Your Guide to DUI, DWI, and Aggravated DUI

Oklahoma DUI laws now define DUI as driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher or while under the influence of intoxicating substances; DWI still covers lower BAC cases just above 0.05% and below 0.08% when the State can prove impaired driving ability, and aggravated DUI applies at 0.15% or higher under Oklahoma’s updated felony framework. Oklahoma’s DUI law changed more in the last year than in the prior two decades combined. Two different bills amended the same statute in 2025, a brand-new felony classification system took effect January 1, 2026, and a lot of content written in the middle of that process — including plenty still online today — describes rules that are no longer current.

If you were arrested for DUI, DWI, or aggravated DUI in Oklahoma, or you are trying to understand what those charges mean before you talk to counsel, this guide explains where things actually stand. It walks through the current Oklahoma DUI law framework, the DUI vs. DWI distinction, underage DUI rules, recent aggravated DUI changes, penalties, license revocation, chemical testing and implied consent, expungement eligibility, and why getting case-specific advice from a defense attorney matters when the law is this unsettled.

This is general information, not legal advice. Oklahoma DUI law is unusually unsettled right now, with real disagreement even among current sources on some specifics — talk to an Oklahoma attorney about the facts of any charge.

The basic framework: DUI law, DWI, and APC

Oklahoma splits impaired driving into two distinct charges based on blood alcohol concentration (BAC), under 47 O.S. §11-902 and §761.

DUI (Driving Under the Influence) applies when a driver:

• Has a BAC of 0.08% or higher, tested within two hours of arrest, or
• Is under the influence of alcohol, a Schedule I controlled substance (which includes marijuana), or another intoxicating substance to a degree that makes safe driving unsafe.

DUI also covers Actual Physical Control (APC) — you don’t have to be driving. Being in the driver’s seat with the ability to operate the vehicle, even if it’s parked, can be enough. This catches a genuinely common scenario: someone who drinks at a bar, decides not to drive, and gets into the driver’s seat just to run the heat or air conditioning while they sober up.

DWI (Driving While Impaired) is a distinct, lesser charge under 47 O.S. §761. The statute requires a BAC “in excess of” 0.05% but under 0.08% — practically speaking, just above 0.05%, though the statute itself never states a specific decimal floor like 0.06%; that’s simply the plain-language reading of “in excess of 0.05.” Critically, a DWI conviction can’t rest on the BAC number alone: the state also has to show the driver’s ability to operate the vehicle was actually affected, or that a traffic law was violated. That evidentiary requirement is what makes DWI a meaningfully harder charge to prove than DUI, and it’s a real practical distinction — most general “DUI vs. DWI” content glosses over it, but the statute is specific about it.

Underage drivers: zero tolerance

Anyone under 21 can be charged with DUI for any measurable amount of alcohol in their system — there’s no need to show impairment or hit the 0.08% threshold that applies to adult drivers. Oklahoma has a separate statute for this, though prosecutors can and often do charge under the standard DUI statute instead, since the penalties there are more severe.

Aggravated DUI: this changed twice in 2025, and most content hasn’t caught up

This is the part of Oklahoma dui laws that’s genuinely in flux, and it’s worth understanding the sequence rather than just the current answer, because the exact scope is still debated among practicing attorneys.

What happened: Two different bills amended the same DUI statute in the same 2025 legislative session:

• Senate Bill 54 (effective November 1, 2025) broadened “aggravated DUI” under the new law to include a long list of aggravating factors beyond BAC — causing an accident, certain lane and roadway violations, eluding police, excessive speed, reckless driving, and having a passenger under 18 in the vehicle. Any one of these on top of an ordinary DUI could increase exposure to felony charges, even at a BAC well under 0.15%.
• House Bill 2104 (effective January 1, 2026) rewrote the same statute again, reorganizing DUI penalties into Oklahoma’s new felony classification system and narrowing the aggravated DUI definition. Under HB 2104, aggravated DUI is tied to a BAC of 0.15% or higher, now classified as a Class B3 felony.

SB 54 itself had a contentious path to becoming law — the Governor vetoed it, and the legislature overrode that veto before it took effect, underscoring that this was a genuinely disputed policy question in Oklahoma even before the second bill added a layer of statutory conflict on top of it.

Why this matters: those two versions genuinely conflict, and Oklahoma has a legal rule for exactly this situation — when two same-session amendments to the same statute can’t be reconciled, the later-enacted one generally controls, reinforced by the rule of lenity (ambiguity in a criminal statute gets resolved in favor of the narrower reading). Working through the effective dates, the better-supported legal position is that HB 2104’s narrower, BAC-focused definition applies to conduct on or after January 1, 2026 — meaning the broad “crash, minor in the car, speeding, eluding” list from SB 54 was only clearly good law for about two months.

Where sources still disagree: whether that narrowing was total. Some current sources describe aggravated DUI today as tied strictly and exclusively to the 0.15% BAC threshold, full stop. At least one other source, describing the law as of mid-2026, states that having a minor passenger in the vehicle remains an aggravating factor under the current statute alongside the BAC threshold — separate from, but overlapping with, a standalone child endangerment charge. These two readings can’t both be fully correct, and neither is sourced to a court ruling resolving the question. If a charge in your case turns on whether a factor other than BAC — a minor passenger, a crash, speeding — is being used to support an “aggravated” label, that’s a specific point to confirm directly against the current statutory text with an attorney, not something to take on faith from any single source, including this one.

Penalties by offense and first time offenders

First-offense DUI (misdemeanor): Generally 10 days to one year in county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. In some dui cases, dismissal can occur when the state has insufficient evidence, which avoids a conviction, jail time, and fines. A mandatory drug and alcohol assessment is required before sentencing, and the judge must incorporate the assessor’s treatment recommendations into the sentence — skipping recommended treatment can extend jail time and license consequences.

