What Is the Cost of a DUI?
In our experience across the Greater Detroit area, a first-offense DUI can run anywhere from $6,000 to $12,000 by the time every bill is paid, and the court fine is one of the smallest pieces of that. The fine for a standard operating while intoxicated conviction is $100 to $500. Court costs, the crime victim assessment, a mandatory alcohol assessment, probation, license sanctions, higher insurance, and legal fees are where the money goes. We are Metro Detroit DUI lawyers who also handle driver’s license restoration appeals, so we regularly see the bill you get this year and the other costs that show up later.
What Michigan Actually Charges by Offense
Michigan sets fines by offense, and the amounts are lower than people expect. A first operating while intoxicated conviction carries a fine of $100 to $500. A first High BAC conviction, meaning a breath, blood, or urine alcohol content of 0.17 or higher, carries a fine of $200 to $700. A first conviction for operating while visibly impaired carries a fine of not more than $300.
Fines for repeat offenses climb, and the fine becomes mandatory. A second offense within 7 years carries a mandatory fine of $200 to $1,000. A third offense is a felony, regardless of how long ago the first two occurred, and it carries a mandatory fine of $500 to $5,000.
Those are fines and nothing else. They exclude court costs, any state costs, and the crime victim assessment, which is why a fine range tells you almost nothing about the total you will pay.
Court Costs Are Set Court by Court, and the Law Says So
This is the part that often gets overlooked. Michigan law lets a trial court impose costs reasonably related to the actual costs of running that court, without calculating what your particular case cost. Those costs expressly include court salaries and benefits, goods and services, and building maintenance.
This means that what you’ll pay is based, at least in part, on what it costs to keep that courthouse open. That is a major reason why two people with identical charges pay very different totals in two Metro Detroit courthouses.
Only two line items on a Michigan court bill are fixed statewide:
- A minimum state cost of $50 on a misdemeanor conviction, or $68 on a felony.
- A crime victim rights assessment of $75 on a misdemeanor, or $130 on a felony, charged once per case rather than per count.
One thing to watch: the authority that allows courts to set those local costs is currently written to expire at the end of 2026. Lawmakers have extended it several times, so we would not plan a case around it lapsing.
The Bills That Come With a Conviction
Before sentencing on any DUI, the court must order an alcohol and drug screening and assessment. You pay for this, along with whatever education, counseling, or treatment is ordered as a result of it.
For a standard first offense, ordering a program is the judge’s call. For a High BAC conviction, or for anyone with a prior conviction, some kind of program is mandatory and must run for at least 1 year. That requirement, not the modest bump in the fine range, is what makes a High BAC case so much more expensive.
Probation depends on which court you are in. In circuit court, where felony cases go, the statute sets supervision at $30 per month, or $60 with electronic monitoring (tether), which includes alcohol monitoring.
In district court, where first and second offense cases are handled, there is no statewide figure. The law limits those costs to what was actually spent prosecuting, defending, and supervising you, so every court lands somewhere different. Anyone quoting you one flat monthly number for Michigan is guessing.
Two things can help cut those costs. A probationer can be considered for early discharge after half the original term, and inability to pay cannot by itself disqualify you from early discharge if you have made good-faith payments.
One more cost can attach. If the court immobilizes your vehicle, and on a first offense that is the judge’s option rather than a requirement, you can be ordered to pay the immobilization and the storage. You also may not buy or lease another vehicle to work around it.
What Losing Your License Costs You
The Secretary of State acts on the conviction separately from the judge, and in our experience, the lost income can easily exceed the fine.
A first operating while intoxicated conviction brings a 180-day suspension, with no restricted license, which means no driving at all during the first 30 days.
Operating while visibly impaired brings a short 90-day restricted license, and that stretches to 180 days when the impairment came from a controlled substance, or from a controlled substance combined with alcohol.
On a standard OWI, once the first 30 days have passed, the Secretary of State may allow a restricted license for the rest of the suspension.
A first High BAC conviction brings a 1-year suspension, with no driving for the first 45 days and a restricted license with an ignition interlock device required after that.
A restricted license is genuinely restricted. You are limited to driving to work, school, treatment, probation, court-ordered community service, medical care, and the interlock shop, and little else.
The interlock is a real expense, though there is relief the state does not advertise. To stay on the approved provider list, a manufacturer must supply the device free to a driver whose prior year income was under 150% of the federal poverty guidelines, with a maintenance fee capped at $2.00 per day.
