DUI in Connecticut: the law, the limits and the device
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Connecticut calls it DUI — driving under the influence, and you will see OUI and drunk driving used for the same offense. What follows is what this state sets, taken from its own published rules rather than from a national summary.
What Connecticut law actually requires
Connecticut requires the device before it will restore your license at all — after failing or refusing a test, an OUI, vehicular manslaughter or vehicular assault. One detail costs people months: the DMV states plainly that the requirement starts the date your license is restored, not the date the device is fitted.
- First offense: Required to reinstate after any alcohol-related suspension; the clock starts on the day your license is restored, not the day the device is fitted
- Lockout threshold: Set by the Connecticut-approved vendor device; the car will not start if it detects alcohol, and rolling retests run at random while you drive
- Program run by: Connecticut DMV
Source: portal.ct.gov, checked 2026-08-23
DUI vs DUI in Connecticut
In Connecticut there is one offense and one label. If you have seen DWI, OWI or OVI used elsewhere, that is another state’s vocabulary for the same conduct — nothing about the seriousness changes when you cross a state line, only the letters on the paperwork.
Whatever it is called, the licensing consequence is the same shape: a suspension, then the device as the condition of driving again. All six abbreviations, side by side →
Can you get a DUI on a bike or a horse in Connecticut?
It turns on one word in the statute. Where the law says “vehicle”, no engine is required and the charge can reach a bicycle, a horse or a mobility scooter. Where it says “motor vehicle”, the analysis is different. This is decided by your state’s own wording, not by national custom, and it is the first thing to check before assuming a bike ride home is safe.
How often this happens in Connecticut
Federal crash records show the scale the state is legislating against, and how it compares with the country.
County-level figures are not meaningful here. Connecticut does not organize its cases the way most states do: Connecticut replaced county government with planning regions, Alaska uses boroughs and census areas, and in both the federal crash file records too few events per unit to compare them fairly. The state total above is the honest unit of measurement.
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 2020–2022. Counts crashes where police recorded that a driver had been drinking, which is narrower than the federal 0.08 measure and therefore understates the real figure. Connecticut runs above the national share.
What it costs to get driving again in Connecticut
Connecticut does not publish a price cap we could verify, so the quote is the number and your only leverage is a competitor nearby. The national reference points are installation and a monthly fee, with calibration visits every 30 to 60 days.
Connecticut costs, providers and all 93 cities with centers →
The two clocks in Connecticut
The court case and the licensing case run separately. The licensing side moves first, and in the strictest states the window to request a hearing is measured in days — it runs whether or not you have hired anyone.
DUI questions in Connecticut
Is it called DUI or DUI in Connecticut?
Connecticut uses DUI — driving under the influence. You will also see OUI, drunk driving used for the same thing. The label follows the state, not the seriousness of what happened, so paperwork from elsewhere may say something different about identical conduct.
What is the legal limit in Connecticut?
0.08% for drivers 21 and over, as in every state except Utah, which sits at 0.05%. Below the limit you can still be charged if an officer documents impairment. The reading that triggers the interlock here is a separate number: Set by the Connecticut-approved vendor device; the car will not start if it detects alcohol, and rolling retests run at random while you drive
How long does the interlock stay on after a first offense in Connecticut?
Required to reinstate after any alcohol-related suspension; the clock starts on the day your license is restored, not the day the device is fitted The program is run by Connecticut DMV.
Can you get a DUI on a horse or a bicycle in Connecticut?
The answer is in whether the statute says “vehicle” or “motor vehicle”. Where it says vehicle, no engine is needed and the charge can reach a bike or a horse; where it says motor vehicle, it cannot. This is one of the most searched questions in the whole subject and one of the most confidently answered wrongly — the wording of your own state decides it.
When a DUI is a felony in Connecticut →A second DUI here →A first DUI here →
When a charge becomes a felony → The test and the refusal → SR-22 and FR-44 →
Attorney advertising. InterlockDeviceNearMe is not a law firm, does not practice law, and does not give legal advice. Nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship. Requesting a consultation connects you with an independent attorney or a legal referral service, who decide separately whether to take your case. Case outcomes depend on facts we do not know, and no result is ever promised. Deadlines in DUI cases are short and vary by state — speak to a licensed attorney in your state before relying on anything you read here.