How long do I have to act after a Florida DUI arrest?

You have ten days to request a formal-review hearing with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. If you miss that window, your driver's-license suspension is automatic, and there is no second chance to challenge it administratively. The criminal case proceeds on its own timeline, but the license clock is the one most people miss.

Should I refuse the breath test in Florida?

As of October 1, 2025, refusing a breath test under Florida's implied-consent law (Fla. Stat. § 316.1932) is its own criminal charge under Trenton's Law (HB 687). A first refusal is now a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days in jail, $500 fine) plus a one-year administrative license suspension. A second refusal is a first-degree misdemeanor plus an 18-month suspension. Whether refusal helps or hurts a particular case depends on the facts — talk to a DUI attorney before treating refusal as a default move.

What does a DUI formal-review hearing actually decide?

The formal review is the administrative proceeding that decides whether your license suspension stands. It is heard by a DHSMV hearing officer, not a judge, and the issues are narrow: was the stop lawful, did the officer have probable cause for the arrest, and (if a breath test was given) was the test result valid. Winning the formal review invalidates the administrative suspension; losing it does not affect the criminal case but does cement the license suspension.

Will a Florida DUI conviction stay on my record forever?

DUI is one of the limited charges that cannot be sealed or expunged in Florida under § 943.0584. A DUI conviction stays on your criminal record permanently and on your driving record for 75 years. The only ways to avoid that permanence are a not-guilty verdict, a dismissal, or a reduction to a non-DUI offense (such as reckless driving) — outcomes that depend heavily on what happens with the stop, the evidence, and the formal-review hearing.

DUI Defense Attorneys

Florida DUI cases run on two clocks: the 10-day administrative window to save your driver's license, and the criminal case that follows. Our DUI defense attorneys handle both halves from arrest through trial, representing clients across Volusia, Flagler, and Central Florida, with a focus on the stop, the field sobriety tests, the breath or blood result, and the formal-review hearing that controls your license.

A Florida DUI arrest sets two cases in motion at once. The criminal case (which gets the attention) is heard by the State Attorney and ends in a plea or a trial. The administrative case (which most people miss) is heard by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and decides whether you keep driving in the meantime. The DHSMV window is ten days from arrest, and our DUI defense attorneys file the formal-review request on day one. Call us at (386) 255-1400 24 hours a day to start both clocks the right way.

The 10-day clock starts at the moment of arrest

When an officer arrests you for DUI in Florida, your physical license is taken and replaced by a 10-day driving permit. Under Fla. Stat. § 322.2615, you have those ten days (not ten business days, ten calendar days) to request a formal review hearing at DHSMV. Miss the window, and the suspension is automatic: six months for a first offense with a breath result at or above 0.08, one year for a refusal. Request the hearing in time, and you stay on the road on a 42-day business-purpose permit while the administrative case plays out.

The formal review is its own proceeding with its own rules. It is not the criminal case, and the Public Defender's Office does not handle it. This is the single most time-sensitive decision in a Florida DUI case, and one we move on immediately when you call.

How Florida DUI charges escalate

Charge	Trigger	Classification
Standard DUI (1st)	BAC of 0.08 or impairment by alcohol or drugs	Misdemeanor
Enhanced DUI	BAC of 0.15 or higher, or minor passenger in the vehicle	Misdemeanor (enhanced)
DUI with property damage / injury	Crash involving damage or non-serious injury	1st-deg misdemeanor
DUI with serious bodily injury	Crash causing serious bodily injury	3rd-deg felony
Felony DUI (3rd in 10 yrs / 4th lifetime)	Third DUI within ten years, or any fourth DUI	3rd-deg felony
DUI manslaughter	Crash resulting in death	2nd-deg felony

All charges and classifications above are under Fla. Stat. § 316.193. Fines, jail time, and license consequences escalate with each tier. Verify specific charges with your attorney before relying on this summary.

What actually gets contested in a DUI defense

A DUI prosecution is built out of a chain of moments: the stop, the request to step out, the field sobriety tests, the breath or blood test, the paperwork. A defense built around any one of those moments can move the case. We look at:

The stop itself

Did the officer have reasonable suspicion to pull you over? Was the basis (lane deviation, equipment, anonymous tip) actually supported by the dash-cam footage?

