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Washington DUI penalties breakdown: every component, line by line

Our Washington DUI costs page gives the state overview. This page does the narrower job: each separate component of a Washington DUI under RCW 46.61.5055 — the fine on the courts' sentencing grid, the mandatory jail or home-monitoring term, the Department of Licensing suspension, and the DOL fees that are billed outside the court case — and no added-up total.

The grid: RCW 46.61.5055 sets the fine floor with assessments already inside it

A Washington DUI is a gross misdemeanour, and RCW 46.61.5055 sentences it on a grid split by test result. With no prior offence in seven years and a result under 0.15 — or no test result that is not a refusal — the mandatory minimum is 24 consecutive hours in jail, which the court may convert to 15 days of electronic home monitoring, and the fine on the Washington courts' DUI sentencing grid runs from $990.50 to $5,000; the grid's minimum figures already include the statutory assessments the court must impose, which is why Washington's floor is an odd number rather than a round one. The license consequence is a 90-day suspension, and the Department of Licensing requires an ignition interlock for one year.

At a result of 0.15 or higher, or where the driver refused the test, the minimums double on the custody side: 48 consecutive hours in jail, convertible to 30 days of electronic home monitoring, a grid fine of $1,245.50 to $5,000, and a one-year license revocation — two years where the driver refused. A passenger under 16 in the vehicle adds 24 hours of jail, an additional fine of at least $1,000 of which $1,000 may not be suspended unless the court finds the offender indigent, and six additional months of interlock. A second offence within seven years at the lower tier brings a mandatory 30 days in jail plus 60 days of electronic home monitoring, a two-year revocation and a five-year interlock requirement, with the fine still capped at $5,000. Probation monitoring can run for up to five years, and its supervision charges are set in the case rather than on the grid.

The DOL's own price list: reissue, interlock license and hearing fees

Washington is unusual in publishing its licensing fees as a clean schedule, and they are separate from the court's fine. Under RCW 46.20.311 and the Department of Licensing fee schedule, getting a license reissued after an alcohol-related suspension or revocation costs $170. Applying for an Ignition Interlock Driver License costs $100. Requesting the DOL hearing that contests an administrative suspension costs $375. After a DUI conviction the driver holds a probationary license for five years, and the DOL charges $50 for the probationary license that follows a conviction or deferred prosecution. Financial responsibility — an SR-22 filing — must be maintained for three years; the filing requirement is the state's, while the premium attached to it is the insurer's and is never quoted on this site.

The administrative track runs alongside the court case: the DOL suspends on the arrest — 90 days for a first failed test, one year for a first refusal — whether or not the criminal charge results in a conviction, and the hearing-request deadline is short, so the $375 hearing fee and its deadline belong in any honest breakdown of first-week costs. Deferred prosecution under RCW 10.05 exists as a treatment-based alternative for eligible defendants, but its treatment charges are provider prices over a multi-year programme, not a fee on the DOL schedule, and are described here as a requirement rather than priced. See our reinstatement page, SR-22 page and evaluation page for those layers.

Sources: RCW 46.61.5055, 46.20.311, 46.61.502, 10.05; Washington Courts DUI sentencing grid; Washington Department of Licensing driver-licensing fee schedule. Last verified: October 2026.

What this state does not publish as a single figure

The grid fine is the one Washington figure that already contains its assessments, and this page says so rather than adding them a second time — a common error in Washington DUI cost pages. What the grid does not contain is everything billed by others: the substance use disorder assessment and any treatment, priced by the certified agency; probation supervision charges, set in the case; interlock lease and calibration, priced by the DOL-approved installer; and the SR-22 premium effect, which belongs to insurers and is not a state figure anywhere on this site.

County and municipal court costs also sit outside the grid minimums and differ by court. The components in the table are the ones RCW 46.61.5055, the courts' grid and the DOL schedule publish, which is the standard this page prices to.

Common questions

Why is the minimum fine $990.50 and not a round number?

Because the Washington courts' sentencing-grid minimum is stated inclusive of the statutory assessments that must be imposed on a DUI fine; the underlying fine cap is the gross-misdemeanour $5,000.

What does the DOL charge, separate from the court?

$170 to reissue a license after an alcohol-related action, $100 to apply for an Ignition Interlock Driver License, $375 to request a DOL hearing, and $50 for the post-conviction probationary license.

Is home monitoring automatic instead of jail?

No. The court may convert the 24-hour minimum to 15 days of electronic home monitoring (30 days at the higher tier); the monitoring itself is supervised and charged in the case.

Sources: RCW 46.61.5055, 46.20.311, 46.61.502, 10.05; Washington Courts DUI sentencing grid; Washington Department of Licensing driver-licensing fee schedule. 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.