Illinois BAC Limits & DUI Consequences

0.08

Source: Illinois Rules of the Road 2025, Chapter 6: Blood-Alcohol Concentration, p. 48

0.00 (zero tolerance)

Source: Illinois Rules of the Road 2025, Chapter 6: Drivers Under Age 21, p. 52

Driving on Illinois roadways is consent by operation of law to chemical testing. If a police officer has probable cause to believe a driver is under the influence of alcohol, cannabis, other drugs, or intoxicating compounds, the officer will request a breath, blood, urine, or other bodily-substance test. In a personal-injury or fatal crash where probable cause exists, the officer must request a drug or alcohol test. A first refusal triggers a statutory summary suspension of one year; a second refusal within five years triggers a three-year suspension. Refusal can also be used as evidence in court, and a driver found guilty of DUI may be held financially liable up to $500 for the cost of blood testing. After a crash with serious personal injury or death, refusing chemical testing results in a minimum one-year revocation of driving privileges.

Source: Illinois Rules of the Road 2025, Chapter 6: Implied Consent Law and Statutory Summary Suspension/Revocation Law, pp. 49-50

A first DUI conviction in Illinois triggers a minimum one-year revocation of driving privileges (Chapter 6, p. 50). Separately, the statutory summary suspension imposes a six-month suspension if the driver fails chemical testing (BAC of .08 or more) or a one-year suspension if the driver refuses chemical testing; the suspension begins on the 46th day after the officer's notice. A BAC of .16 or more, or a DUI while transporting a child under age 16, triggers enhanced penalties. Before reinstatement, the driver must complete an alcohol and drug evaluation, complete a rehabilitation or alcohol/drug education program, attend an administrative hearing with the Secretary of State, pay a reinstatement fee, and file SR-22 financial responsibility insurance for three years. A first-time offender may petition for a Monitoring Device Driving Permit (MDDP), which requires installation of a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID) on the offender's vehicle at the offender's expense; choosing not to participate and driving anyway during the suspension is a felony. The handbook narrates these outcomes but does not state the specific fine amount or jail term; under 625 ILCS 5/11-501 a first DUI is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine up to $2,500.

Source: Illinois Rules of the Road 2025, Chapter 6: DUI Laws, Statutory Summary Suspension/Revocation Law, and DUI Conviction, pp. 49-51; statutory fine/jail amounts per 625 ILCS 5/11-501

conditional

Source: Illinois Rules of the Road 2025, Chapter 6: Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID), p. 50