A second conviction within 7 years results in a full revocation of the license rather than a suspension, which is a much more costly and complicated problem. Technically, the earliest you can ask for the license back is 1 year, but getting it back requires filing and winning a formal driver’s license restoration appeal, and in our experience, a person rarely has a realistic chance of winning one for the better part of 3 years.
If the revocation came within 7 years of a prior one, the wait is 5 years instead. Then you still have to win a hearing before you are licensed again, in front of the Secretary of State’s Office of Hearings and Administrative Oversight, or OHAO. For the ordinary revoked driver, waiting out the clock restores nothing. That is driver’s license restoration work, and it is the second bill people never see coming.
Insurance, Lost Time, and the $125 at the End
Insurance is the cost that outlasts the case. In our experience, a conviction on your driving record changes how an insurer prices your policy, and while we cannot quote you a percentage, you should expect your rates to rise. The figures circulating online come from commercial quote sites and disagree with each other by more than a factor of two. Shopping for the best price after a conviction is worth real money.
Lost time costs money too. Court dates, assessment appointments, counseling, and testing all happen during business hours, and any required community service is unpaid work for which you also reimburse the cost of supervising you.
When a suspension runs its course, you pay a $125 reinstatement fee before the license comes back, and the Secretary of State explains how to pay it. The same fee applies after a revocation, but only once you have already won your restoration hearing.
What a DUI Lawyer Costs
Many firms will not put a number on a website. We do. We believe in transparency, so our current prices are always listed on our fee page. A bargain fee can buy a fast plea, either to the original charge or to something that could have been better, and that charge drives every number above it, including the fine, the probation term, the treatment requirement, the license sanction, and the insurance category.
By contrast, a high fee is not proof of good work.
That same up-front approach is behind the win guarantee on our driver’s license restoration cases. You pay one flat fee, and if you do not win your OHAO hearing the first time, we keep representing you at no additional attorney fee until you do. That applies to in-state restoration and out-of-state clearance cases alike.
We can make that promise because we screen every case before we accept it, and because the incentive runs entirely in your favor: going back for a second hearing means double the work for half the pay. We are counting on winning the first time, and that makes us as invested as you are in getting your license back.
Of course, the first goal in every DUI case is to look for a way to get the whole thing dismissed. If the evidence is strong enough to survive a legal challenge, the goal shifts to avoiding as many penalties and negative consequences as possible. Ultimately, success in a DUI case is best measured by what does not happen to you.
Getting a High BAC reduced to a standard operating while intoxicated, or an operating while intoxicated reduced to operating while visibly impaired, cuts the fine, shortens the suspension, and can remove the mandatory 1-year treatment requirement. That is where a fee can pay for itself.
Call Now to Discuss What Your Case Will Cost
The final cost in every case depends on the charge, the court, and what happens to the charge along the way. The charge is the part that can still change.
My team and I have concentrated exclusively on DUI defense, driver’s license restoration, and criminal defense for more than 30 years, and we handle DUI cases throughout Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and the surrounding counties. Reach us through our contact page, the contact form, or the chat box on this site, or by calling our office. A friendly and helpful person will take your information and make sure you get a straight answer about where things stand. Consultations are free, confidential, and handled by phone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I reduce what a DUI costs me?
Yes, and much of the savings comes from beating or reducing the charge itself rather than from any single bill. A reduced charge lowers the fine, can shorten probation and the license sanction, and may remove a mandatory treatment requirement. After sentencing, ask about early discharge from probation once you are halfway through, and shop your insurance instead of accepting the renewal.
How long will a DUI follow my finances?
In our experience, most of it clears within about 3 years. Fines, costs, and legal fees are typically paid in the first few months, and probation charges run for the term. Insurance is the long tail and the last thing to come down. A license revocation after a repeat DUI conviction is the exception, because for the ordinary revoked driver, a lost license stays lost until you file and win a restoration appeal.
Does it matter which lawyer I hire?
It matters more than any other decision you will make about the money. The lawyer you hire can affect whether the charge gets dismissed, reduced, or sticks as originally written, and the charge sets the fine, the probation term, the treatment requirement, the license sanction, and the insurance category. Compare lawyers, ask what the fee covers, and ask what each one has done with cases like yours in the court where your case will be decided.