A first-time DUI in Ontario triggers two waves of consequences: administrative penalties that hit at the roadside the day you’re charged, and criminal penalties that follow if you’re convicted. The minimum criminal fine starts at $1,000, but the real bill, once you add the victim surcharge, administrative penalty, reinstatement fee, remedial program, ignition interlock, and insurance jump, runs to several thousand dollars and often much more. You also get a criminal record, a federal driving prohibition of at least one year, and a licence suspension that begins immediately, before any court has heard your case.
What Happens at the Roadside
When a police officer has reasonable grounds to believe you were driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher, or that you refused or failed an alcohol or drug test, administrative penalties apply on the spot. They are separate from the criminal charge and apply even if the charge is later withdrawn or you’re acquitted at trial.1Government of Ontario. Impaired Driving
For a first occurrence at the criminal threshold, the immediate penalties are:
- A 90-day licence suspension. Your licence is taken at the roadside and you cannot drive for 90 days.
- A seven-day vehicle impoundment. Your vehicle is towed and stored at your expense.
- A $550 administrative monetary penalty.
- A mandatory eight-hour education course, added as of January 1, 2026.2Government of Ontario. Regulations and Statutes in Force as of January 1 2026
Before your licence is returned, you also owe a $281 reinstatement fee to the Ministry of Transportation.3Government of Ontario. Reinstate a Suspended Drivers Licence
A quick boundary worth naming: if you blew in the “warn range” (BAC between 0.05 and 0.079), that’s not a criminal offence and won’t create a criminal record. The penalties on this page are for the criminal range (0.08 and up), refusal, or drug impairment.
What a Conviction Costs in Court
Impaired driving is a criminal offence under the Criminal Code of Canada. A conviction stacks on top of everything you already faced at the roadside.
Minimum Fines by BAC
For a first offence, the fine minimums are tiered:
- BAC of 80 to 119 mg per 100 mL: minimum $1,000
- BAC of 120 to 159 mg per 100 mL: minimum $1,500
- BAC of 160 mg or more per 100 mL: minimum $2,000
Refusing to provide a breath or fluid sample carries a minimum $2,000 fine on its own.4Justice Laws Website. Criminal Code – Section 320.19 These are floors. A court can go higher based on the circumstances.
Victim Fine Surcharge
A victim fine surcharge of 30% of the fine applies automatically. That’s $300 on a $1,000 fine and $600 on a $2,000 fine. A court can waive or reduce it for undue financial hardship, but it applies by default.5Justice Laws Website. Criminal Code – Section 737
Jail Is Possible, Not Mandatory
Jail is not required for a standard first-offence DUI, but it’s on the table. If the Crown proceeds by indictment, the maximum sentence is 10 years. By summary conviction, it’s two years less a day.4Justice Laws Website. Criminal Code – Section 320.19 Aggravating facts change the picture: impaired driving causing bodily harm carries a maximum of 14 years on indictment, and causing death carries a maximum of life imprisonment.6Department of Justice Canada. Impaired Driving Laws
Driving Prohibition
A first-offence conviction comes with a mandatory federal driving prohibition of at least one year and up to three years. If the court also imposes jail, the full jail term is added to the prohibition period.7Justice Laws Website. Criminal Code – Section 320.24 This is a Criminal Code order, separate from the provincial licence suspension.
The Back on Track Program
Before Ontario will reinstate your licence, you have to complete the Back on Track remedial program. Paying fines and waiting out the suspension aren’t enough.1Government of Ontario. Impaired Driving
For a criminal conviction, the program has three parts. You start with an assessment (about an hour) that evaluates your substance use. Based on the result, you’re placed in either an eight-hour education workshop or a 16-hour treatment workshop. Six months after the workshop, you return for a follow-up interview. The full process can take up to 11 months, and the fee for a criminal conviction is roughly $894.
Ignition Interlock and Getting Back on the Road
After the prohibition and suspension periods, your licence doesn’t simply come back clean. First-time offenders must install an ignition interlock device for a minimum of one year.1Government of Ontario. Impaired Driving The device requires a clean breath sample before the engine will start and retests you periodically while you drive. You pay for installation, monthly rental, and monitoring, which typically runs into the thousands over the mandatory period.
Ontario also offers a reduced suspension program that lets you drive sooner with the interlock installed. Under Stream A, if you plead guilty and are sentenced within 90 days of the offence, you can start driving after a three-month suspension followed by at least nine months on the interlock. Stream B is for first-time offenders who qualify for the program but don’t meet Stream A’s timing. Eligibility requires that the offence involved alcohol only (not drugs), that no bodily harm or death resulted, that you’ve completed the Back on Track assessment, and that you’ve signed an interlock lease and paid all outstanding fees.8Government of Ontario. Reduced Suspension with Ignition Interlock Conduct Review Program
What It Actually Costs
The fine is a small part of the total. A realistic first-DUI bill in Ontario includes:
- Criminal fine: $1,000 to $2,000 minimum, depending on BAC
- Victim fine surcharge: 30% of the fine, so $300 to $600
- Administrative penalty: $550
- Licence reinstatement fee: $281
- Back on Track program: about $894
- Towing and seven-day storage: often several hundred dollars
- Ignition interlock: installation plus monthly fees for at least 12 months
- Legal fees for a defence lawyer, which vary widely
- Insurance premiums, which typically rise sharply for years and can push you into the high-risk market
Even without legal fees and insurance, the hard costs run to several thousand dollars. Add insurance increases and lost income from being unable to drive, and the total climbs well beyond that.
Criminal Record, Travel, and Insurance
The Criminal Record
A DUI conviction goes on your criminal record and is accessible through the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC).9Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Dissemination of Criminal Record Information Policy It appears on background checks and can affect jobs that require them. You can apply for a record suspension once your sentence is fully completed, including fines, probation, and the interlock period. The wait is five years for a summary conviction and ten years for an indictable one.10Government of Canada. Determining Your Eligibility for Record Suspension A record suspension sets the record aside; it doesn’t erase the conviction.
Crossing into the United States
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has said that a single DUI conviction is not on its own grounds to deny entry. Multiple DUI convictions, or a DUI combined with other criminal offences, can make you inadmissible and may require a waiver before you can cross.11U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Entering Canada and the United States with DUI Offenses Border officers still have discretion, so even a single conviction can lead to questions or delays.
Insurance
Separate from the criminal record, the conviction appears on your Ontario driving abstract. Insurers use that abstract to price coverage and to decide whether to offer it at all. A DUI conviction almost always means a large premium increase, and some standard insurers will decline coverage outright, pushing you to the high-risk market. Because the conviction stays on the abstract for years, insurance often ends up being the single most expensive consequence.
If You Hold a Commercial Licence
Ontario applies a zero-tolerance standard to commercial drivers (Class A through F) and to drivers operating under a Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration. No alcohol in your system while driving commercially.1Government of Ontario. Impaired Driving A criminal conviction carries the same minimum one-year suspension that applies to all drivers, but for a commercial driver that year effectively ends the job, and many trucking and transportation employers will not rehire a driver with an impaired driving conviction.