FloridaDUIPenalties

Factors That May Increase Florida DUI Penalties

The explorer applies published factors: an alcohol level of 0.15 or higher, a passenger under 18, property damage or non-serious injury to another, serious bodily injury, and death. An accident alone does not establish the damage offense.

Alcohol level of 0.15 or higher

Increases certain criminal penalties. It does not, by itself, turn a first or second DUI into a felony.

Passenger younger than 18

Increases certain criminal penalties. It does not, by itself, turn a first or second DUI into a felony.

Property damage or non-serious injury to another

Can support a first-degree misdemeanor under the damage provision; it does not remove an independent felony.

Serious bodily injury to another

Can be a third-degree felony, including on a first DUI, when operation caused or contributed to the harm.

Death / DUI manslaughter

Can support DUI manslaughter. The degree depends on specified facts and is reviewed on the classification Insight.

People sometimes search for these circumstances as an “aggravated DUI.” This page uses the specific factor names shown in the Florida reference instead of treating that phrase as a separate offense tier.

When Can a Florida DUI Involve Felony Consequences?

A third DUI offense within 10 years is classified as a third-degree felony under Florida Statute § 316.193. DUI involving serious bodily injury or death can also carry felony consequences. The felony-or-misdemeanor Insight explains those classification routes in more detail.

On Your Driving Record: 75 Years

FLHSMV keeps alcohol-related entries, including DUI convictions, on a Florida driving record for 75 years.

For most people this is a lifetime. It is the number drivers are usually asking about, because it is the record employers, insurers, and licensing agencies request. FLHSMV also notes that a conviction tied to an open suspension, revocation, or cancellation stays on the record indefinitely.

On Your Criminal Record: Permanent

A Florida DUI conviction cannot be sealed or expunged under the ordinary sealing and expunction statutes, so it remains on the criminal record.

This is structural rather than discretionary. Section 316.656(1) prohibits any court from suspending, deferring, or withholding adjudication of guilt for a DUI, so a guilty plea or guilty finding must produce an adjudication of guilt. Florida's sealing statute, in turn, requires that the person was not adjudicated guilty of the offense. Because a DUI conviction cannot carry a withhold, it cannot meet that requirement.

Retention Is Not the Same as Enhancement

How long a DUI is kept on a record and how long it can increase the penalties for a later offense are separate clocks. These are routinely confused.

A five- or ten-year window passing does not remove anything from a record. It only stops the prior conviction from enhancing the next charge. A fourth DUI is a third-degree felony regardless of when the prior convictions occurred.

The Only Exits Are Before a Conviction

Because adjudication cannot be withheld on a DUI, the paths that preserve sealing eligibility all occur before a conviction is entered.

Dismissal, nolle prosequi, or acquittal

If the case ends without a conviction, the arrest record may become eligible for sealing or expunction under the general eligibility rules.

Amendment to a lesser offense

A DUI amended down to a non-DUI offense such as reckless driving can carry a withhold of adjudication, which preserves sealing eligibility. Section 316.656(2)(a) blocks a plea to a lesser offense where a breath or blood test showed 0.15 percent or more, so this path narrows at a high BAC.

Whether any of these apply depends entirely on the facts and evidence in an individual case. Nothing here predicts or promises a particular result.