Michigan’s Super Drunk Law and the 0.17 BAC Threshold

By Kelly M. Neumann, a Michigan criminal defense attorney and Principal Attorney at Neumann Law Group. Last updated July 30, 2026.

Michigan’s high-BAC drunk driving provision, known almost everywhere as the super drunk law, applies to a first offense at an alcohol content of 0.17 or more. The statute treats that reading as its own offense rather than as an aggravating fact at sentencing, and most of what follows a first conviction changes because of it.

A first conviction under MCL 257.625(1)(c) raises the jail maximum from 93 days to 180. The fine range moves up as well, from $100 to $500 on a standard first offense to $200 to $700. It also doubles the license suspension to one year and adds two things a standard first offense does not carry, an ignition interlock device and a court-ordered treatment program running at least one year.

Where the 0.17 Threshold Comes From

Michigan’s super drunk law is the common name for MCL 257.625(1)(c), which makes it a distinct first offense to operate a vehicle with an alcohol content of 0.17 grams or more per 100 milliliters of blood, per 210 liters of breath, or per 67 milliliters of urine.

The phrase appears nowhere in the statute. Michigan’s vehicle code defines three ways of operating while intoxicated in the same subsection, and 0.17 is simply the third of them, sitting alongside the 0.08 threshold and the under-the-influence standard in subdivision (a). Prosecutors charge it as a first offense, not as an enhancement to one.

I often get asked why 0.17 carries so much more weight than 0.16, and the answer is that the Legislature drew a bright line rather than a sliding scale. A reading of 0.16 is an ordinary first offense. At the line, every number in the case changes at once, which is why the reliability of the test result becomes the center of the defense in a way it often is not at lower readings.

The Sentence a High BAC Conviction Carries

Sentencing runs through MCL 257.625(9)(a), the same subsection that governs a standard first offense, with two figures swapped. Jail exposure rises to 180 days, and the fine range moves to $200 to $700. Community service stays at up to 360 hours, and the offense remains a misdemeanor.

The more durable consequence sits in MCL 257.625b(5). Every OWI conviction requires a screening and assessment before sentencing, and on a standard first offense the court may then order a rehabilitative program. On a conviction under MCL 257.625(1)(c) the court must order one, and the statute sets a floor of one year for an alcohol treatment program or a self-help program. The treatment plan comes from an assessment performed by a licensed alcohol assessor and approved by the court.

A high-BAC charge turns on the test result more than on anything else in the file, and our criminal defense team at Neumann Law Group defends these cases throughout Northern Michigan and statewide. If that is where your situation sits, call us at (800) 525-6386.

One Year Without a Full License

A first conviction under MCL 257.625(1)(c), with no prior convictions within seven years or not more than two within 10, carries a one-year suspension under MCL 257.319(8)(g). A restricted license is available during the balance of that year, though not during the first 45 days.

The comparison is what makes the threshold expensive. A standard first offense draws 180 days with a restricted license available after 30. The high-BAC version doubles the suspension and adds 15 days to the period of no driving at all, before any interlock question arises.

Drivers charged in Grand Traverse County and the surrounding counties often face that year while commuting between towns without transit, which is a practical reason the charge is worth contesting rather than conceding. Our Traverse City OWI attorneys handle these cases in the 86th District Court and elsewhere in the region.

How the Interlock Requirement Actually Works

The restricted license issued after a high-BAC conviction is conditioned on an ignition interlock device, under MCL 257.319(8)(h). The device may be removed once the provider verifies to the Secretary of State that the driver has operated the vehicle with no instance of reaching or exceeding 0.025 grams per 210 liters of breath.

That 0.025 figure is far below the 0.08 threshold for a charge, and it is the number that catches people out. The statute does carve out narrow exceptions. A start-up test failure within the first two months after installation does not count against removal, and after two months a failure is excused where the driver delivers a clean sample below 0.025 within 15 minutes. A retest prompted by the device is excused on a clean sample within five minutes.

The criminal statute itself does not require the device. MCL 257.625(24) permits a sentencing court to order an interlock as a condition of probation, and that order is discretionary. The requirement that actually binds comes from the licensing side, which is why it holds regardless of how the sentence itself is structured.

Violating the restricted license, or operating at 0.025 or above, triggers an additional like period of suspension and restriction under MCL 257.319(8)(i). A driver who reaches the end of the year and then registers a reading can restart the clock, which makes the interlock period part of the case rather than an administrative afterthought.

A High BAC Conviction Can Still Be Set Aside

The higher reading does not cost a driver expungement eligibility. MCL 780.621(1)(d) defines a first violation operating while intoxicated offense by reference to MCL 257.625(1) as a whole, not to any single subdivision within it, so a first conviction at 0.17 qualifies on the same footing as one at 0.09.

An application 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). Those four events are what start the clock. The license sanction and the interlock period are not among them, so a suspension still running does not by itself delay the application.

Challenging a High BAC Test Result

A 0.17 reading is a test result, and test results rest on calibration, operator procedure, observation periods, and the physical circumstances of the sample. At Neumann Law Group, we represent drivers facing OWI and high BAC charges throughout Michigan. Call our office at (800) 525-6386, or contact us online, and we will talk it through with you.