DUI Refusal in Pinellas County
If you refused a breath, blood, or urine test after a DUI arrest, you are not alone. Across the state, approximately 35% of drivers refuse to submit. This article discusses the consequences of refusing.
Under Section 316.1932(1)(a)1.a., F.S., anyone who accepts the privilege of operating a motor vehicle in the State of Florida is deemed to have given consent to submit to a lawfully requested and approved test of the alcohol content of their blood, breath, or urine.
So what happens if you refuse to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test after a DUI arrest in Pinellas County, FL? The first issue is whether the request is lawful. A legal request is:
- incidental to a lawful arrest; and
- administered at the request of a law enforcement officer who has a reasonable belief that the driver was DUI.
If the request is legal and you refuse, three consequences are triggered.
- First, the refusal triggers an “on-the-spot” administrative suspension by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle (DHSMV) for twelve (12) months for a first refusal or eighteen (18) months for a second or subsequent refusal as required by Section 322.2615(1)(b)1.a. The only way to contest the administrative suspension is to demand a formal review hearing within ten (10) days of the arrest.
- Second, the prosecutor can use the refusal at trial in the DUI case to argue that you were “conscious of your own guilt.”
- Third, you can be charged with a separate crime for refusing to submit to the lawfully requested breath, urine, or blood test.
- For a first refusal,* that crime is punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
- For a second refusal, that crime is punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
*Effective October 1, 2025, Florida’s House Bill 687 makes a first refusal to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test, after a lawful DUI arrest, a second degree misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail. The bill retains the existing penalty for a second or subsequent refusal under Fla. Stat. § 316.1939, which is a first degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and 12 months in jail.
Lawyer for DUI Refusal in Pinellas County, FL
If you were charged with a DUI involving a refusal to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at Sammis Law Firm.
We can help you demand a formal review hearing at the DHSMV to contest the 12-18 month administrative suspension. After we demand the formal review hearing, we can also help you secure a 42-day permit to continue driving to work, school, and church.
In addition to helping challenge the administrative suspension, we can fight the DUI charge in court. We will attend your pre-trial conferences, obtain all the discovery (police reports and videos), file motions to suppress or exclude evidence, prepare the case for trial, and negotiate a pretrial resolution (hopefully for a reduced charge).
If this is your second refusal, we can also represent you on the separate crime charge for a second DUI refusal violating Fla. Stat. § 316.1939.
Sammis Law Firm has offices in Clearwater, FL, near the CJC Courthouse. Visit us at 14010 Roosevelt Blvd Suite 701, Clearwater, FL 33762-3820.
Don’t face the judge alone. Call 727-210-7004.
Administrative Driver License Suspension for Refusing
Under Section 316.1932, F.S., if you drive in Florida, the law deems you have given consent to submit to a lawfully requested approved chemical test. Depending on the circumstances, the officer investigating the DUI can request that you submit to a breath, urine, or blood test.
What type of chemical test can the officer request?
- The request for breath must be made after a DUI arrest if the officer suspects alcohol impairment.
- The request for urine must be made after a DUI arrest if the officer suspects drug impairment.
- The request for blood can be made before or after a DUI arrest under either of the following circumstances:
- the officer has probable cause that your DUI caused or contributed to a crash causing death or serious bodily injury; or
- the officer has probable cause of DUI and you appear at a hospital or medical facility under circumstances that make the breath or urine test impossible or impractical.
Before your failure to submit can be deemed a “refusal,” you must be notified that refusal to submit to a lawful breath test will result in an administrative suspension of your driving privilege for one year for a first refusal or 18 months for a second or subsequent refusal. See 316.1932(1)(a)1.a., F.S.
The administrative driving privilege suspension is separate from any revocation the court must impose if you are convicted of DUI. See Section 322.28, F.S. In other words, you might successfully contest the administrative suspension but still get a court-ordered revocation if convicted of DUI. On the other hand, you might be unsuccessful in contesting the administrative suspension but avoid the court-ordered revocation because the DUI is dropped or reduced to a less serious offense, such as reckless driving.
As required by Section 322.2615, F.S., if you refuse to submit to a lawful breath test, a law enforcement officer must do the following:
- seize your driver’s license;
- issue a 10-day temporary permit (if you are otherwise eligible to drive); and
- provide you with a notice of suspension included in the uniform DUI citation.
Your administrative suspension period begins on the date the notice of suspension is issued, which is usually the same day as the DUI arrest. See Section 322.2615(1)(b)2., F.S. Even if you were not arrested for DUI or issued a uniform DUI citation, the DHSMV might mail you a notice of the administrative suspension.
Read more about DUI defense attorneys in Pinellas County, FL.
