Arkansas DWI Laws

The per se limit is 0.08% in breath or blood (Ark. Code § 5-65-103(a)(2)). The offense also covers impairment by alcohol or any controlled substance without a specific BAC. Arkansas DWI law extends to motorboats. The under-21 limit is 0.02% (§ 5-65-303).

A first offense is an unclassified misdemeanor: 24 hours to 1 year in jail (or public service), a $150–$1,000 fine, and a 6-month administrative license suspension (Ark. Code §§ 5-65-111(a), 5-65-112(1), 5-65-104(a)(2)(A)). IID is required and an IID restricted license is available immediately. The IID requirement does not apply to drug-only DWI. A passenger under 16 raises the minimum to 7 days.

A second offense carries 7 days to 1 year in jail (30 days with a passenger under 16), a $400–$3,000 fine, and a 24-month license suspension (Ark. Code §§ 5-65-111(b), 5-65-112(2), 5-65-104(a)(2)(B)). The lookback is 10 years for incarceration, 5 years for fines and license suspension. IID is required and an IID restricted license is available immediately (alcohol only).

A third offense within 10 years (incarceration) or 5 years (fines/suspension) carries 90 days to 1 year in jail (120 days with a passenger under 16), a $900–$5,000 fine, and a 30-month license suspension (Ark. Code §§ 5-65-111(c), 5-65-112(3), 5-65-104(a)(2)(C)). IID is required; IID restricted license available immediately.

A FOURTH DWI offense within 10 years is an unclassified felony carrying 1–6 years (2–6 with a passenger under 16). A fifth within 10 years carries 2–10 years. A sixth or subsequent within 20 years is a Class B felony carrying 5–20 years per Ark. Code § 5-4-401(a)(3). The lookback is 10 years for 4th/5th offense, extended to 20 years for the 6th-offense Class B.

The administrative license action depends on offense count within 5 years: 6 months for a first offense, 24 months for a second, 30 months for a third (all suspensions), and 4 years revocation for a fourth or subsequent (Ark. Code § 5-65-104). An IID restricted license is available immediately for alcohol-related offenses (not drug-only). The general restricted driving permit is NOT available for a first offense or for a repeat within 5 years.

Yes — for all alcohol-related DWI offenses at every tier (Ark. Code § 5-65-118). An IID restricted license is available immediately upon verification of installation. HOWEVER, the IID requirement does NOT apply to a person intoxicated solely by a controlled substance (the drug-only carve-out). The court may waive IID for a first offense on limited grounds (employer vehicle, medical inability, or no provider within 100 miles).

Refusing a chemical test is a separate strict-liability VIOLATION under Ark. Code § 5-65-205. The administrative suspension/revocation escalates: 180 days (first), 2 years (second within 5 yr), 3 years revocation (third within 5 yr), and LIFETIME revocation (fourth within 5 yr). An IID restricted license is available immediately for a first-offense alcohol refuser only.

A driver under 21 is subject to a separate offense under Ark. Code § 5-65-303 at a measured 0.02 BAC (the statute applies to 0.02 but less than 0.08). It is an unclassified misdemeanor and a strict-liability offense with its own Subchapter 3 penalties: a $100–$500 fine and 90-day suspension on a first offense; a $200–$1,000 fine, at least 30 days of public service, and a 1-year suspension on a second; and a $500–$2,000 fine, at least 60 days of public service, and license revocation until age 21 or for 3 years (whichever is longer) on a third (§§ 5-65-304 to 5-65-306). Refusing the test has its own under-21 ladder: 90 days, then 1 year, then revocation until 21 or 3 years (§ 5-65-310). A driver under 21 at 0.08 or above is charged under the adult § 5-65-103.

It is 0.04% for anyone operating a commercial motor vehicle (Ark. Code § 27-23-114(a)(2)) — half the 0.08% limit for ordinary drivers. A violation is a Class B misdemeanor and triggers disqualification from driving a commercial motor vehicle under § 27-23-112, matching the federal CDL standard (49 C.F.R. § 383.51).

Arkansas uses three concurrent lookback windows. For INCARCERATION tier escalation, the lookback is 10 years (extended to 20 years for the 6th-offense Class B felony). For FINES and LICENSE SUSPENSION, the lookback is 5 years. So a 7-year-old prior counts toward the felony-incarceration tier but not toward the fine or license-suspension tier. Prior qualifying offenses include AR DWI, out-of-state equivalents, negligent homicide (§ 5-10-105), and admin suspensions for DWI arrest not subsequently acquitted.

A passenger under 16 in the vehicle raises the mandatory minimum jail at every tier under Ark. Code § 5-65-111: first offense 24 hrs → 7 days; second 7 days → 30 days; third 90 days → 120 days; fourth 1 year → 2 years; fifth 2 years → 3 years. An affirmative defense applies if the driver was not more than 2 years older than the passenger.

Arkansas DWI covers alcohol (0.08 per se under § 5-65-103(a)(2), OR impairment) and controlled substances (impairment only — there is no per se drug limit; "intoxicated" is defined by substantial impairment at § 5-65-102(4)). Two key differences for a drug-only DWI: it rests solely on proof of impairment, not a number, and the IID requirement does NOT apply to a person intoxicated solely by a controlled substance (§ 5-65-118(a)(1)(A)(iii)). A drug-only offender otherwise faces the same jail, fines, and license suspension as an alcohol offender, but is not required to install an IID.