Arizona is unusual in how a DUI bill is built. The fine is small and capped, the mandatory assessments behind it are large and fixed, and a surcharge is levied on the fine but not on those assessments. All of it is statute. The attorney fee is a separate written arrangement that Arizona does not permit to be tied to the outcome.
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Or call (480) 741-9606A.R.S. 28-1381(I) requires a fine of not less than $250, an additional $500 assessment for the prison construction and operations fund, and another $500 for the public safety equipment fund. The statute states that neither assessment is subject to any surcharge.
Surcharges stack on that fine. A.R.S. 12-116.01 levies 42 percent, then 7 percent, then 6 percent on every fine collected for a criminal offense, and A.R.S. 12-116.02 adds a further 13 percent. Those four layers total 68 percent on the fine, not on the fixed assessments.
Extreme counts carry their own numbers. A.R.S. 28-1382 sets a fine of not less than $500 at that level, a $250 assessment for the driving under the influence abatement fund, and two further assessments of $1,000 each, with 45 consecutive days in jail.
The court's published fine and sanction schedule applies this charge to anyone paying a penalty over time, and A.R.S. 12-116 states that a judge may not waive or suspend it. Failure to pay or appear adds a $50 default judgment for each violation.
A fee taken out of the result is not allowed in a criminal case, so nothing here is a percentage. The amounts below are what Arizona law itself sets, and what a firm charges to handle the case is separate, written down, and agreed before the work starts. Nothing on this page is a quote.
| Item | Amount the statute or schedule sets | What that means | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contingent fee in a criminal defense matter | Barred by the ethical rules | ER 1.5(d)(2) states that a lawyer shall not enter into an arrangement for, charge, or collect a contingent fee for representing a defendant in a criminal case. | Ariz. R. Sup. Ct. 42, ER 1.5(d)(2) |
| Ceiling on any class 1 misdemeanor fine | $2,500 | A.R.S. 13-802(A) caps the fine a court may fix for a class 1 misdemeanor, the class that covers a first and second DUI under section 28-1381. | A.R.S. 13-802(A) |
| Flat penalty assessment for law enforcement equipment | $13 | A.R.S. 12-116.04 levies it on every fine, penalty and forfeiture a court collects for a criminal offense, in addition to every other penalty assessment. | A.R.S. 12-116.04(A) |
| Aggravated DUI, felony tier | $750 fine, plus $250, $1,500 and $1,500 | A.R.S. 28-1383(J) sets a fine of not less than $750 and adds three separate assessments, none of them reducible by a plea to a lesser fine. | A.R.S. 28-1383(J) |
| Assessment when counsel is appointed | not more than $25 | A.R.S. 11-584(C) lets the court order an indigent administrative assessment, and separately order repayment to the county of a reasonable amount for appointed counsel. | A.R.S. 11-584(C) |
| Getting the driving privilege back | $20 revocation reinstatement, plus $50 on an admin per se suspension | The MVD schedule adds an application fee by age, from $10 at 50 and older to $25 for drivers 39 and younger, and requires SR-22 proof after a DUI. | Arizona MVD suspension and revocation fees |
Arizona's fee rules sit in ER 1.5, adopted under Rule 42 of the Rules of the Supreme Court. Subdivision (d)(2) governs criminal defense. It bars a lawyer from arranging for, charging, or collecting "a contingent fee for representing a defendant in a criminal case." Subdivision (d)(3) permits a fee called "earned upon receipt" or "nonrefundable" under one condition. The client must be told in writing, at the same time, that the lawyer may be discharged at any point.
ER 1.5(b) requires the scope of the work and the basis or rate of the fee to be put in writing, and any later change put in writing before the higher charges are incurred.
A first offense under A.R.S. 28-1381 is a class 1 misdemeanor, and A.R.S. 13-802(A) caps a class 1 misdemeanor fine at $2,500. But A.R.S. 28-1381(I) is where the real arithmetic sits. A first conviction carries not less than ten consecutive days in jail, a fine of not less than $250, an additional assessment of $500 deposited in the prison construction and operations fund, and a further $500 assessment for the public safety equipment fund. The statute says in both places that these assessments are not subject to any surcharge. A second conviction inside the 84-month window raises the fine floor to $500, each assessment to $1,250, and the jail minimum to 90 days.
Four separate surcharge provisions apply to a fine collected by an Arizona court. A.R.S. 12-116.01 levies 42 percent in subsection (A), 7 percent in subsection (B), and 6 percent in subsection (C). A.R.S. 12-116.02 adds 13 percent. Together they take a $250 minimum fine to $420. A.R.S. 12-116.04 then adds a flat $13 penalty assessment for law enforcement officer equipment. Add the two fixed $500 assessments and a minimum first-offense sentence lands at roughly $1,433 in court money before jail costs, screening, treatment, interlock or the license charges. Because the largest components are fixed by statute and shielded from surcharge, arguing the fine down from $400 to $250 changes the total far less than most people expect.
A.R.S. 28-1382 covers an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more. At 0.15 to below 0.20 the sentence is not less than 30 consecutive days in jail, a fine of not less than $250 and a $250 assessment. At 0.20 or above it is not less than 45 consecutive days, a fine of not less than $500 and the same $250 assessment. On a first extreme conviction the statute adds $1,000 to the prison construction and operations fund and $1,000 to the public safety equipment fund. A second violation inside 84 months raises those two to $1,250 each.
A.R.S. 28-1383 is the aggravated felony tier, reached by driving impaired on a suspended license or by a third violation within 84 months. Subsection (J) carries a $250 abatement fund assessment, a fine of not less than $750, and further assessments of $1,500 and $1,500.
Local charges sit in the court's published fine and sanction schedule. Paying over time adds a $20 time payment fee per case, and A.R.S. 12-116 makes it non-waivable. Failing to pay or appear produces a $50 default judgment per violation under Tempe City Code section 1-10, plus that same $20 fee and collection charges.
Appointed counsel comes without expense to the defendant, but A.R.S. 11-584(C) permits an indigent administrative assessment of not more than $25 plus reasonable repayment to the county for the defense.
Reinstatement is an MVD transaction. The published schedule lists a $10 suspension fee, a $20 revocation reinstatement fee, and an additional $50 on an admin per se suspension. An application fee is scaled by age: $10 at 50 and older, $15 at 45 to 49, $20 at 40 to 44, and $25 for drivers 39 and younger or any driver holding a Travel ID. After a DUI or a test refusal the MVD requires SR-22 proof of financial responsibility, priced by the insurer. A.R.S. 28-1461 puts the cost of installing and maintaining a certified ignition interlock device on the driver, and requires proof of calibration every 90 days.
Which statute is charged, first: an extreme count under section 28-1382 and a felony count under section 28-1383 carry different exposure and different hours. Then whether the test result is challenged, which means subpoenaing instrument and calibration records. Then whether a prior inside the 84-month window is alleged, since that sets the sentencing floor. None of the figures below shift with any of it.
Get the citation, court date, test paperwork, and arresting-agency details organized now. A DUI lawyer here can identify the allegation, the venue, the evidence to preserve, and the next deadline without pretending the result is known in advance.
Call (480) 741-9606No obligation · Written for Tempe · Maricopa County