Arrested for DUI in Miami? Here is what happens next, in plain words.

An arrest is not a conviction.

This page walks you through what comes next. It uses plain words and short steps. Read what you need. Skip what you don't.

One date matters first. You have 10 days from the date your notice of suspension was issued to act on your license. We say it once here. Then we move on. Source: § 322.2615(1)(b)3., Fla. Stat. (2026).

Start here

1. Step 1The first 24 hoursWhat do I do right now?
2. Step 2Find my 10th daythe countdown tool, below
3. Step 3Hardship licenseCan I get a hardship license so I can drive to work?

Three tools. Pick one.

What are you worried about?

Pick the one that sounds like you.

• "They took my license. Is it over? Did I miss something?"Read: The DUI 10-day rule →
• "I said no to the breath test. Is that a crime now?"Read: Refusing a breath test →
• "Can I get a hardship license so I can drive to work?"Read: Hardship license →
• "What do I do right now?"Read: The first 24 hours →
• "I have a CDL."Read: DUI and your CDL →
• "I'm not a citizen."Read: DUI and immigration: what to know before you plead →
• "I want the full story on the license hearing."Read: License suspension hearings →
• "What happens in court?"Read: Arrest and court process →
• Boating, or a crash with injury or death:see our pages on BUI and DUI manslaughter and serious bodily injury.

Two cases, not one

Most people are surprised by this. After a DUI arrest, you have two separate cases.

They run on separate tracks. Winning one does not automatically win the other. What you write in a license-review request generally cannot be used against you at the DUI trial. There is an exception for material properly turned over in criminal discovery, so get advice before you write anything.

Source: § 322.2615(1)(b)2., (14)(a); § 316.193(10), Fla. Stat. (2026). One narrow exception: if you are found not guilty at trial of the underlying DUI, DHSMV must throw out a suspension based on an unlawful alcohol level. § 322.2615(16).

What happens at a traffic stop and the roadside exercises?

The roadside exercises are the things an officer asks you to do before an arrest. Walking a line. Standing on one leg. Following a pen with your eyes.

They are separate from the breath, urine, or blood test that comes after an arrest. Florida's highest court has held that refusing the roadside exercises before arrest can be admitted at trial in some situations. It depends on the facts. Talk to a lawyer about yours.

Medical or physical conditions can affect how a person does on these exercises. Your lawyer will also compare the video to the officer's report.

Source: § 322.2615(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2026).

What is the "DUI report" the officer sends?

Within five days after issuing the notice of suspension, the officer sends the state license agency a packet. It includes:

• your license;
• a sworn statement with the reasons for the arrest;
• your breath or blood result, or a sworn statement that you refused;
• the officer's description of the roadside exercises, if any were done;
• the notice of suspension.

The officer may also send the crash report and video of the roadside exercises. A late submission does not, by itself, stop the agency from using these papers.

Source: § 322.2615(2)(a)-(b), Fla. Stat. (2026).

What is the difference between breath, urine, and blood tests?

Breath. Measures alcohol. It is done on an approved instrument after a 20-minute watch period. Two samples must agree within 0.020.

Urine. Under Florida's implied-consent law, a urine test is used to look for drugs (chemical or controlled substances).

Blood. Can measure alcohol and drugs. Under the U.S. Constitution, police generally need a warrant to draw blood unless a recognized exception applies, such as consent or a real emergency judged on the facts of the case.

Source: § 316.1932(1)(a)1.a.-b., (1)(b), (1)(c); § 316.1933, Fla. Stat. (2026); Fla. Admin. Code R. 11D-8.002(12), 11D-8.007(3).

When can police take my blood?

Florida law addresses four main situations:

1. A crash with a death or serious bodily injury. If police have probable cause that an impaired driver caused it, Florida law requires a blood test and allows reasonable force. No arrest is required first.
2. A hospital or medical setting. If you are being treated and a breath or urine test is not practical, implied consent covers a blood test. If you are unconscious, you are treated as not having withdrawn consent.
3. A warrant. Police can ask a judge for a search warrant for blood.
4. Your consent.

Only the medical professionals listed in the statute may draw the blood.

Federal constitutional limits apply to every blood draw, including draws a Florida statute allows. Whether a draw without a warrant was lawful depends on the facts. A lawyer looks at how the blood was taken.

Source: § 316.1933(1)(a)-(b), (2)(a); § 316.1932(1)(c), (1)(f)2.a., Fla. Stat. (2026).

Can my hospital blood results be used against me?

Possibly.

• A blood draw done for medical reasons can be used even if police never asked for it.
• A treating provider may tell police if a medical blood test shows .08 or higher. That notice is limited to your name, who drew the blood, the alcohol level, and the date and time. It may be used only to give police a reason to request a blood draw.
• Test information gathered under the implied-consent law must be released on request to the court, the prosecutor, the defense, or police.

How the State gets your other medical records is a separate question with its own rules.

Source: § 316.1932(1)(f)1., (1)(f)2.a.-e., (3); § 316.1933(2)(a)1., Fla. Stat. (2026).

Did I have to take the breath test? What about refusing?

Since October 1, 2025, a first refusal of a lawful breath or urine test is a crime in Florida. It is a second-degree misdemeanor. A second or later refusal is a first-degree misdemeanor.

Being charged is not the same as being convicted. The State has to prove several things. We cover them on our page: Refusing a breath test in Florida.

Law as of October 26, 2026. First refusal has been a crime since October 1, 2025.

Source: § 316.1939(1), Fla. Stat. (2026); ch. 2025-121, §§ 4, 9, Laws of Fla.

