Penalties for DUI in Delaware

• DUI convictions in Delaware come with jail time, fines and a loss of your license.lemon image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
  
  A DUI conviction in Delaware can come with strict penalties. State law bans driving with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. DUI convictions stay on your driving record for at least five years. Like many states, Delaware also has an implied consent law, meaning drivers stopped by police must participate in breath, blood or urine alcohol and drug tests. Refusing such a test results in automatic license suspension by law.
  
  

Jail Time

• First-time DUI offenders in Delaware could face a jail sentence of up to six months. Repeat DUI convictions within a five-year span will earn you a minimum jail sentence of two months, and your stay could last as long as 18 months.
  
  

Fines

• Your first DUI conviction in Delaware will result in a fine of $230 to $1,150. Additional DUI offenses in a five-year period come with fines of $575 to $2,300.
  
  

Loss of License

• License suspensions in Delaware come in two varieties: administrative and criminal. Administratively, a DUI arrest in Delaware comes with an automatic loss of your license at the scene, although you are issued a 15-day temporary license if you wish to request a hearing. Losing that hearing can result in a loss of your license for three months (first conviction); a year (second conviction within five years); or 18 months (third or more offense in five years). Refusing a breathalyzer or other DUI test will earn automatic loss of license for a year (first refused test); 18 months for the second refused test; or two years for refusals after that. Criminally, a first-time criminal DUI conviction means you lose your license for one to two years, with additional offenses within five years equating to no license for two to five years.
  
  

Ignition Lock Device

• First-time DUI offenders may elect to go into Delaware's First Offenders Program, which allows them to skip a trial and avoid the harshest penalties. Electing to do this means you must take an education course and consent to using an ignition lock device for at least five months, which prevents your car from being started at the scent of any alcohol. Also, the court may require any DUI offender to put an ignition lock device on all of their vehicles for at least 12 months.