What happens after a DUI arrest in Florida, step by step?

The criminal charge is handled in county court, and the license suspension by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV). The two run on separate clocks, before different decision makers, and a win or loss on one does not settle the other. This page walks through both, with the rule or statute behind each step. For an overview of how Mr. Mead approaches these cases, see the main DUI defense page.

How does a Florida DUI case move, step by step?

1. The arrest and the test request. After the arrest the officer asks for a breath, blood or urine test. A breath or blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher is, by itself, enough for the charge of driving with an unlawful alcohol level (s. 316.1934(2)(c)). A refusal starts a different path, with a longer suspension.
2. Custody until it is safe to release. Under section 316.193(9), Florida Statutes, the person stays in custody until one of three things is true: normal faculties are no longer impaired, the breath or blood alcohol level is below 0.05, or 8 hours have passed since the arrest.
3. The license is taken. When the level is 0.08 or higher, or the driver refused a test, the officer takes the license and issues a notice of suspension, plus a 10-day temporary permit if the person is otherwise eligible to drive (s. 322.2615(1)(a)). The suspension starts on the date of that notice. If blood was drawn instead, the results go to FLHSMV within 5 days after the agency receives them, and FLHSMV then decides whether to suspend.
4. Bond or first appearance. Many people can post bond under a bond schedule before seeing a judge (Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.131(b)(1)). Anyone still in custody must be taken before a judge, in person or by video, within 24 hours of arrest (Rule 3.130(a)).
5. The paperwork goes to FLHSMV. Within 5 days of the notice, the officer sends the license, an affidavit, the test results or refusal affidavit and the notice to the department (s. 322.2615(2)(a)).
6. The 10-day decision. The driver chooses whether to ask for a formal or informal review, or a review of eligibility for a restricted license, before the permit expires at midnight on the 10th day.
7. Formal charges and arraignment. The State Attorney files the charge, and the case is set for arraignment, where a plea is entered or a lawyer files a written plea of not guilty.
8. Discovery, motions, and resolution. The defense obtains the reports, videos and test records, files any motions, and the case ends by dismissal, a program, a plea or a trial.

What happens in the first day, including bond and the hearing before a judge, is covered in more detail on our page about the first 48 hours after an arrest in Palm Beach or Broward County.

What is the timeline after a Florida DUI arrest?

How those trial clocks work, and how they are extended or waived, is explained on our page about speedy trial deadlines in Florida.

What is the 10-day license deadline?

The notice of suspension starts a short clock. Within 10 days of the date the notice was issued, the driver may ask FLHSMV for a formal or informal review of the suspension, or ask for a review of eligibility for a restricted license (s. 322.2615(1)(b)3.). The temporary permit runs out at midnight on the 10th day. A request for review does not pause the suspension (s. 322.2615(9)). Each choice has trade-offs. Accepting a restricted license through the eligibility review, for example, is treated as a waiver of the formal and informal review (s. 322.271(7)(c)), so it is worth getting advice before the deadline. We explain each option on our page about how to keep your license within 10 days of a Florida DUI arrest. What the hearing officer looks at, and how witnesses are subpoenaed, is set out in what happens at a formal review hearing.

If the officer's paperwork says you refused a test, read what happens if you refused the breath test in Florida, because a refusal carries its own suspension and, since October 1, 2025, its own criminal charge.

Where will a South Florida DUI case be heard?

Unless it is charged as a felony, a DUI is a criminal traffic case for county court. Here is what the two local circuits publish.

• Broward County: the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit says its County Court Criminal Division handles criminal traffic matters, including driving under the influence. Its county criminal judges sit at the Central Courthouse, 201 SE 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale, and at satellite courthouses in Hollywood, Plantation and Deerfield Beach.
• Palm Beach County: the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit has courthouses in West Palm Beach (the Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley Courthouse and the Criminal Justice Complex on Gun Club Road), Palm Beach Gardens, Delray Beach and Belle Glade. The State Attorney's South County office says misdemeanor, criminal traffic and DUI arraignments are held weekly at the South County Courthouse, 200 West Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. The courthouse on your notice to appear or court notice is the one that counts.

