Is a DUI a felony in Tennessee?
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On a fourth — and a fifth is a class higher. A fourth conviction is sentenced as a felony with a floor of 150 consecutive days. A fifth, where the record carries at least four previous convictions, is a Class D felony — one class higher, with the fourth-offense floor as its minimum. The third stays a misdemeanor, though its floor is already 120 consecutive days.
Written any number of ways — a 3rd DUI, a DUI 3rd, a felony DUI, or simply a DUI in TN — and the paperwork will use none of them. Tennessee charges it under a section number, and that is what decides the range below.
Grade. Class E felony
Confinement. Not less than 150 consecutive days, up to the Class E maximum
Fine. $3,000 to $15,000
Tennessee Code § 55-10-402 · Tenn. Code § 55-10-402(a)(3)–(5); § 55-10-403(a)(4) · checked 2026-09-04
The facts that make a DUI a felony here
Each line below is a separate provision with its own punishment range. They stack with the arithmetic of prior convictions rather than replacing it.
| The fact | What it makes it | Detail and source |
|---|---|---|
| How old the prior conviction is | Ten years to count it — and never past twenty | Tennessee is widely described as having a lifetime look-back. The statute says otherwise. A prior counts if the previous violation falls within ten years of the present one, and once you are a multiple offender every qualifying violation inside those rolling ten-year gaps is counted — but a violation more than twenty years before the present one is never a prior offense. Prior vehicular assault and vehicular homicide convictions are the exception: they count whenever they happened. Tennessee Code § 55-10-405 · Tenn. Code § 55-10-405(a), (c)(1) · checked 2026-09-04 |
The device is a separate track
Tennessee runs the program through the court: you need an Order for Restricted Driver License signed by a judge before any provider will fit the device, plus SR-22 insurance. The order is also what the provider uses to calculate how long you serve, so the paperwork sets the clock.
In Tennessee the interlock term runs Set by the court and is administered by The sentencing court, with the restricted license issued by TN Department of Safety — 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.
Source: The sentencing court, with the restricted license issued by TN Department of Safety
Tennessee DUI questions
Is a DUI a felony in Tennessee?
On a fourth — and a fifth is a class higher. A fourth conviction is sentenced as a felony with a floor of 150 consecutive days. A fifth, where the record carries at least four previous convictions, is a Class D felony — one class higher, with the fourth-offense floor as its minimum. The third stays a misdemeanor, though its floor is already 120 consecutive days. How old the prior conviction is: ten years to count it — and never past twenty.
What does a 3rd DUI in Tennessee carry?
Class E felony: not less than 150 consecutive days, up to the class e maximum, and a fine of $3,000 to $15,000. The range is set by Tenn. Code § 55-10-402(a)(3)–(5); § 55-10-403(a)(4), and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.
What makes it worse in Tennessee?
How old the prior conviction is — ten years to count it — and never past twenty.
Does an interlock come with it in Tennessee?
Tennessee runs the program through the court: you need an Order for Restricted Driver License signed by a judge before any provider will fit the device, plus SR-22 insurance. The order is also what the provider uses to calculate how long you serve, so the paperwork sets the clock. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by The sentencing court, with the restricted license issued by TN Department of Safety.
Other steps in Tennessee: first offense penalties and second offense penalties.
All Tennessee DUI rules →Penalties across the states →Tennessee DUI lawyers →Getting the license back →
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