People ask me what a DUI "costs," expecting one number. There isn't one. A California DUI is a stack of separate bills that arrive over three years or more: the court, the DMV, the program, the interlock, and the insurance company, which usually takes the biggest bite of all. Here is the honest 2026 breakdown, line by line, so nothing blindsides you. You can also run your own numbers in my total DUI cost calculator.

Court fines and penalty assessments

The base fine for a first offense under Vehicle Code 23536 is $390 to $1,000. That is not what you pay. California adds mandatory penalty assessments and fees that typically multiply the base by three to four times, so the real number that clears the court is often in the $1,500 to $3,600 range. Add ongoing probation supervision costs in many counties. The gap between the "fine" people expect and the total the court actually collects is one of the first surprises in a DUI.

DUI school

A conviction requires a licensed DUI program, and you pay for it directly:

  • 3-month first-offender program: roughly $500 to $1,000.
  • 9-month program (BAC 0.20%+ or a refusal): roughly $1,200 to $1,800.
  • 18-month program (second offense): roughly $1,800 to $2,500.

The program length, and therefore the cost, scales with the offense and the BAC, which is one more reason a reduction that shortens or eliminates the program saves real money.

License reinstatement, SR-22, and the interlock

Getting back on the road has its own costs. Expect a DMV reissue fee (around $125) and an SR-22 filing your insurer reports to the DMV, usually for three years. If you take the IID-restricted license route, which now lets most first offenders keep driving, budget for the ignition interlock device: a small install fee plus roughly $60 to $90 a month for the lease and calibration. Over a typical term that is several hundred to well over a thousand dollars.

Insurance: the cost that outlasts the case

This is the one that surprises people. After a DUI, insurers reclassify you as high risk, and premiums frequently jump by anywhere from 50% to roughly double for three years or more. Across a three-year SR-22 period that increase often dwarfs the court fine. There are ways to limit it, which I cover in mitigating the insurance increase after a DUI and how a DUI affects your license and insurance. Estimate your own with the insurance impact estimator and the SR-22 duration calculator.

Why the insurance cost is so easy to underestimate

People naturally fixate on the fine because it is the bill the court hands them, but the insurance increase is usually the largest single cost of a DUI, and it is the one that keeps arriving month after month for years. A surcharge that adds even a few hundred dollars to every six-month premium adds up to thousands over a three-year SR-22 period, frequently exceeding everything paid to the court, the program, and the DMV combined. Understanding this changes how you weigh the value of fighting the charge, because keeping the conviction off your record protects you from the most expensive consequence of all.

Towing, bail, and getting around

If your car was impounded, towing and storage can run a few hundred to over a thousand dollars depending on how long it sits. If you posted bail, a bond agent typically keeps a non-refundable percentage. And during any hard suspension, rideshare or transit costs add up month after month. These are easy to forget when budgeting for a DUI, but they are real out-of-pocket expenses that hit early, before the case is even resolved.

The hidden and long-term costs

Beyond the bills with a dollar figure attached, a DUI carries costs that are harder to quantify but very real: lost work time for court and the program, the impact of a conviction on employment and professional licensing, and, for some, the effect on a security clearance or immigration status. A conviction stays on your driving record for ten years and counts as a prior the whole time, which raises the stakes of any future case. These downstream effects do not appear on any invoice, but they can ultimately cost far more than the direct expenses.

Legal representation

Experienced defense is its own line item, and what it costs varies with the county, the facts, and whether the case goes to trial. I do not publish a price here because a real quote depends on your specific situation. What I will say is this: good representation frequently pays for itself by reducing the charge, shortening the program, protecting your license, and limiting the insurance fallout. Call me and I will tell you, plainly, what your case involves.

So what is the real total?

Adding the direct costs and the multi-year insurance hit, a California DUI commonly lands somewhere from $15,000 to $30,000 or more once everything is counted, with the exact figure driven by your BAC, your record, and whether anyone was hurt. The total DUI cost calculator will give you a tailored estimate, and the California DUI penalties guide shows how the legal exposure scales with the offense level.

Why the costs vary so widely

The range from roughly fifteen thousand to thirty thousand dollars or more is wide because so many variables drive it. A higher BAC triggers a longer, more expensive program and a steeper insurance surcharge. A refusal adds its own penalties and a longer suspension. Prior offenses escalate the fines, the program length, and the insurance impact dramatically. An accident or injury can push the case toward felony territory with entirely different exposure. Your insurance history and where you live also matter. Two first offenses with different facts can land thousands of dollars apart, which is exactly why a tailored estimate, and a strategy aimed at the costliest pieces, beats any single headline number.

The cheapest DUI is the one that gets reduced

Every one of these costs shrinks if the charge is reduced or beaten. A reduction to a wet reckless means a shorter program, a smaller insurance penalty, and a lighter record. That is the real return on a strong defense. Use the free case analysis on this page, or call me directly at (888) 271-6644. The first conversation is free.

From the DUI blog: Will a DUI Arrest Affect Your Credit Score, Mortgage, or Car Loan in California?.