A first-offense DUI in Washington typically costs $10,000 to $20,000 or more over five years, once you add court fines, license fees, ignition interlock, treatment, monitoring, and higher insurance premiums. The fine on the judgment is usually less than $1,500 of that total. The insurance increase alone often costs more than everything the court orders.
Almost every page you will find on this question lists the fine and stops. The fine is the small part. Below is the line-item math, including the costs that arrive months later.
The Line Items
| Cost | Typical amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fine and mandatory assessments | About $1,000 to $1,600 | Statutory minimum is $350 under 0.15 BAC, $500 at 0.15 or above, plus assessments |
| Toxicology and BAC fee | $250 | Can be suspended if you cannot pay |
| Victim penalty assessment | $500 | Not imposed on indigent defendants |
| Emergency response cost recovery | Up to $2,500 | Only if emergency services responded |
| Vehicle impound and storage | $450 to $700 | Tow is mandatory on a DUI arrest |
| Department of Licensing hearing fee | $375 | Must be requested within 7 days |
| License reinstatement | $170 | Higher than the standard $75 because it is alcohol-related |
| Ignition interlock license application | $100 | Non-refundable |
| Ignition interlock device | $1,300 to $1,900 per year | Install, monthly lease, $21 monthly state fee, calibration every 60 days |
| Alcohol and drug evaluation | $150 to $250 | Required before sentencing |
| Treatment | $500 to $5,000 or more | Depends on what the evaluation recommends |
| DUI victim impact panel | $50 to $60 | Local to Pierce County |
| Electronic home monitoring | $13 to $15 per day | 15 days minimum on a first offense |
| Probation supervision | Up to $100 per month | Probation can run up to 5 years |
| Insurance increase | $1,000 to $1,600 per year | Typically for 3 to 7 years |
These are typical ranges for a first offense as of 2026. Actual amounts vary by court, by county, by provider, and by insurer, and this table is not a quote or a prediction about any particular case.
Your Car Is Towed Before You Are Released
Washington requires a vehicle to be impounded when the driver is arrested for DUI. That is Hailey's Law, RCW 46.55.360, and it removes the officer's discretion.
One detail is widely reported incorrectly. The 12-hour hold that prevents early redemption applies when the arrested driver is the sole registered owner. If the vehicle has another registered owner, or a legal owner who was not driving, that person can redeem it right away. If your name is the only one on the registration, the car sits, and storage accrues daily.
The License Case Moves Faster Than the Court Case
The criminal case and the license case are separate proceedings on separate clocks, and the license clock is the fast one.
To contest the administrative suspension, you must request a hearing from the Department of Licensing within seven days of the notice, with a $375 fee that can be waived if you qualify as indigent. Miss that deadline and the suspension proceeds regardless of what happens in criminal court, including if the criminal case is later dismissed.
This is the most expensive deadline in the process, and it is usually the first one people miss. The timing of the license suspension catches nearly everyone by surprise.
Ignition Interlock: The Cost Nobody Budgets Correctly
The device runs roughly $100 to $175 to install and $90 to $125 a month to lease, plus a $21 monthly state fee that funds assistance for drivers who cannot afford a device. Calibration appointments are required at least every 60 days.
The part that surprises people is the exit requirement. Before the Department authorizes removal, the vendor must certify 180 consecutive days with no violations, meaning no start attempts above the alcohol threshold, no missed or failed rolling retests, no missed calibration appointments, and no unauthorized removal. One failed retest in month eleven of a twelve-month requirement restarts the 180 days, which can mean six more months of payments.
If you cannot afford the device, the Department runs an indigent assistance program that can cover installation, lease, and removal for a renewable year. Very few people know it exists.
Insurance Is the Largest Single Number
A DUI moves a Washington driver from ordinary rates to high-risk rates, and you will be required to carry an SR-22 filing for three years. Let the SR-22 lapse and your license is suspended again, with another reinstatement fee.
Insurers typically consider the conviction when underwriting for longer than the state requires the filing. Over the full window, the added premium frequently totals more than the entire court judgment.
The Costs That Arrive Later
- Jail alternatives bill you daily. A first offense under 0.15 BAC carries 24 hours in jail or a minimum of 15 days of electronic home monitoring, and the statute states plainly that the offender pays for the monitoring.
- Probation is billed monthly. Pierce County District Court supervises DUI probation, and county probation departments may charge up to $100 a month. DUI probation can run as long as five years.
- Canada may be closed to you. Since December 2018, Canada treats impaired driving as serious criminality. Entry generally requires either a temporary resident permit for a single trip or an application for criminal rehabilitation, each with its own fee. See traveling to Canada after a DUI arrest.
- Trusted traveler programs. Global Entry and NEXUS application fees are not refunded if you are denied, and a DUI is a common ground for denial or revocation.
If You Hold a CDL, Nothing Else Here Matters as Much
A DUI conviction disqualifies a commercial driver's license for one year, even when the offense happened in your personal vehicle. A second disqualifies it for life. For a commercial driver, a year of lost income dwarfs every other number on this page. See what a DUI does to a CDL.
Deferred Prosecution Is Not the Cheap Option
Deferred prosecution ends in dismissal, which makes it sound free. It is often the most expensive path available.
It requires a two-year state-approved treatment program at your expense, beginning with intensive treatment and stepping down through months of weekly and then monthly contact, with total abstinence and self-help meetings throughout, plus the interlock, and the case is not dismissed for five years. Realistic treatment cost runs from several thousand dollars into five figures.
There is also a consequence people learn about years later. The granted deferred prosecution stays on your driving record permanently, and it counts as a prior offense if you are ever charged again, even though the original charge was dismissed.
What Actually Changes the Total
Every number above is downstream of a single question, which is what the final charge ends up being. A DUI reduced to reckless or negligent driving changes the fine, removes the interlock requirement in most cases, changes the insurance category, avoids the CDL disqualification, and produces a conviction that can be vacated in the future rather than one that never goes away.
That is the leverage point, and it exists only while the case is open.
Attorney fees vary with the complexity of the case. We quote a flat fee at the free case review, so you know the number before you decide anything. Contact The Law Offices of Barbara Bowden for a free case review, available 24 hours a day.