What happens if I get a DUI under 21 in California?

Three overlapping laws apply. Vehicle Code section 23136, zero tolerance, makes driving with 0.01 percent blood alcohol or more grounds for a one-year license suspension; section 23140 makes 0.05 percent or more an infraction; and a driver under 21 can still be charged with standard DUI under section 23152 when impaired or at 0.08 percent.

California layers stricter rules on drivers under 21. The zero-tolerance law, Vehicle Code section 23136, applies at 0.01 percent blood alcohol, effectively any drinking, and works administratively through the DMV: the license is suspended for one year, with the same ten-day window to request a hearing that adult drivers face. Vehicle Code section 23140 makes driving at 0.05 percent an infraction for under-21 drivers, and nothing exempts a young driver from full misdemeanor DUI under section 23152 when the facts support it, with all its criminal penalties and program requirements. The implied-consent framework extends to preliminary alcohol screening devices for under-21 drivers, so the roadside handheld test that adults may often decline is effectively mandatory in zero-tolerance enforcement. A critical-need restricted license is possible in limited hardship circumstances, at DMV discretion. Because a suspension at the start of driving life also raises insurance costs for years, the DMV hearing (where the stop and the test result can be contested) is worth taking seriously.

Authority: Cal. Veh. Code § 23136