South Carolina DMV reinstatement guidance; South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services ADSAP guidance. 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.