A first DUI in Kansas: what it can result in
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Forty-eight consecutive hours, or 100 hours of public service. Kansas sets the first DUI at a class B nonperson misdemeanor and gives the court one substitution to make. The sentence is not less than forty-eight consecutive hours nor more than six months, or, in the court’s discretion, 100 hours of public service. The word consecutive is doing real work there: the forty-eight hours cannot be split into weekend halves. The fine is separate and has an unusually high floor for a first offence at $750, running to $1,000. Kansas also counts priors differently from most states for the purpose of reaching a felony: the third conviction is a felony only if one of the priors falls within the preceding ten years, not counting time incarcerated, while the fourth is a felony regardless of when the earlier ones happened.
Written any number of ways — a 1st offense DUI, DUI 1st, DUI first offense KS, or a first DUI in KS — and the paperwork will use none of them. Kansas charges it under a section number, and that is what decides the range below.
Grade. Class B nonperson misdemeanor
Confinement. Not less than 48 consecutive hours nor more than 6 months — or 100 hours of public service
Fine. $750 to $1,000
Kansas Statutes § 8-1567 · Kan. Stat. § 8-1567(b)(1)(A) · checked 2026-09-06
The device is a separate track
Kansas runs the interlock after the suspension, not instead of it: below 0.15% a first occurrence means 30 days of suspension and then six months or a year restricted to an interlock-equipped vehicle; at 0.15% or above it is a full year of suspension first, then a year on the device. Driving a car without the device restarts the whole restriction.
In Kansas the interlock term runs 6–12 months and is administered by Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles — which is why a plea that settles the criminal case does not settle the device. What counts as a violation on it, and what an agency adds to the term, is its own arithmetic: violations and lockouts. Getting it off at the end is a procedure of its own too — removal and waivers.
Kansas DUI questions
Is jail time mandatory for a 1st DUI in Kansas?
Kansas sets the first DUI at a class B nonperson misdemeanor and gives the court one substitution to make. The sentence is not less than forty-eight consecutive hours nor more than six months, or, in the court’s discretion, 100 hours of public service. The word consecutive is doing real work there: the forty-eight hours cannot be split into weekend halves. The fine is separate and has an unusually high floor for a first offence at $750, running to $1,000. Kansas also counts priors differently from most states for the purpose of reaching a felony: the third conviction is a felony only if one of the priors falls within the preceding ten years, not counting time incarcerated, while the fourth is a felony regardless of when the earlier ones happened.
How likely is jail time for a first DUI in KS?
Start from what the statute forces and what it leaves to the judge. The floor here is not less than 48 consecutive hours nor more than 6 months — or 100 hours of public service. Everything above that floor is argued, and the same conviction can end up served in custody, on work release or as a condition of probation depending on the county and the judge. What no one can promise you is a sentence below the statutory minimum — that is not a question of persuasion.
What is the punishment range for a 1st DUI in Kansas?
Class B nonperson misdemeanor: not less than 48 consecutive hours nor more than 6 months — or 100 hours of public service, and a fine of $750 to $1,000. The range is set by Kan. Stat. § 8-1567(b)(1)(A), and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.
Does an interlock come with it in Kansas?
Kansas runs the interlock after the suspension, not instead of it: below 0.15% a first occurrence means 30 days of suspension and then six months or a year restricted to an interlock-equipped vehicle; at 0.15% or above it is a full year of suspension first, then a year on the device. Driving a car without the device restarts the whole restriction. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles.
Other steps in Kansas: second offense penalties and when it becomes a felony penalties.
All Kansas DUI rules →Penalties across the states →Kansas DUI lawyers →Getting the license back →
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