Maine lawDui

DUI Penalties in Maine

September 28, 2026 · LawDiver Research Team

Start with Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 29-A, § 2411. In Maine, BAC limits: 0.08% for adults; 0.04% for commercial drivers; zero-tolerance for drivers under 21. A first offense: First-offense OUI is typically a misdemeanor with fines, possible jail, license suspension, alcohol program, and ignition-interlock conditions. Felony threshold: A third OUI within 10 years can be a felony-level offense; OUI with serious injury/death can also be a felony. That is the question this guide answers for DUI penalties. Lookback: Prior OUI convictions within 10 years enhance penalties.. Ignition interlock: Ignition interlock is commonly required for license reinstatement after OUI.

Blood alcohol limits in Maine

0.08% for adults; 0.04% for commercial drivers; zero-tolerance for drivers under 21

Lookback window for prior offenses

Prior OUI convictions within 10 years enhance penalties.

How the Maine rule applies

Apply the Maine authorities in order. The facts are simplified so the statute and the standard are visible.

A driver in Maine is charged with a first impaired-driving offense and wants to know what the statute actually sets.

Start with the alcohol limits: 0.08% for adults; 0.04% for commercial drivers; zero-tolerance for drivers under 21
Read the first-offense range: First-offense OUI is typically a misdemeanor with fines, possible jail, license suspension, alcohol program, and ignition-interlock conditions.
Ask when the charge becomes a felony: A third OUI within 10 years can be a felony-level offense; OUI with serious injury/death can also be a felony. Lookback: Prior OUI convictions within 10 years enhance penalties.
Interlock: Ignition interlock is commonly required for license reinstatement after OUI.

Maine OUI under 29-A M.R.S. § 2411 proceeds in criminal court with parallel Bureau of Motor Vehicles actions. Defense reviews the stop and chemical-test record.

First-offense penalties

First-offense OUI is typically a misdemeanor with fines, possible jail, license suspension, alcohol program, and ignition-interlock conditions.

When a Maine DUI becomes a felony

A third OUI within 10 years can be a felony-level offense; OUI with serious injury/death can also be a felony.

Ignition interlock and license consequences

Ignition interlock is commonly required for license reinstatement after OUI.

How a typical Maine DUI case unfolds

Maine OUI under 29-A M.R.S. § 2411 proceeds in criminal court with parallel Bureau of Motor Vehicles actions. Defense reviews the stop and chemical-test record.

Case law: DUI penalties in Maine

STATE of Maine v. Leslie J. TAYLOR

STATE of Maine v. Leslie J. TAYLOR, 1997 Me. LEXIS 90 (1997)

…obriety tests, Officer Green placed Taylor under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. At the police station, Taylor refused to take a breathalyzer test. Officer Green never cited Taylor for a *909 broken plate light, and both Taylor and his girlfriend, who was in the car with him, testified that the light was working when they checked it later at the station. [¶ 5…

Maine opinions such as STATE of Maine v. Leslie J. TAYLOR are cited where DUI penalties is disputed. The court stated: "Officer Green placed Taylor under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. At the police station, Taylor refused to take a breathalyzer test." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.

STATE of Maine v. James A. BELLINO

STATE of Maine v. James A. BELLINO, 1978 Me. LEXIS 810 (1978)

…ment officer had probable cause to believe that evidence of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor did exist, the Court further viewing the progressive elimination of alcohol by natural bodily functions. as presenting exigent circumstances which obviate the necessity of procuring a search warrant. Even with the Breithaupt and Schmerber decisions in mind, our Legisla…

On DUI penalties, STATE of Maine v. James A. BELLINO speaks to the Maine dispute in this passage: "Court further viewing the progressive elimination of alcohol by natural bodily functions. as presenting exigent circumstances which obviate the necessity of procuring a search warrant." The surrounding opinion shows how the court applied that language to the record.

STATE of Maine v. Mallory McPARTLAND

STATE of Maine v. Mallory McPARTLAND, 2012 Me. LEXIS 12 (2012)

…tively reasonable basis for suspecting that the motorist is driving under the influence before the officer can refer the motorist to secondary screening for impairment. [¶ 11] Therefore, it was incumbent on Officer McAvoy to have harbored “an objectively reasonable, articulable suspicion that either criminal conduct, a civil violation, or a threat to public safety [had] occurre…

STATE of Maine v. Mallory McPARTLAND is worth reading on Maine DUI penalties because the court put the point in its own words: "tively reasonable basis for suspecting that the motorist is driving under the influence before the officer can refer the motorist to secondary screening for impairment. [¶ 11] Therefore, it was incumbent on Officer McAvoy to have harbored “an objectively reasonable, articulable s" Use that passage as the starting point, then read the facts that precede it.

