Updated September 3, 2026
A first DUI in California is a misdemeanor, and for most people it does not mean going to jail. It does mean a suspended license, a state-certified alcohol program, fines that are several times larger than the number written in the statute, a period of probation, and an insurance bill that lasts years. This guide walks through what a first offense involves in the order it tends to arrive, so nothing on the list is a surprise.
The first 10 days: your license
The officer took your license and gave you a pink temporary one. The DMV will suspend your driving privilege automatically unless you request a hearing within 10 days of the arrest. Requesting it puts the suspension on hold. This is the most time-sensitive item in a DUI case and it is covered in its own guide: the 10-day DMV hearing deadline.
If the DMV suspension goes forward, a first offense with a result of 0.08 or higher is four months. Most people can apply for a restricted license after 30 days, for driving to work and to the DUI program, after enrolling in the program and filing an SR-22 insurance certificate. An ignition interlock device can shorten or remove the waiting period.
The court case
A standard first offense is charged under Vehicle Code section 23152, usually as two counts: driving under the influence, and driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more. They are two ways of describing one incident, and a conviction on both still counts as a single DUI.
The first court date is the arraignment, where the charge is read and a plea is entered. An attorney can usually appear for you on a misdemeanor without you being present. From there the case moves through discovery, pretrial conferences, and either a negotiated resolution or a trial. Most first-offense cases resolve without trial, but the strength of the evidence decides what the resolution looks like, and that evidence has to be examined before anyone agrees to anything.
What a first-offense conviction carries
Vehicle Code sections 23536 and 23538 set the range. In practice a first offense with no injury and no aggravating facts typically includes:
- Probation, usually three to five years of informal probation, with standard terms: no driving with any measurable alcohol, no refusing a chemical test, no new offenses.
- Fines with a base of $390 to $1,000. Penalty assessments and fees are added on top and multiply the base several times over, so the amount on the payment sheet is far larger than the statute suggests. See what a DUI costs.
- DUI school, a state-licensed program. Three months for a standard first offense, six or nine months when the blood alcohol result was 0.15 or higher or the test was refused, at the court's discretion.
- A court-ordered license suspension of six months under Vehicle Code section 13352, with credit for time already served under the DMV's suspension.
- An ignition interlock device, which the court can order for up to six months on a first offense under Vehicle Code section 23575.3, and which the DMV offers as the route to full driving privileges during a suspension. The state's interlock program has been extended into the 2030s and is now the ordinary path for keeping a car on the road after a DUI.
- Jail of 48 hours to six months is on the books, but on a first offense with no injury, courts commonly grant probation in place of jail time.
- Often a victim impact panel, and always the Watson advisory: a formal warning, read into the record, that driving under the influence is dangerous to human life. It matters if there is ever a second incident involving a death.
What makes a first offense worse
- A blood alcohol result of 0.15 or above, or 0.20 and above, which lengthens the program and narrows plea options.
- Refusing the chemical test after arrest, which adds jail time and a longer suspension.
- A collision, especially one with an injury, which can be charged as a felony under Vehicle Code section 23153.
- A child under 14 in the car, excessive speed, or driving on a suspended license.
- Being under 21, which brings separate zero-tolerance rules on top of everything here.
Insurance, work, and the record
The SR-22 is a certificate your insurer files with the DMV proving you carry coverage. It stays on file for three years, and the premium increase that comes with it is usually the single largest cost of the whole case. Commercial drivers face a separate one-year disqualification of the commercial license. Some professional licenses and some immigration situations require disclosure or carry consequences of their own, and those are worth raising in the first conversation with an attorney.
A DUI conviction counts as a prior for 10 years. A second offense within that window is punished as a second offense even if the first was reduced or later dismissed under Penal Code section 1203.4 after probation, because the prior still exists for sentencing purposes. Expungement helps with employment and housing; it does not reset the 10-year clock.
What can change the outcome
Whether the stop was lawful. Whether the field sobriety tests were given and scored properly. Whether the breath machine was calibrated and the observation period was followed. Whether a blood sample was drawn, stored, and tested correctly. Whether the result at the time of testing reflects the level at the time of driving. Whether a reduction to a wet reckless is on the table. Each of those is a question of evidence, and each is examined before a plea is considered.
If this is your first arrest, the two things to do this week are to request the DMV hearing and to have the police report reviewed. A free consultation with a Long Beach DUI defense attorney covers both.
This page is general information for Long Beach residents, not legal advice about any specific situation. Agency fees and procedures change; confirm details with the agency before you rely on them.
