How much does a dui cost?

DUI Cost

Alas, the law is the law, and if you are convicted of a DUI offense, it is going to cost you more money than you could have ever imagined. While specific numbers vary from state to state, expect to pay about eight to ten thousand dollars in fees by the time you're done. Why is it so expensive? Look at the kinds of fees you'll be expected to pay as soon as you've initially been pulled over.

As soon as you get arrested, the officer makes a call to have your car towed and stored. Getting it towed will only cost you $50 to $100, but having it stored can really add up. Take Chicago, for example. The first twenty-four hours of storage will cost you a whopping $1200. It's $50 per day after that.

In order to even get out of jail, you have to post bail, and that can cost quite a bit of money. If you move through a bondsman, you'll have to pay at least ten percent of your bond, which will be at least a hundred bucks. It could, though, range as high as twenty-five hundred dollars just to get out of jail.

As if this bill isn't already high enough, you'll probably want to hire an attorney to help you through the process, and while that may be the single biggest expense in the entire case, it may also be well worth the money. Some attorneys may charge you $500 just to enter a guilty plea. The more complex the case becomes, the higher the attorney's fees are. Many first time offenders have shelled out up to $25,000 for really complicated cases.

Once the case is over, if you get convicted of the actual crime, you're looking at minimum fines of $300. In the state of Washington, the minimum fine you'll pay is $1200 for your first offense.

The fees don't stop at your fines, though. Lots of states add small charges to those including jail processing fees, Victim's Assistance and Compensation funds fees, Law Enforcement Assistance Funds fees, Victim Impact Panel Assessments, and even Brain Injury surcharges. These tiny fees can add up to more than three hundred bucks depending on your individual state laws.

Once the fines and fees are paid, you'll have to submit yourself for alcohol evaluation as well as education and treatment. This can cost you as much as $2000.

Wait, unfortunately, you're still not done. You need to pay to get your license reinstated. In order to do that, though, you have to pay for SR-22 insurance which can run about $1500 per year. Once you've done that, you can enjoy the up to $250 fee you'll have to pay just to get a license back in your hands.

It's impossible to take back what you've done at this point. This website, though, was designed to help you through the process and help to avoid some of those costs involved with DUI offenses.