Louisiana Traffic Laws: Points, Tickets, License Suspension and DUI

On the Official Driving Record, minor traffic convictions stay for 3 years from the conviction date; other major (suspendable or disqualifying) convictions stay for 5 years; DWI, vehicular negligent injury and out-of-service convictions stay for 10 years (55 years for CDL holders). Administrative refusal/test-failure actions are displayed for 10 years from the arrest date or until all requirements are met.

Check your driver's license status online with the Office of Motor Vehicles' Reinstatement Inquiry; any flags on your record must be cleared before you can get other OMV services. Reinstatement fees include: unpaid ticket or failure to appear (per affidavit) $100 for a Louisiana court, $60 in lieu, $60 for an out-of-state court, $87.50 for Shreveport City Court; motor carrier ticket $50; child support nonpayment $60; unpaid state income tax $60; DWI test over the limit (submit) $50; refusal $50; DWI conviction $100 (1st), $200 (2nd), $300 (3rd+); UDUI $60; driving while suspended $60. Refusal and DWI cases require SR-22 insurance for 3 years. For ticket or failure-to-appear suspensions, send OMV proof of compliance (compliance including the ticket number, paid receipt, final disposition of the affidavit, or a continuance) by fax, mail or the Contact Us link. Pay by card through the OMV Call Center (225-925-6146, option 3), by money order, certified funds or cashier's check to OMV Mail Center, P.O. Box 64886, Baton Rouge, LA 70896, at a public tag agency, or at some field offices by appointment.

Tickets are paid to, or contested in, the court listed on the ticket; the OMV does not take payment for tickets. If a driver fails to appear in court or to pay the fine on or before the court date, the court can order the OMV to suspend the license (R.S. 32:57.1). To clear that suspension the driver must show proof of compliance with the ticket number (paid receipt, final disposition, or a continuance with a new court date) and pay an OMV reinstatement fee ($100 for a Louisiana court case).

The OMV lists suspensions for, among other things: unpaid traffic tickets or failure to appear in court; nonpayment of child support; nonpayment of state income taxes; DWI arrests (failed or refused chemical tests) and DWI convictions; and driving while suspended (a one-year suspension). Reinstatement requires serving the suspension, showing proof of compliance, and paying the listed fee; DWI-related reinstatements also require SR-22 proof of insurance for 3 years and, in some cases, an ignition interlock.

0.08 or more for adult drivers (or being impaired by alcohol or drugs at any level); 0.02 or more for drivers under 21 (underage operating while impaired).

First offense: fine of $300 to $1,000 and 10 days to 6 months in jail. The sentence may be suspended only if the offender is placed on probation and serves 48 hours in jail (or performs at least 32 hours of community service), completes a court-approved substance abuse program and a driver improvement program, and does not drive for at least 6 months of probation unless the vehicle has an ignition interlock. With a BAC of 0.15 or more, at least 48 hours must be served without probation or suspension and the license is suspended for two years; at 0.20 or more the fine is $750 to $1,000. The OMV's administrative suspension after a first failed test (0.08–0.14, age 21+) is 180 days.

Refusing an approved chemical test after a DWI arrest leads to an administrative suspension of 365 days for a first refusal and 730 days for a second or later refusal (arrests on or after Sept. 1, 2009). Reinstatement requires SR-22 proof of insurance for 3 years from the arrest date and a fee; an ignition interlock is required if there was a crash with moderate or serious injury, a child 12 or younger in the vehicle, or a prior alcohol violation on the record.

10 years. A prior impaired-driving conviction committed more than ten years before the current offense is not counted for repeat-offense penalties, but time spent awaiting trial, on probation or parole, or incarcerated for such an offense is excluded from the ten-year count.

The OMV refers to a restricted hardship license being available in some suspension cases. For alcohol-related suspensions that require an ignition interlock, the interlock must be installed upon reinstatement or upon issuance of a restricted hardship license. A driver whose license is suspended must have served the suspension or be eligible for and obtain a hardship license to enter an OMV installment plan.

Act 288 of 2025 created R.S. 32:59: a driver may not use a handheld wireless device on a public road unless the vehicle is lawfully stationary. This includes calls (unless hands-free), texting, social media, video or photos, using apps by manual entry, and holding the device in either hand. Exceptions include reporting emergencies, calling 9-1-1, authorized emergency vehicle operators, and hands-free GPS. In school zones and highway construction zones it is a primary offense with a $250 fine; elsewhere it is a secondary offense (an officer must stop the driver for another violation) with a $100 fine; fines double if there is a crash. It is a nonmoving violation. Only written warnings were to be issued for violations before January 1, 2026.

A third DWI (operating while impaired) offense is a felony: it carries a $2,000 fine and 1 to 5 years in prison, with or without hard labor, and at least 1 year must be served without parole, probation or suspension (unless the person is accepted into a drug division probation program). Louisiana defines a felony as any crime that can be punished by death or imprisonment at hard labor. A fourth or later offense is sentenced under a separate, harsher section (R.S. 14:98.4). Prior DWI convictions count if committed within 10 years before the new offense, not counting time the person spent incarcerated, on probation or parole for DWI, or awaiting trial. Convictions for vehicular homicide, third-degree feticide and vehicular negligent injuring also count as prior offenses.

A misdemeanor DWI conviction can be expunged by motion if the conviction was set aside and the case dismissed after a successful probation (Code of Criminal Procedure art. 894(B)), or if more than 5 years have passed since the sentence, deferred adjudication, probation or parole was completed with no felony conviction during that time and no felony charge pending. How long a DWI stays on the Louisiana driving record (Office of Motor Vehicles) was not found on an official page.

Yes, they are used. Louisiana State Police troops, often with parish sheriff's offices, announce and conduct sobriety checkpoints.