DUI Laws in Kentucky

0.08 or more for drivers 21 and older; 0.02 or more for drivers under 21. A driver under 21 at 0.08 or more is subject to the regular adult DUI penalties.

First offense within 10 years: fine of $200 to $500, or 48 hours to 30 days in county jail, or both; the judge may allow a community labor program of 48 hours to 30 days instead. If aggravating circumstances are present, there is a mandatory minimum of 4 days in jail. License suspension is 6 months, or 4 months for a person issued an ignition interlock license who meets the 90-consecutive-day requirement within the first 4 months. An under-21 driver convicted at 0.02 (but under 0.08) faces a $100–$500 fine or 20 hours of community service instead.

A fourth or later DUI offense within a 10-year period is a Class D felony. If an aggravating circumstance is present (the statute's list includes, for example, transporting a passenger under 12), the mandatory minimum jail term is 240 days with no early release. First, second and third offenses within 10 years are misdemeanors. Prior DUI convictions from Kentucky and other states count.

Refusing a breath or blood test results in suspension of the driver's license by the court at arraignment, while the case is pending. A breath-test refusal can be used as evidence in court; a blood-test refusal cannot. If later convicted of a second or third DUI within 10 years, a person who refused a test faces a mandatory minimum jail sentence twice as long. If the person is not convicted but the court finds there was a refusal, the license is suspended for the same period a DUI conviction would bring; the court may allow an ignition interlock license.

10 years. Penalties are based on the number of offenses within a ten-year period; prior convictions from other states count.

A person convicted of a misdemeanor can petition the court to expunge it no sooner than 5 years after finishing the sentence or probation. For a single-incident misdemeanor the court must grant expungement only if, among other conditions, the offense is not one subject to enhancement for a second or later offense, or the time for such enhancement has expired. Because DUI penalties increase for repeat offenses within 10 years, this condition affects when a misdemeanor DUI can be expunged. How long a DUI stays on the Kentucky driving record was not found on an official page.

A person suspended for DUI may apply for an ignition interlock license, which allows driving only a vehicle with an interlock device during the suspension (it can be applied for at any time, including while a refusal suspension is pending). A court-granted hardship license (for work, school, medical care or required programs) is available only for suspensions under the drug-related DUI provisions (KRS 189A.010(1)(c) or (d)) and not when a test was refused.