Someone held overnight in Palm Beach County usually sees the judge at the jail complex described on our page about the Palm Beach County jail and first appearance. In Broward, the equivalent steps are on our page about the Broward Central Courthouse and Main Jail. For local details on a case that starts with a Boca Raton arrest, see our Boca Raton DUI and criminal defense page. Courts, programs and offices across each county are collected on our Palm Beach County page and its Broward counterpart.

Is there a first-time DUI program in Palm Beach County?

The Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office publishes a "1st Time D.U.I. Offender Program." Timing matters, because the office's program sheet says:

"This plea resolution must be entered at the Arraignment stage of the case at one of our satellite courthouses (Gun Club, North County, South County, or Belle Glade). This plea resolution must be entered prior to the filing of any defense motions, demands for discovery, or demands for jury trial."State Attorney, 15th Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County 1st Time D.U.I. Offender Program

Admission is not automatic. The same sheet says "A defendant's eligibility is determined at the sole discretion of the D.U.I. filing unit and may be based on relevant factors not mentioned above." Florida law also limits plea bargains in DUI cases. Section 316.656(2)(a), Florida Statutes, reads: "No trial judge may accept a plea of guilty to a lesser offense from a person charged under the provisions of this act who has been given a breath or blood test to determine blood or breath alcohol content, the results of which show a blood or breath alcohol content by weight of 0.15 percent or more." Whether a program or any other resolution fits a case depends on its facts, so the timing of motions and discovery requests matters. The program's tiers, conditions and exclusions are set out on our page about the Palm Beach County first-time DUI program.

What changes the answer?

• The test result. A level of 0.05 or less is presumed not impaired; above 0.05 but under 0.08 there is no presumption either way, and the level may be weighed with other evidence (s. 316.1934(2)(a), (b)). At 0.08 or higher the suspension is 6 months for a first offense and 1 year if the license was suspended before under the same section (s. 322.2615(1)(b)1.b.).
• A refusal. The administrative suspension is 1 year for a first refusal and 18 months after an earlier refusal suspension (s. 322.2615(1)(b)1.a.), and the outcome of the criminal case does not undo it (s. 322.2615(14)(b)).
• A crash with serious injury or death. Police must require a blood test and may use reasonable force (s. 316.1933(1)(a)). Serious bodily injury makes the case a third-degree felony, and a death makes it DUI manslaughter (s. 316.193(3)(c)), as explained in what happens when a DUI involves a crash.
• Prior DUI convictions. A third conviction within 10 years of a prior one, or any fourth conviction, is a third-degree felony (s. 316.193(2)(b)1., 3.). Felony charges are heard in circuit court, not county court (s. 26.012(2)(d)).
• Charges that bar release before a judge. A person may not bond out before first appearance if the arrest is for a first- or second-degree felony, which covers DUI manslaughter, or if the person was on pretrial release, probation or community control when arrested for a felony (s. 903.011(6)(a), (g)). The judge then sets bail after weighing the criteria in section 903.046(2), explained on our page about how bond is set in Florida.
• Age. A driver under 21 with a level of 0.02 or higher faces a separate administrative suspension under section 322.2616, covered in what happens when a driver under 21 is stopped after drinking.

A worked example

For example, picture a hypothetical driver stopped on a Saturday night in Boca Raton who blows 0.11 on the breath test and has no prior record. The officer takes the license and hands over a notice of suspension dated that night, which doubles as a 10-day permit if the driver is otherwise eligible. The driver is held until the level falls below 0.05 or 8 hours pass, then posts bond under the schedule. The 10-day window runs from the date on the notice, so the decision on a formal review or a restricted license has to be made by the Tuesday 10 days later, not after 10 business days. The citation lists an arraignment at the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach a few weeks out. If the driver wants to be considered for the State Attorney's first-time program, the program sheet says the plea must be entered at arraignment and before any defense motions or discovery demands, so that choice also has to be made early. This is an illustration only, not a prediction of any case.

