DUI in Georgia: the law, the limits and the device
Verified · next review
Georgia calls it DUI — driving under the influence, and you will see 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 Georgia law actually requires
Georgia routes you through a limited driving permit rather than a flat suspension. For a second DUI within five years the interlock permit requires three things before it is issued: proof the device is already installed on every vehicle you will drive, a certificate from a DUI risk reduction program, and authorization from the court that handled the charge.
- First offense: Set by the permit rules: a second DUI within five years requires the interlock permit under O.C.G.A. 40-5-63(a)(2), and anyone excused from the device on financial hardship grounds gets no limited permit until the required period is served
- Lockout threshold: Set by the device approved by the Department of Driver Services
- Program run by: Georgia Department of Driver Services, with court authorization for repeat offenses
Source: dds.georgia.gov, checked 2026-08-23
DUI vs DUI in Georgia
In Georgia 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 Georgia?
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.
Where this state departs from the national picture
Most of what people read about drunk driving is written for the country as a whole. These are the points where Georgia does something of its own.
SR-22 for 3 years
Georgia requires the SR-22 to be filed and maintained for three years from the date of conviction — measured from conviction rather than from reinstatement, which is unusual and means time served under suspension counts toward it. The bigger change is recent. Rules adopted to implement SB 121 in 2025 set separate minimum liability limits for DUI convictions: higher after the first, higher again after a second. Most SR-22 comparison pages still quote Georgia’s ordinary minimums.
Georgia DDS Rule 375-3-3-.24, Reinstatement Procedures for DUI Suspensions
How often this happens in Georgia
Federal crash records show the scale the state is legislating against, and how it compares with the country.
Cases are heard where the stop happened, and volume shapes local practice. These GA counties record the most:
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. Georgia runs at or below the national share.
What it costs to get driving again in Georgia
Georgia is one of the few states that publishes what a provider may charge, so a quote here is checkable against the regulation rather than against another quote.
The two clocks in Georgia
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.
Georgia cities
The county that hears your case is set by where the stop happened, and local practice differs across the state.
DUI questions in Georgia
Is it called DUI or DUI in Georgia?
Georgia uses DUI — driving under the influence. You will also see 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 Georgia?
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 device approved by the Department of Driver Services
How long does the interlock stay on after a first offense in Georgia?
Set by the permit rules: a second DUI within five years requires the interlock permit under O.C.G.A. 40-5-63(a)(2), and anyone excused from the device on financial hardship grounds gets no limited permit until the required period is served The program is run by Georgia Department of Driver Services, with court authorization for repeat offenses.
Can you get a DUI on a horse or a bicycle in Georgia?
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.
A first DUI here →A second DUI here →When a DUI is a felony in Georgia →
When a charge becomes a felony → The test and the refusal → How long it stays on your record →Georgia class requirements →Georgia SR-22 rules →
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.