DUI in Kentucky: the law, the limits and the device
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Kentucky 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 Kentucky law actually requires
Kentucky pays you in time for good behavior. Take the interlock license and stay violation-free for 90 consecutive days on a first offense, and your six-month suspension shrinks to four. Slip up and the counter restarts — but your suspension never runs longer than it would have without the device.
- First offense: Suspension drops from 6 months to 4 if you clear 90 consecutive violation-free days on the device; second offense 18 months down to 12 (120 clean days), third 36 to 18, fourth 60 to 30
- Lockout threshold: Set by the certified device; a violation restarts the consecutive-day count for the incentive period
- Program run by: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which runs the interlock program directly
Source: drive.ky.gov, checked 2026-08-23
DUI vs DUI in Kentucky
In Kentucky 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 Kentucky?
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 Kentucky
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 KY 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. Kentucky runs at or below the national share.
What it costs to get driving again in Kentucky
Kentucky 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.
The two clocks in Kentucky
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.
Kentucky cities
The county that hears your case is set by where the stop happened, and local practice differs across the state.
DUI questions in Kentucky
Is it called DUI or DUI in Kentucky?
Kentucky 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 Kentucky?
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 certified device; a violation restarts the consecutive-day count for the incentive period
How long does the interlock stay on after a first offense in Kentucky?
Suspension drops from 6 months to 4 if you clear 90 consecutive violation-free days on the device; second offense 18 months down to 12 (120 clean days), third 36 to 18, fourth 60 to 30 The program is run by Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which runs the interlock program directly.
Can you get a DUI on a horse or a bicycle in Kentucky?
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 Kentucky →
When a charge becomes a felony → The test and the refusal → Kentucky class requirements →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.