DUI Washington State Consequences

If you receive a gross misdemeanor DUI conviction rather than negotiate to a lesser charge, you potentially face the following penalties:

First offense

Test reported below .15, or no test result:

• Up to of 364 days in jail; with one day (or 15 days of electronic home monitoring) minimum
• $940.50 to $8,845.50 fine including costs and assessments
• 90 day license suspension
• SR22 insurance at reinstatement
• One year ignition interlock requirement
• Up to 60 months (5 years) probation
• Evaluation and treatment
• Victim impact panel

Test reported at .15 or higher, or refusal:

• Up to of 364 days in jail; with two days (or 30 days of electronic home monitoring) minimum
• $1,195.50 to $8,845.50 fine including costs and assessments
• 1 year license revocation (2 years if a test refusal)
• SR22 insurance at reinstatement
• At least one year ignition interlock requirement
• Up to 60 months (five years) probation
• Evaluation and treatment
• Victim impact panel

Second offense

Test result below .15, or no test result:

• Up to 364 days in jail (30 days minimum)
• Mandatory 60 days electronic home monitoring
• $1,195.50 to $8,845.50 fine including costs and assessments
• 2 year license revocation
• One year ignition interlock requirement if you have not previously been ordered to have such a device, five years if previous requirement of one year, 10 years if previous requirement of five years (+30 days if there was a passenger in the car under 16)
• Up to 60 months (five years) probation
• Evaluation and treatment
• Victim impact panel

Test result of .15 or higher, or refusal:

• Up to 364 days in jail (45 days minimum)
• Mandatory 90 days electronic home monitoring
• $1,620.50 to $8,845.50 fine including costs and assessments
• 900 days license revocation (three years if test refusal)
• SR22 insurance at reinstatement and for 3 years
• Ignition interlock device in you vehicle for one, five or ten years.  Plus 30 days if there was a passenger in the car under the age of 16.
• 60 months (five years) of probation
• Evaluation and treatment
• Victim impact panel

Third or Fourth Offense

Test report below .15, or no test result:

• Up to 364 days in jail (minimum 90 days)
• Mandatory 120 days electronic home monitoring
• $2,045.50 - $8,845.50 fine with assessments and cost included
• 3 year license revocation
• SR22 insurance at reinstatement and three years afterward
• Ignition interlock requirement for one year if you have never been ordered to have such a device, five years if previously required for one year, 10 years if previously required for five years.  If there was a passenger under 16 in the car, add 30 days.
• Probation for 60 months
• Evaluation and treatment
• Victim impact panel

Test report of .15 or higher, or refusal:

• Up to 364 days in jail (120 days minimum)
• 150 days on electronic home monitoring at your own expense.
• $2,895.50 - $8,845.50 in costs, fine and assessments
• 4 years license revocation
• Upon reinstatement of license, need proof of SR22 insurance for 3 years
• One, five or ten year ignition interlock requirement as described above).
• Up to 60 months (five years) of probation
• Evaluation and treatment
• Victim impact panel

DUI is a gross misdemeanor.  However, if you’ve had four or more prior offenses within 10 years, or have ever been convicted a vehicular homicide or assault involving alcohol or drugs, or have been convicted of a felony DUI, a subsequent DUI is a felony offense. 

The penalties for a Felony DUI or Physical Control include:

• Up to five years in prison and up to a $10,000.00 fine
• License revocation for at least one year
• SR22 insurance requirement for three years and satisfactory completion of treatment in order to reinstate your license
• Loss of voting rights
• Possible deportation (non-citizens)
• Possible ineligibility for citizenship
• Possible forfeiture of the vehicle you were driving
• Evaluation and treatment

• One year ignition interlock requirement if you’ve never been ordered to have the device installed, 5 if you have been ordered to have it for a year, 10 if you were ordered to have it for 5 years. If a child under 16 years old was in the vehicle, add 30 days.

• A Felony on your criminal record
• Community supervision (similar to parole)

Possible collateral consequences of a DUI conviction (whether felony or non-felony) may include:

• Travel restrictions
• Employment consequences
• Professional licensing implications
• Military discipline
• Insurance eligibility or rate changes
• CDL disqualification
• Car rental ineligibility
• Possible ineligibility for citizenship

Can I visit Canada with a Washington State DUI conviction?

A DUI conviction may be a bar to entry unless you are a Canadian citizen. Only a qualified Canadian immigration attorney can answer this question. For more information, call the Canadian Consulate (you can find their contact information online) and speak with the person there who fields these kinds of questions. There is a process to request rehabilitation, but you'd be best off discussing that process with a Canadian lawyer or the Consulate.

Do I have to reveal my misdemeanor DUI conviction on an employment application?

It depends upon what you are asked.  If asked whether you’ve ever been arrested for a crime, to be truthful you would have to say yes.  If arrested for DUI, but not felony DUI, if asked if you’ve been arrested for a felony, you would not have to say yes, unless you have been arrested for some other felony.  While your case is pending, prior to any plea of guilty or finding of guilty by the judge or jury, you may answer that you have not been convicted of a crime, if you have no other convictions. Similarly, if you are asked whether you were charged or convicted of any crime, a truthful answer (if in fact you were charged or found guilty of the DUI) would be yes.

There is no point in lying when the employer can run a background check with the Washington State Patrol for $10.00 online.

How does one get a job on house arrest (electronic monitoring) for a DUI?

Electronic Home Monitoring is intended to allow the offender to keep his or her job thus allowing for travel to and from work, then to go directly home and stay there until the next work day. If you don’t already have a job, you might not be allowed to look for work if you have to leave the house.  Depending on the agency you use for the EHM device, they may allow you to attend a job interview—this is something you will have to work out with the individual provider. You also might try to get a job that you can do from your home--perhaps answering phone calls forwarded to you after hours for businesses--or a computer-related job that you can do from home (typing from dictation, database entry, etc.). Be creative and keep trying--if you have the skills an employer wants, they may not care about the DUI--particularly if the job does not require any driving.