Field sobriety tests

Were the SFSTs administered by the book? HGN, walk-and-turn, and one-leg-stand each have specific NHTSA protocols, and deviations affect reliability and admissibility.

Breath, blood, and urine

Intoxilyzer 8000 calibration and maintenance logs, the 20-minute observation period, mouth alcohol contamination, and chain of custody on blood draws all create real challenges to the chemical result.

Drug DUI evidence

For drug DUIs (including legal-prescription and marijuana cases), Florida has no per-se limit. The state must prove impairment, and the methods used to establish it are often contestable.

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is different and depends on its unique facts. Statistics reflect cases handled by attorneys at Aaron Delgado & Associates and are not a prediction of the outcome of any future case.

Before you make any decisions

Three things to know about a Florida DUI arrest

1

The 10-day window is the most time-sensitive moment of the case.

Under Fla. Stat. § 322.2615, you have ten calendar days from arrest to request a DHSMV formal review hearing. Miss it and the administrative suspension is automatic: six months for a first DUI with a breath result of 0.08 or higher, one year for a refusal. Request the hearing in time and you keep driving on a 42-day permit while we work the case.
2

Refusing the breath test is now its own criminal charge.

As of October 1, 2025, Florida's "Trenton's Law" (HB 687) made breath-test refusals significantly harsher. A first refusal under Florida's implied-consent law (Fla. Stat. § 316.1932) now triggers both a one-year administrative license suspension and a separate second-degree misdemeanor charge (up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine) under § 316.1939. A second refusal is a first-degree misdemeanor on top of an 18-month administrative suspension. The refusal decision now shapes the case on both the criminal and administrative sides; treating it casually is a costly mistake.
3

The Public Defender does not represent you at DHSMV.

The Public Defender's Office is appointed for the criminal side of a DUI case, but the administrative license hearing is a separate proceeding that the PD does not handle. If you are relying on appointed counsel and do nothing on the administrative side, the license suspension goes through by default. Private DUI counsel covers both halves.

Florida DUI law changes more than people realize. So does the defense playbook.

Florida's DUI statutes, implied-consent rules, and intoxilyzer protocols have all evolved meaningfully in recent years. "Trenton's Law" (HB 687) reshaped penalties starting October 1, 2025, including the new criminal exposure for first-time breath-test refusals. Case law on warrantless blood draws has continued to develop. The body of admissibility rulings on the Intoxilyzer 8000 grows every year. A defense built on an older version of the law, or on assumptions about how Volusia and Flagler are charging today, can leave real arguments on the table. The right defense strategy starts with knowing what the current law says, and how local prosecutors are using it this month.

Frequently asked

Questions about this practice area

How long do I have to act after a Florida DUI arrest?: You have ten days to request a formal-review hearing with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. If you miss that window, your driver's-license suspension is automatic, and there is no second chance to challenge it administratively. The criminal case proceeds on its own timeline, but the license clock is the one most people miss.
Should I refuse the breath test in Florida?: As of October 1, 2025, refusing a breath test under Florida's implied-consent law (Fla. Stat. § 316.1932) is its own criminal charge under Trenton's Law (HB 687). A first refusal is now a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days in jail, $500 fine) plus a one-year administrative license suspension. A second refusal is a first-degree misdemeanor plus an 18-month suspension. Whether refusal helps or hurts a particular case depends on the facts — talk to a DUI attorney before treating refusal as a default move.
What does a DUI formal-review hearing actually decide?: The formal review is the administrative proceeding that decides whether your license suspension stands. It is heard by a DHSMV hearing officer, not a judge, and the issues are narrow: was the stop lawful, did the officer have probable cause for the arrest, and (if a breath test was given) was the test result valid. Winning the formal review invalidates the administrative suspension; losing it does not affect the criminal case but does cement the license suspension.
Will a Florida DUI conviction stay on my record forever?: DUI is one of the limited charges that cannot be sealed or expunged in Florida under § 943.0584. A DUI conviction stays on your criminal record permanently and on your driving record for 75 years. The only ways to avoid that permanence are a not-guilty verdict, a dismissal, or a reduction to a non-DUI offense (such as reckless driving) — outcomes that depend heavily on what happens with the stop, the evidence, and the formal-review hearing.

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