Vehicle · DUI penalties
DUI Penalties in Michigan
The jail, fines, and license loss for a DUI in Michigan by offense, when a DUI becomes a felony, the lookback period that counts your priors, and what raises the penalty. These are the criminal penalties, separate from the DMV license suspension. Cited to the statute.
DUI penalties by offense in Michigan
Jail, fine, and license loss for a first, second, and third offense, the felony threshold, and the aggravators that raise the penalty.
Michigan OWI penalties, the high-BAC threshold, and the specialty-court rules are amended periodically. The statute text read here is complete through PA 20 of 2026. Confirm the current figures for your offense date before relying on them.
| Penalties by offense | What it means |
|---|---|
| First offense | A first OWI under MCL 257.625(9)(a) is a misdemeanor with no mandatory minimum jail. The court may impose one or more of community service for up to 360 hours, imprisonment for up to 93 days, and a fine of $100 to $500. A high-BAC count under MCL 257.625(1)(c) raises the ceiling to 180 days and the fine to $200 to $700. |
| Second offense inside seven years | A violation within seven years of a prior conviction under MCL 257.625(9)(b) carries a mandatory fine of $200 to $1,000 plus one or more of imprisonment for 5 days to 1 year, or community service for 30 to 90 days. |
| Third offense felony threshold, no time limit | Under MCL 257.625(9)(c) a violation after two or more prior convictions, regardless of the number of years that have elapsed since any prior conviction, is a felony. It carries a fine of $500 to $5,000 and either 1 to 5 years under the department of corrections, or probation with 30 days to 1 year in county jail plus 60 to 180 days of community service. |
| The visibly impaired track runs in parallel | Operating while visibly impaired under MCL 257.625(3) has its own lower ladder. A first offense carries up to 360 hours of community service, up to 93 days, and a fine of not more than $300. It converges with the OWI ladder at the felony third. |
| Child under 16 in the vehicle | MCL 257.625(7) creates a separate offense for operating while intoxicated with a passenger under 16. A repeat within seven years, or after two or more priors regardless of elapsed time, carries 60 to 180 days of community service with not less than 48 hours of imprisonment served consecutively. |
| What raises the penalty | What it means |
|---|---|
| The felony third has no washout | Michigan removed the ten-year washout for a felony third in 2007. Second offenses still wash out at seven years, but nothing washes out for the felony. A 25-year-old OWI still counts toward a felony third, which makes Michigan harsher than Ohio, Georgia, or North Carolina. |
| Same-transaction priors merge | Under MCL 257.625(27), if two or more prior convictions arise out of the same transaction, only one may be used to determine whether the person has a prior conviction. |
| Specialty court is the escape hatch | Mandatory terms of imprisonment on the enhanced and felony subsections must not be suspended unless the defendant agrees to participate in a specialty court program and successfully completes it. |
| A dormant 0.10 threshold sits in the statute | MCL 257.625(1)(b) provides that the per se limit becomes 0.10 five years after a certification that Michigan stops receiving federal highway funding conditioned on a national limit. That certification has not occurred, so the 0.08 limit remains in force. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps if you are facing a DUI in Michigan. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Get a Michigan OWI lawyer
Michigan OWI exposure turns on your alcohol content and the number of priors, which never expire for the felony third. A Michigan attorney can explain the exposure for your offense date and county.
- Count every prior, no matter how old
Because the felony third has no washout, an OWI from decades ago still counts. Pull your full driving and conviction history so you know whether a felony charge is on the table.
- Ask about specialty court
On an enhanced or felony sentence, mandatory jail cannot be suspended unless you enter and complete a specialty court program. Ask whether one is available and whether you qualify.
A DUI is a criminal charge with lasting consequences, and deadlines to challenge the license suspension are short. A licensed DUI defense attorney can explain your options; the state bar can refer you to one.
→ State Bar of MichiganThis is general legal information, not legal advice. Penalties turn on your BAC, priors, and the exact charge, and the criminal case is separate from the DMV license case, so confirm your situation against the statute and talk to a lawyer.
What drivers in Michigan get wrong about DUI penalties
A first Michigan OWI under MCL 257.625 is a misdemeanor with no mandatory jail. The court may impose one or more of community service for up to 360 hours, up to 93 days in jail, and a fine of $100 to $500. If your alcohol content was 0.17 or more, the high-BAC count at MCL 257.625(1)(c) raises the ceiling to 180 days and the fine to $200 to $700, but it has to be charged and proved as its own count. Michigan is the outlier of these four states on how it counts priors. A second offense uses a seven-year window under MCL 257.625(9)(b), but the third-offense felony under MCL 257.625(9)(c) applies after two or more prior convictions regardless of how many years have elapsed since any of them. A 25-year-old OWI still counts toward a felony third. That lifetime reach makes Michigan materially harsher than Ohio, Georgia, and North Carolina, all of which cap their felony counting window at ten years. Michigan also runs a lower visibly-impaired track under MCL 257.625(3) that converges with the OWI ladder at the felony third, and a separate offense for driving intoxicated with a child under 16. Mandatory jail on the enhanced and felony subsections cannot be suspended unless the defendant enters and completes a specialty court program.
Common questions
What is the penalty for a first OWI in Michigan?
A first OWI is a misdemeanor with no mandatory jail. Under MCL 257.625(9)(a) the court may impose up to 360 hours of community service, up to 93 days, and a fine of $100 to $500. A high-BAC count at 0.17 or more raises the ceiling to 180 days and the fine to $200 to $700.
When is an OWI a felony in Michigan?
A third offense is a felony under MCL 257.625(9)(c). It applies after two or more prior convictions regardless of how many years have elapsed, so the priors never expire for felony purposes.
Does Michigan have a lookback period for OWI?
It is split. The second-offense enhancement uses a seven-year window, but the third-offense felony has no lookback at all. A decades-old OWI still counts toward a felony third.
Is jail mandatory on a first Michigan OWI?
No. MCL 257.625(9)(a) is permissive, so a first offender can lawfully receive community service and a fine with zero days in jail. Mandatory minimums appear only on the second offense and above.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.