Common mistakes people make

• Counting 10 business days instead of 10 calendar days from the date on the notice of suspension.
• Assuming a request for review lets them keep driving; the request does not stay the suspension, and the temporary permit still ends on day 10.
• Treating the license review and the criminal case as one thing; they are decided separately, and the result of one does not end the other.
• Missing the arraignment date, or sending a family member in their place, when the court has not excused them.
• Filing motions or discovery demands in Palm Beach County before deciding whether to seek the first-time program.
• Leaving the car at the tow yard while storage charges grow; the steps to get it back are on our page about what happens to your car after a Florida DUI.

What to do this week

1. Find the notice of suspension and count 10 calendar days from its date. Put the deadline in your phone.
2. Keep every document: the citation, the notice of suspension and temporary permit, any breath test printout, bond papers and any tow or impound receipt.
3. Do not drive once the temporary permit expires unless you hold a valid license or permit. Knowingly driving while suspended is a separate crime under section 322.34(2), Florida Statutes.
4. Check the court date and courthouse on your paperwork, and whether you must attend; our page on whether you have to go to your arraignment explains the rules.
5. Write down what happened while it is fresh: where you were, what you ate and drank, the stop, the roadside exercises and the test.
6. Speak with a lawyer before the 10-day deadline and before the first court date.

A day-by-day version of this list is on our page about the first week after a Florida DUI arrest. For what a conviction can mean in numbers, see our table of Florida DUI penalties.

Frequently asked questions

Can I drive right after a DUI arrest in Florida?

Only on the 10-day temporary permit, and only if the officer issued one because you were otherwise eligible to drive. The permit expires at midnight on the 10th day after the notice of suspension, and after that you need a valid license or a restricted license to drive.

Do I see a judge before I can bond out?

Not always. Most misdemeanor DUI arrests can be bonded out under the bond schedule before first appearance. Charges and situations listed in section 903.011(6), such as a second-degree felony like DUI manslaughter, require a judge to set bail first.

What if my breath test was under 0.08?

A reading above 0.05 but under 0.08 creates no presumption either way, and the State may still try to prove impairment with other evidence (s. 316.1934(2)(b)). The administrative suspension for an unlawful level applies at 0.08 or higher.

What happens if they took my blood instead of a breath test?

The officer may not have a test result at the scene. The results go to FLHSMV, which decides whether to suspend and, if so, issues the notice and a temporary permit if you are eligible (s. 322.2615(1)(a), (3)). When police may draw blood is covered in can police take your blood after a DUI crash.

I live in another state. Does the same process apply?

Yes, the Florida case and the Florida suspension follow the same rules. How the arrest reaches your home-state license is explained in what happens to an out-of-state driver after a Florida DUI.

Will the suspension end if I win the criminal case?

For an unlawful alcohol level, FLHSMV must invalidate the suspension if you are found not guilty at trial of the DUI (s. 322.2615(16)). A refusal suspension is not affected by how the criminal case ends (s. 322.2615(14)(b)).

Does a DUI case go to county court or circuit court?

A misdemeanor DUI is a criminal traffic case in county court. Felony DUI, such as a third conviction within 10 years, serious bodily injury or DUI manslaughter, is heard in circuit court, which has jurisdiction of all felonies (s. 26.012(2)(d)).

How can Mr. Mead help after a DUI arrest?

Mr. Mead can review the stop, the testing and the paperwork, handle the license deadline, and plan the timing of the criminal case. Every case is different, and no result can be promised. If you or someone in your family was just arrested for DUI in Palm Beach or Broward County, a confidential phone call to (561) 362-6677 is a sound first step.

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