State of Maine vs. Carroll Demerritt

State of Maine vs. Carroll Demerritt, 149 Me. 380 (1953)

…respondent, and did not then arrest him for the offense of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor, deprived the respondent of his right to have a blood test. “By lulling him into a feeling of security” the respondent claims, he was deprived of a right. In other words, whether or not an indication that an automobile driver, who may be under the influence of intoxica…

On DUI penalties, State of Maine vs. Carroll Demerritt speaks to the Maine dispute in this passage: "By lulling him into a feeling of security” the respondent claims, he was deprived of a right." The surrounding opinion shows how the court applied that language to the record.

STATE of Maine v. Thomas S. DUNN

STATE of Maine v. Thomas S. DUNN, 1984 Me. LEXIS 783 (1984)

…nce was sufficient to sustain the defendant’s conviction of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor. See State v. Atkinson, 458 A.2d 1200, 1205 (Me.1983); State v. Joy, 452 A.2d 408, 412 (Me.1982). The entry is: Judgment affirmed. 1 . 29 M.R.S.A. § 1312(8) (Supp.1983-1984) provides in pertinent part: the failure of a person to comply with the duty required by this se…

STATE of Maine v. Thomas S. DUNN is worth reading on Maine DUI penalties because the court put the point in its own words: "See State v. Atkinson, 458 A.2d 1200, 1205 (Me.1983); State v. Joy, 452 A.2d 408, 412 (Me.1982). The entry is: Judgment affirmed. 1 . 29 M.R.S.A. § 1312(8) (Supp." Use that passage as the starting point, then read the facts that precede it.

STATE of Maine v. Reginald BEAN

STATE of Maine v. Reginald BEAN, 1981 Me. LEXIS 837 (1981)

…Court’s past holdings, discussed below, that the offense of driving under the influence requires no particular degree of intoxication, the defendant contends that those decisions construed statutes that were fundamentally different from the one under which he was convicted. Those statutes expressly declared it unlawful to operate a motor vehicle while “at all *1110 under the in…

Maine opinions such as STATE of Maine v. Reginald BEAN are cited where DUI penalties is disputed. The court stated: "Court’s past holdings, discussed below, that the offense of driving under the influence requires no particular degree of intoxication, the defendant contends that those decisions construed statutes that were fundamentally different from the one under which he was convicted." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.

STATE of Maine v. John E. ARNDT

STATE of Maine v. John E. ARNDT, 2016 Me. LEXIS 32 (2016)

…ned that there was probable cause to believe that Arndt was driving under the influence of alcohol. 2 The deputy transported Arndt to the Bath Police Department (Bath PD) station to administer a breath-alcohol test using an Intoxilyzer machine. The deputy took Arndt to the Bath PD station, rather than the closer Topsham Police Department (Topsham PD) station, because he had aft…

Maine opinions such as STATE of Maine v. John E. ARNDT are cited where DUI penalties is disputed. The court stated: "Arndt was driving under the influence of alcohol. 2 The deputy transported Arndt to the Bath Police Department (Bath PD) station to administer a breath-alcohol test using an Intoxilyzer machine." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.

STATE of Maine v. Sean C. PIKE

STATE of Maine v. Sean C. PIKE, 1993 Me. LEXIS 183 (1993)

…ice. Sean C. Pike appeals from a judgment convicting him of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor, 29 M.R.S.A. § 1312-B (Pamph.1992) in the District Court (Milli-nocket, Gunther, J.) on the grounds that the court erred in not suppressing statements made to the arresting officer in response to questions during a roadside stop and in admitting the results from a brea…

Practitioners open STATE of Maine v. Sean C. PIKE when Maine DUI penalties turns on the distinction in this sentence: "Sean C. Pike appeals from a judgment convicting him of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor, 29 M.R.S.A. § 1312-B (Pamph.1992) in the District Court (Milli-nocket, Gunther, J." Do not lift it out of the facts the court was deciding.

Key takeaways

BAC limits: 0.08% for adults; 0.04% for commercial drivers; zero-tolerance for drivers under 21
Lookback period: Prior OUI convictions within 10 years enhance penalties.
First-offense range: First-offense OUI is typically a misdemeanor with fines, possible jail, license suspension, alcohol program, and ignition-interlock conditions.
Felony threshold: A third OUI within 10 years can be a felony-level offense; OUI with serious injury/death can also be a felony.
Ignition interlock: Ignition interlock is commonly required for license reinstatement after OUI.
Primary authority: Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 29-A, § 2411.

Frequently asked questions

What is the legal BAC limit in Maine?