- Call 24/7 (800) 525-6386 Tap Here to Call Us
What to Expect After a First OWI Arrest in Michigan
A first operating-while-intoxicated charge in Michigan is a misdemeanor, and it moves on two separate tracks at the same time. The criminal case runs through the district court covering the place of arrest, and the Secretary of State acts on the driver’s license on its own schedule without waiting for the judge.
Maximum exposure on a standard first offense is 93 days in jail, a fine of $100 to $500, and up to 360 hours of community service under MCL 257.625(9)(a). Jail is uncommon where nobody was hurt and no passenger under 16 was in the car, and sentences much more often combine probation, fines and costs, and a court-ordered alcohol program. The license suspension is the consequence people underestimate, and it is the one that reaches daily life first.
The Two Cases Running at the Same Time
Operating while intoxicated is driving with an alcohol content of 0.08 or more, or driving under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance, or another intoxicating substance, as MCL 257.625(1) defines it. That single definition feeds both tracks.
On the criminal side, an arraignment sets bond and any conditions of release, and the case moves toward a pretrial conference where the prosecutor’s proofs get tested. On the licensing side, the Secretary of State acts once the court reports the conviction. A dismissal, or a plea to a lesser offense, changes the license outcome as surely as it changes the sentence, which is why the two tracks are worth thinking about together rather than one after the other.
At Neumann Law Group, our criminal defense attorneys handle these cases in district courts from Grand Traverse County to Wayne County, and the earliest questions are almost always about the stop itself and about the breath or blood test.
What a First OWI Sentence Can Include
A judge sentencing a standard first offense chooses among the options in MCL 257.625(9)(a) and may impose one or more of them:
- Jail: up to 93 days, or up to 180 days where the alcohol content was 0.17 or more.
- Fine: $100 to $500, or $200 to $700 at 0.17 or more.
- Community service: up to 360 hours.
Before imposing any sentence, the court must order a screening and assessment to determine whether the person is likely to benefit from rehabilitative services, under MCL 257.625b(5). On a standard first offense the judge may then order alcohol education or treatment. That discretion disappears at 0.17, where the same subsection requires a program of at least one year.
The statute also reaches operating under the influence of drugs, including prescription medication and marijuana held under a valid card. Those cases are charged under MCL 257.625(8) and carry the same first-offense penalty range as alcohol cases.
The first conversation about an OWI charge is usually the one that sets expectations properly, and it is worth having before the arraignment rather than after. We talk these questions through with you. Call us at (800) 525-6386.
Refusing the Breath Test Has Its Own Penalty
Refusing the evidentiary chemical test opens a licensing case that runs independently of the criminal charge. A driver who refuses and does not request a hearing within 14 days of the notice loses the license for one year under MCL 257.625f(1), and for two years on a second or subsequent refusal within seven years.
That sanction applies whether or not the criminal charge ends in a conviction. The Secretary of State also enters six points on the driving record under MCL 257.320a(8), though no additional points attach for the same offense where a conviction arises out of the same incident.
Fourteen days is a narrow window, and it runs from the date of the notice rather than from any court date. Missing it forfeits the hearing, and the suspension takes effect regardless of where the criminal case goes.
How Long the License Is Suspended
The Secretary of State suspends for 180 days on a standard first conviction under MCL 257.625(1)(a) or (b), where the driver has no prior convictions in seven years. MCL 257.319(8)(a) permits a restricted license during part of that suspension but forbids one for the first 30 days. Those opening 30 days allow no driving at all.
A conviction for operating while visibly impaired under MCL 257.625(3) carries a 90-day suspension instead, and a restricted license is available throughout. The charge a case resolves on therefore matters as much as whether it resolves, and that difference is often what a negotiated plea is actually about.
The arithmetic changes again at 0.17. A first conviction under MCL 257.625(1)(c) draws a one-year suspension, no restricted license at all for the first 45 days, and an ignition interlock requirement on the restricted license that follows.
Setting a First OWI Aside Later
The question I hear most often after a first arrest is whether this will still be visible on a background check years from now. Michigan’s Clean Slate legislation changed the answer, because a first-offense OWI is now eligible to be set aside and previously was not.
A first violation operating while intoxicated offense is defined at MCL 780.621(1)(d) as a violation of MCL 257.625(1), (2), (3), (6), or (8) by someone with no prior convictions under that section. An application to set one aside may be filed five or more years after the latest of sentencing, completion of probation, discharge from parole, or completion of any term of imprisonment, under MCL 780.621d(2). That route runs on an application rather than happening on its own, and the five-year figure is a minimum wait rather than a decision.
Serious misdemeanors and single felony convictions run on the same five-year clock under Michigan’s Clean Slate Act, while other misdemeanors carry a shorter wait and multiple felonies a longer one.
Getting Ahead of a First OWI Charge
A first OWI is defensible on more grounds than most people expect, and the record that matters later is built early, while the stop, the field sobriety testing, and the chemical test can still be examined closely. At Neumann Law Group, we represent drivers charged with OWI across Michigan, including Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Traverse City. If you would like us to look at your situation, call (800) 525-6386 or contact us through our website.