Penalties for a First Refusal in Pinellas County, FL
Effective October 1, 2025, Florida’s House Bill 687 makes a first refusal to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test, after a lawful DUI arrest, a second degree misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail.
The new law retains the existing penalty for a second or subsequent refusal under Fla. Stat. § 316.1939, which is a first degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and 12 months in jail.
This new legislation is known as “Trenton’s Law,” which was approved by the Governor on June 5, 2025, ch. 2025-121, L.O.F.
Penalties for a Second Refusal in Pinellas County, FL
Under s. 316.1939, F.S., before a person can be convicted of a first-degree misdemeanor for a second or subsequent refusal to submit to lawful testing, the state must prove that the person was notified of their implied consent warnings.
A person who refuses to submit to a lawful breath test and whose driver’s license has previously been suspended for failure to submit to a lawful test of his or her breath, urine, or blood commits a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Penalties for a second or subsequent refusal also apply to a person previously fined under s. 321.35215, F.S., for refusing to submit to a blood, breath, or urine test after being lawfully arrested for an alleged boating violation under the influence. See Section 327.35215.
In Pinellas County, FL, the prosecutor typically wants jail time in DUI cases with the additional charge of a second refusal to submit. In many cases, the person might face mandatory jail time if their DUI charge is a second within five (5) years of a prior conviction, a third within ten (10) years of a prior, or a fourth in their lifetime.
Charging Document for a DUI with a First Refusal
If you are arrested for DUI with a first refusal, you will likely be charged with the following two crimes:
- the DUI; and
- the first refusal.
After reviewing the case, a prosecutor with the State Attorney’s Office will likely file formal charges in a document called an “Information.” The information might provide:
IN THE COUNTY COURT FOR THE SIXTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA
IN AND FOR PINELLAS COUNTY
STATE OF FLORIDA
vs.
[Name of the person accused],
Defendant.
Misdemeanor Information
- DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE, 1°M
- REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO TESTING, 2°M
COUNT ONE
IN THE NAME AND BY THE AUTHORITY FOR THE STATE OF FLORIDA: BRUCE BARTLETT, State Attorney for the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida, in and for Pinellas County, prosecuting for the State of Florida, in the said County, under oath, Information makes that [NAME OF THE ACCUSED] in the County of Pinellas and State of Florida, on the ___th day of March, in the year of our Lord, two thousand twenty-six, did drive or was in actual physical control of vehicle while under the influence of alcoholic beverages, and was affected to the extent that his/her normal faculties were impaired; contrary to Chapter 316.193(1), Florida Statutes, and against the peace and dignity of the State of Florida.
COUNT TWO
And the State Attorney aforesaid, under oath as aforesaid, further information makes that [NAME OF THE ACCUSED], in the County of Pinellas, State of Florida, on the on the ___th day of March, in the year of our Lord, two thousand twenty-six, did, refuse to submit to chemical or physical test of her breath, urine, or blood as described in Florida Statute 316.1932 after being requested to do so by law enforcement officer, or correctional officer and who the arresting officer had probable cause to believe was driving or in actual physical control of motor vehicle while under the influence of .alcoholic beverages, chemical substances or controlled substances and, who was lawfully arrested and informed that if he/she refused to submit to such tests his/her privilege to operate motor vehicle would be suspended and was informed that refusal to submit to such tests, is misdemeanor of the second degree; contrary to Chapter 316.1939, Florida Statutes, and against the peace and dignity of the State of Florida.
ARISES OUT OF [citation number]
STATE OF FLORIDA
PINELLAS COUNTY
Personally appeared before me BRUCE BARTLETT, the undersigned State Attorney for the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida, in and for Pinellas County, or his duly designated Assistant State Attorney, who being first duly sworn, says this information is filed in good faith in instituting this prosecution.
Additional Resources
Chart of Penalties in Pinellas – Find a chart listing the mandatory minimum criminal penalties imposed at sentencing in a DUI case in Pinellas County, FL. The chart lists the type of DUI charge (first, second outside five years, second within five years, third outside ten years, third within ten years, or fourth lifetime DUI), the total amount of fines and costs, probation period, driver’s license revocation period, jail time, vehicle impound, and other mandatory penalties.
Penalties for a Second DUI Refusal – Read more about the history of Fla. Stat. § 316.1939, enacted in 2002. That statute creates a separate crime for refusing to submit to a lawfully requested blood, breath, or urine test if your driving privileges were previously suspended for a refusal. The crime is punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and 12 months in the county jail, even if you are never convicted of the underlying DUI. The purpose of the law was to discourage a person from avoiding a DUI conviction by repeatedly refusing to take a breath test after each DUI arrest.
This article was last updated on Friday, February 28, 2026.