First-offense aggravated DUI (0.15%+ BAC, Class B3 felony): Beyond the standard first-offense penalties, aggravated DUI carries a mandatory minimum of one year of supervision and periodic testing, plus a minimum 90-day ignition interlock device requirement.

Second DUI within 10 years: Generally a felony. Oklahoma treats DUI as a “predicate offense” — meaning prior DUI convictions (including out-of-state and certain municipal court convictions) count toward escalating a later charge to felony status, and the state’s specific figures for fines and prison exposure at this level should be confirmed against the current post-reclassification statute rather than assumed from older sources, since the whole penalty structure was reorganized as part of the 2026 changes.

Third and subsequent DUI: Also a felony, generally with escalating exposure — Oklahoma’s habitual offender framework can apply on top of the base DUI penalty depending on the nature of prior convictions.

Child in the vehicle: Regardless of how the aggravated-DUI question above resolves, having a child under 18 in the vehicle during a DUI doubles the fine for the underlying offense, and can support a separate child endangerment charge.

DWI: A fine of $100 to $500 and/or up to 6 months in county jail. A first conviction also carries a 30-day license revocation.

License consequences: separate from the criminal case

Oklahoma runs an administrative license process through the Department of Public Safety that’s entirely separate from the criminal court case — meaning a DUI can cost you your license even before, or regardless of, a conviction. Most states also share DUI conviction and licensing information through the Interstate Driver License Compact and similar reporting systems. Ignoring an out-of-state traffic ticket can sometimes lead to license suspension in your home state.

• First revocation: 6 months (BAC under 0.15% or first-time revocation), with eligibility for a modified license using an ignition interlock device. Under Oklahoma’s license-reinstatement framework, a BAC of 0.15%+ or a test refusal still carries the 6-month revocation but adds an 18-month ignition interlock requirement after reinstatement.
• Second revocation within 10 years: 12 months, with interlock required for the duration and for 4 years after reinstatement.
• Third revocation within 10 years: 3 years, with interlock required for the duration and for 5 years after reinstatement.

The administrative hearing deadline is strict: if you want to challenge the license action, you generally have a short window (commonly cited as 15 days from notice) to formally request a hearing, and there are no extensions for a late request. Missing that deadline means the revocation is automatically sustained, regardless of how the criminal case turns out.

Separately, refusing a chemical test triggers its own escalating revocation schedule (commonly cited as 180 days for a first refusal, one year for a second within 10 years, and three years for a third), independent of whether you’re ultimately convicted of DUI.

Implied consent, legal limit, and chemical testing

By driving on Oklahoma’s public roads, you’re deemed to have consented to chemical testing after a dui arrest. Breath test results can be challenged when approved methods or strict protocols were not followed, and improper breathalyzer testing can support dismissal. Officers can request up to two tests in combination (blood, breath, or urine), and you don’t get to choose which one. You do have the separate right to request an independent test at your own expense — but officers aren’t required to volunteer that this right exists unless you ask.

Expungement and record clearing

DUI convictions are eligible for a first-offense expungement under Oklahoma’s general expungement framework (22 O.S. §18), but only under specific conditions — acquittal, a reversed conviction, DNA-established innocence, or a gubernatorial pardon based on actual innocence, among other narrow paths. Even when a case is dismissed, it may still appear on background checks until record-clearing relief is granted. Dismissal can also happen when video evidence conflicts with police reports or other weak evidence in the case. This is a much more limited pathway than expunging a dismissed charge or a completed deferred sentence. For a fuller breakdown of how Oklahoma expungement works generally, see our guide to expungements and pardons in Cleveland County. Given that a felony DUI conviction now falls under Oklahoma’s broader felony classification system, the general felony expungement waiting periods described in our felony vs. misdemeanor guide apply as well.

Key takeaways

• DUI (0.08%+ BAC, or observable impairment) and DWI (roughly 0.06–0.08% BAC plus additional evidence of impairment) are separate charges with meaningfully different penalties — DWI is not just “DUI with a lower number.”
• Oklahoma’s DUI statute was rewritten twice in 2025: SB 54 (Nov. 1, 2025) broadened aggravated DUI; HB 2104 (Jan. 1, 2026) narrowed it back, primarily tying it to a 0.15%+ BAC as a Class B3 felony.
• Content published around November 2025, in the narrow window between those two laws, is likely describing rules that no longer fully apply — treat any Oklahoma DUI source without a post-January-2026 update with real caution.
• Even among current sources, there’s genuine disagreement about whether non-BAC factors (like a minor passenger) still function as an aggravating factor, and in many cases, if police lacked reasonable suspicion for the traffic stop, the DUI case may be dismissed — this is worth confirming directly with an attorney rather than assuming either way.
• License revocation runs on its own administrative track separate from the criminal case, with a strict, short deadline to request a hearing.
• A second or third DUI within 10 years is generally a felony regardless of how the aggravated-DUI question resolves.

Talk to an Oklahoma DUI defense attorney

Because DUI charges law in Oklahoma changed twice in a single year and isn’t fully settled even now, which rules apply to your specific case depends heavily on the exact date of the offense and the specific facts involved. A DUI attorney or other legal counsel can review the traffic stop, breath testing, and the prosecution’s evidence to seek DUI charges dismissed before trial where appropriate. AMA Law is a law firm with experienced attorneys committed to helping clients across Oklahoma with DUI and DWI defense. First-time offenders and people with limited criminal history may have more favorable outcomes depending on the facts. Call (405) 607-8757 or reach out through their contact form.