Alcohol and drugs
You are convicted of a DUI in California. What does DMV do to your driving privilege, and what must you do?
- Suspend or revoke it for one year; you must complete a DUI program. Correct answer
- Suspend it for 30 days; you must complete a DUI program.
- Suspend or revoke it for one year; you must install an ignition interlock device.
Why
A conviction costs a year of driving: DMV suspends or revokes the privilege for twelve months. Three things become obligations at the same time, and completing a DUI program is the first of them, alongside filing a California Insurance Proof Certificate (SR 22 or SR 1P) and paying any license reissue or restriction fees. The ignition interlock device is the fourth item on that list and the handbook words it differently: you may be required to install one, not you must. That distinction is what separates the first answer from the third. Thirty days is a real figure here but it belongs to the arrest, not the conviction: an officer may take your license and hand you a temporary one good for 30 days. Additional penalties can include up to six months in jail and a fine.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is Suspend or revoke it for one year; you must complete a DUI program.
The rule behind this one
California alcohol and drug rules for drivers goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.
More on alcohol and drugs
- You are arrested for DUI and the officer takes your driver's license. What are you given instead, and for how long?
- You have been arrested for DUI and want a DMV administrative hearing. By when must you ask for one?
- You are 19 and a friend asks you to carry an unopened bottle of wine in your car. When is that legal?
- You are 16 and are convicted of riding a bicycle while under the influence of alcohol. What can happen to your driving privilege?