A first DUI in Nebraska: what it can result in
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A Class W misdemeanor, and the license is the real penalty. The court must revoke the license for six months and order you to apply for an ignition interlock permit and run the device for the whole revocation. At 0.15 or more the revocation becomes a year. Nebraska attaches the device to the first conviction as a matter of course rather than as an option, which is why the license consequence outweighs the criminal one here.
Written any number of ways — a 1st offense DUI, DUI 1st, DUI first offense NE, or a first DUI in NE — and the paperwork will use none of them. Nebraska charges it under a section number, and that is what decides the range below.
Grade. Class W misdemeanor
Confinement. Set by the class
Fine. Set by the class
Nebraska Revised Statutes § 60-6,197.03 · Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,197.03(1), (2) · checked 2026-09-04
The device is a separate track
Nebraska frames it as a choice you make instead of fighting: waive your right to an Administrative License Revocation hearing and apply for an Ignition Interlock Permit. You must be a Nebraska resident, at least 18 with a license already issued, clear of other suspensions, and you must serve any required waiting period first.
In Nebraska the interlock term runs Set by revocation and is administered by Nebraska DMV, Financial Responsibility Division — 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.
Nebraska DUI questions
Is jail time mandatory for a 1st DUI in Nebraska?
The court must revoke the license for six months and order you to apply for an ignition interlock permit and run the device for the whole revocation. At 0.15 or more the revocation becomes a year. Nebraska attaches the device to the first conviction as a matter of course rather than as an option, which is why the license consequence outweighs the criminal one here.
How likely is jail time for a first DUI in NE?
Start from what the statute forces and what it leaves to the judge. The floor here is set by the class. 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 Nebraska?
Class W misdemeanor: set by the class, and a fine of set by the class. The range is set by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,197.03(1), (2), and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.
Does an interlock come with it in Nebraska?
Nebraska frames it as a choice you make instead of fighting: waive your right to an Administrative License Revocation hearing and apply for an Ignition Interlock Permit. You must be a Nebraska resident, at least 18 with a license already issued, clear of other suspensions, and you must serve any required waiting period first. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by Nebraska DMV, Financial Responsibility Division.
Other steps in Nebraska: when it becomes a felony penalties and second offense penalties.
All Nebraska DUI rules →Penalties across the states →Nebraska DUI lawyers →Getting the license back →
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