The first deadline comes faster than most people think.
Separate from the criminal charge, the Department of Licensing moves to suspend your license administratively — and under RCW 46.20.308 you have only seven days from arrest to request the hearing that contests it. Miss that window and the suspension happens automatically, no matter how the criminal case turns out. It's one of the first things I handle when a client calls, which is why calling early matters more in DUI cases than almost anywhere else.
What a Washington DUI actually carries.
Most DUI charges (RCW 46.61.502) are gross misdemeanors — but "misdemeanor" undersells what's at stake. Washington attaches mandatory minimum penalties that judges cannot waive, and they escalate steeply with your breath-test result and any prior offenses within seven years.
First-offense DUI — the baseline
- Maximum: 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine
- Mandatory minimum jail: 24 consecutive hours (BAC under 0.15) or 48 hours (0.15 or above, or test refusal) — in some cases convertible to electronic home monitoring
- License: 90-day suspension at minimum; a year or more for high BAC or refusal
- Ignition interlock requirement (RCW 46.20.720) and high-risk insurance (SR-22)
- Priors within 7 years multiply the mandatory minimums dramatically
- A fourth offense within 10 years is charged as a Class B felony (RCW 46.61.502(6))
Where DUI cases break.
I prosecuted these cases for eight years, so I know the State's file from the inside — and I know that a DUI is a chain of technical steps, every link of which has to hold.
- The stop itself. If the officer lacked a lawful basis to pull you over, everything that follows can be suppressed.
- Field sobriety tests. They're voluntary, they're graded subjectively, and they're routinely administered in conditions that guarantee poor performance.
- The breath test. Observation-period violations, machine maintenance and calibration records, operator certification — the State's number is only as good as its protocol.
- Blood draws. These generally require a warrant, and warrant defects are more common than prosecutors like to admit.
- Rising BAC and medical issues. The number that matters is your BAC while driving — not at the station an hour later.
Resolutions that protect your future.
Not every DUI should go to trial — but every DUI should be prepared like it might. That preparation is what produces reductions to reckless or negligent driving, treatment-based outcomes, and dismissals when the State's chain doesn't hold. For some clients, a deferred prosecution under RCW 10.05 — a treatment-centered path that can keep a conviction off your record — is the right move. It's generally available only once in a lifetime, so the decision deserves genuine analysis, not a reflex.
DUI questions I hear most.
Will I lose my license?
Not necessarily — but only if you act inside the 7-day window to request a Department of Licensing hearing. Even when suspension can't be avoided entirely, an ignition interlock license can usually keep you driving legally for work and family.
Should I have refused the breath test?
Whatever you did is done, and both paths are defensible. A refusal triggers longer license consequences and can be used against you in court, but it also leaves the State without its favorite number. Tell me what happened and I'll work with the facts as they are.
Do I really need a lawyer for a first DUI?
A first DUI is precisely when the right lawyer changes the most: it's the difference between a conviction that follows you for decades and an outcome that lets you move on. The mandatory minimums, license actions, and insurance consequences are not things to navigate alone.
When does DUI become a felony?
A fourth offense within ten years, or a DUI committed after a prior conviction for vehicular homicide or vehicular assault, is charged as a felony — with prison, not jail, on the table. Felony DUI cases demand the trial-ready approach I bring to every serious felony.
Statutory references current as of July 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice about your case — penalties depend heavily on the specific facts and your history.