First-offense penalties, in plain terms

These are ranges set by law, not predictions for any person. Court costs and fees are extra.

Florida law also bars a court from withholding adjudication on a DUI. It also bars a judge from accepting a guilty plea to a lesser offense when a breath or blood test showed .15 or higher.

Source: § 316.193(2)(a)1.-2., (2)(c), (4), (5), (6)(a); § 316.656(1), (2)(a); § 322.28(2)(a)1., Fla. Stat. (2026).

If there was a crash with property damage, injury, or a death, the penalties are different and more serious. See § 316.193(3) and our DUI manslaughter and serious bodily injury page.

Common defense issues (an overview)

Every case is different. No defense works in every case, and none is guaranteed. These are things a lawyer commonly looks at:

• The stop. Was there a lawful reason to pull you over?
• Probable cause for the arrest.
• Actual physical control. Were you actually driving or in control of the vehicle?
• The implied-consent warning. Was it given? Was it complete?
• The 20-minute watch period and the breath-test steps under state rules.
• The machine and the operator. Permits, inspections, and maintenance records.
• Two samples within 0.020.
• Blood-draw issues. Who drew it, whether there was a warrant or an exception, and chain of custody.
• Medical or physical conditions that affect the roadside exercises.
• What the video shows compared with the report.
• Timing. The alcohol level when you drove versus when you were tested.

Source (framework only): § 316.193(1); § 316.1932; § 316.1934; § 322.2615(7), Fla. Stat. (2026); Fla. Admin. Code R. 11D-8.002(12), 11D-8.007.

Why does the video matter, and why ask early?

Video shows what a written report can't:

• the driving pattern;
• how you spoke and walked;
• the instructions the officer gave for the roadside exercises;
• whether the implied-consent warning was read, and how;
• the 20-minute watch period.

Sometimes video supports the officer's account. Sometimes it does not. In most cases it is the most objective evidence there is.

Ask early. Police agencies keep body-camera video under their own retention policies and the public-records retention law. They do not keep it forever. A lawyer can send a preservation letter to the arresting agency and the jail, request the video in criminal discovery, and, where it fits, subpoena it for the license hearing.

Source: § 322.2615(2)(b), (6)(b), (7); § 943.1718(2)(e), (3)(c), Fla. Stat. (2026).

If a crash was involved

If there was property damage, an injury, or a death, tell us that when you call. The charges and penalties can be different. See DUI manslaughter and serious bodily injury. We do not summarize those penalties on this page.

Source: § 316.193(3), Fla. Stat. (2026).

Official forms and resources

Plain list. Official sites only. We do not control these sites.

DHSMV forms

• HSMV 78065, Application for Formal/Informal Review of Driver License Suspension/Disqualification (Rev. 02/2018). Use it to ask for a review hearing of your suspension. Per the form, it goes with a $25.00 filing fee and a copy of your citation. flhsmv.gov/pdf/forms/78065.pdf
• HSMV 72034, Request for Eligibility Review (Rev. 4/2026). Used by some first-time drivers who give up the hearing and ask for a restricted license. flhsmv.gov/pdf/forms/72034.pdf
• HSMV 78306, Application for Administrative Hearing (Rev. 4/2026). Used to apply for a hardship license after a waiting period. flhsmv.gov/pdf/forms/78306.pdf
• DUI and ignition interlock forms index: flhsmv.gov/driver-licenses-id-cards/education-courses/dui-and-iid/forms

DHSMV information

• Check your license status: services.flhsmv.gov/DLCheck
• Licensed DUI programs (DUI school): flhsmv.gov/driver-licenses-id-cards/education-courses/dui-and-iid/licensed-dui-programs-florida
• Ignition Interlock Program: flhsmv.gov/driver-licenses-id-cards/education-courses/dui-and-iid/ignition-interlock-program
• DUI program service fees: flhsmv.gov/driver-licenses-id-cards/education-courses/dui-and-iid/dui-program-service-fees
• Commercial motor vehicle drivers: flhsmv.gov/driver-licenses-id-cards/commercial-motor-vehicle-drivers

Miami Bureau of Administrative Reviews (BAR)

• 401 NW 2nd Ave, Ste N612, Miami, FL 33128. Phone 305-265-3001. Email MiamiBAR@flhsmv.gov.
• As of October 26, 2026, the DHSMV page says this office is temporarily closed to the public and that requests can be sent by email with the correct form.

Miami-Dade courts

• Clerk, criminal traffic violations: miamidadeclerk.gov/clerk/criminal-traffic-violations.page
• Clerk, criminal court: miamidadeclerk.gov/clerk/criminal-court.page
• 11th Judicial Circuit, Criminal Division (County Court handles DUI): jud11.flcourts.org/About-the-Court/Court-Divisions/Criminal

Longer version with bond, first appearance and tow steps: What to do in the first 24 hours.

Florida Inmate Search: Find Someone in Jail

If you are not a U.S. citizen

A DUI plea can have immigration effects. Get immigration advice before you plead to anything. Read: DUI and immigration.

Source: Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.172(c)(8).

Why people call us

• We are Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A.
• Our lead attorney is a former Miami-Dade prosecutor and has been defending people since 2012.
• We are on call 24 hours.
• Bilingual office. We answer in English or Spanish. Se habla español.
• Recognition: Super Lawyers Rising Stars and an Avvo Rating of 10.0.

We will not promise you a result. We will look at your papers with you, tell you what we see, and explain your choices in plain words.

Call or WhatsApp: (305) 209-0384

English or Spanish. 24 hours.

This page is general information, not legal advice for your case.

Last reviewed: October 26, 2026. Reviewed by the attorneys of Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A.