A DUI arrest in Florida sets two clocks running at the same time. One is the criminal case, which will unfold over months. The other is a 10-day administrative deadline to challenge the automatic suspension of your driver’s license. Most people facing a first DUI charge don’t know about the second clock until it’s already run out.
Here is what to do in the first 24 hours.
Hour 0 to 4: The arrest itself
Everything you say to law enforcement from the moment of the traffic stop onward is evidence. The most powerful tool you have is your right to remain silent.
- Identify yourself. You must provide your name and license.
- Do not answer questions about your activities, your drinking, where you were coming from, or how you’re feeling. “Officer, I’d like to speak to an attorney before answering any questions” is a complete response.
- The field sobriety exercises are voluntary. Florida does not require you to perform them. Refusing carries no administrative penalty (unlike refusing the breath test), and performing them rarely helps you.
- The breath test is not voluntary in the same sense. Florida’s implied-consent law means refusing carries a one-year administrative license suspension on a first refusal and a misdemeanor charge plus 18- month suspension on a subsequent one.
If you are polite, calm, and quiet, you are doing the hardest thing right.
Hour 4 to 12: Bond and release
Most first-offense DUI arrests result in a release within 8 to 12 hours. The bond amount and conditions vary by county. When you’re released:
- Read the bond conditions carefully. They may prohibit driving, require an ignition interlock device, or impose no-contact orders.
- Do not drive home from the jail if your license has been suspended or if a bond condition prohibits it.
- Keep the DUI Uniform Traffic Citation. It is both the charging document and the temporary driving permit for the 10 days following the arrest.
Hour 12 to 24: The calls that matter
This is when you start making the phone calls that will shape the rest of the case. In order:
- Call a criminal defense attorney experienced with Florida DUI practice. First consultations are typically free and should happen before you talk to anyone else about what happened.
- Tell no one else the facts of the arrest. Not friends, not family beyond what they already know, and absolutely not social media. Every conversation is a potential witness statement.
- Take photographs of anything visible, including injuries, the condition of the scene (if accessible), and your vehicle if it was towed.
- Write down your memory of the arrest immediately, in as much detail as you can recall, and give it only to your attorney. Memory fades quickly.
Day 1 to Day 10: The license clock
Florida Statutes section 322.2615 gives you ten days from the arrest to demand a formal or informal review of the administrative license suspension. This is a separate proceeding from the criminal case, handled by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
The formal review is a mini-hearing where a hearing officer considers whether the arrest was lawful and whether the breath-test or refusal procedure was followed correctly. Winning the formal review reinstates your license. Losing it, or missing the deadline, means the suspension takes effect automatically.
Whether to pursue formal or informal review, and how aggressively, is a strategic decision that depends on the strength of the underlying evidence. This is a decision your attorney should be making with you in the first week of the case, not in the first month.
What not to do
- Do not plead guilty at first appearance. A DUI conviction in Florida carries minimum mandatory penalties that cannot be undone. You will not be released any faster by pleading guilty on day one.
- Do not assume a first DUI is minor. Florida’s minimum penalties for a first DUI include fines, probation, mandatory DUI school, community service, and a license suspension. Enhanced penalties apply for high BAC, minors in the vehicle, or accidents involving injury.
- Do not let friends or family talk you into “just explaining what happened” to the arresting agency. There is no version of that conversation that helps you.
If this is your situation right now, call us at 813-962-3176. The first call is free, and the 10-day administrative deadline does not pause for your availability.
