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Iowa Drunk Driving Penalties and Laws

At OWIbuster.com, learn all about the charge of drunk driving in Iowa.

Iowa OWI Laws

Click Here to get your free OWI Consequences Report!

Drunk Driving Penalties Iowa OWI – DUI – DWI Penalties

There are three levels of Iowa OWI charges, also known as drunk driving. The Drunk Driving –
OWI laws in Iowa provide the following three levels:

  • OWI 1st Offense – Serious Misdemeanor
  • OWI 2nd Offense – Aggravated Misdemeanor
  • OWI 3rd Offense – Class D Felony

The number is determined by how many OWI convictions you have in the past twelve years. So the “look back” period is 12 years. If this is your 4th time in the past ten years, you will be charged with 3rd Offense OWI – a Class D Felony because 3rd offense is the maximum level for OWI charges in Iowa. It could be your sixth time in the past 12 years, you will be charged with 3rd Offense.

Iowa law was amended in 2019. If you pick up a 3rd OWI conviction, which is a Class D Felony, and you have two prior felony convictions, you can be sentenced to 15 years in prison as a “habitual offender”.

OWI Penalties

Our free OWIbuster.com Consequences Program will provide you with a complete and detailed analysis of your. The program will send you an email of all the consequences you are facing. The range of penalties under various facts and circumstances of Iowa’s OWI laws are staggering. That is why we created the free program.

Iowa OWI Laws
You can be charged when any of the following circumstances can be proven by the State of Iowa beyond a reasonable doubt:

  1. While under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or other drug or a combination of such substances.
  2. While having an alcohol concentration of .08 or more.
  3. While having any amount of a controlled substance in the body.
Burden of Proof – Elements
For you to be convicted of drunk driving in Iowa, the State of Iowa must prove you are guilty. At trial, the State of must prove:

  • That you were operating a motor vehicle and either of the following:
    • You did so while under the influence of alcohol or drugs OR
    • While having an alcohol concentration of .08 or greater.

Iowa Drunk Driving – OWI Laws – DUI Laws and Definitions

Click an item below to learn more about each term.

OWI Definitions

  • Implied Consent

    Iowa’s implied consent law means that any person who operates a motor vehicle in the state agrees to have a blood, breath and/or urine test performed to determine alcohol level or presence of drugs, whenever a peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person is operating under the influence. Before a test of samples of the blood, breath, or urine of an OWI suspect can be had, the officer must have reasonable grounds to believe that the person was operating while intoxicated. The officer must make a written request, and any one of the following conditions must exist:
    • the person was placed under lawful arrest for OWI;
    • the person was involved in a motor vehicle accident or collision resulting in personal injury or death;
    • the person refused to take a preliminary breath test;
    • a preliminary breath test was taken and the results indicate a BAC above .08 or between .02 and .08 if under the age of 21 or above .04 if commercial driver (CDL);
    • a preliminary breath test was administered and it indicated a BAC result under the legal limit, and the peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person was under the influence of a controlled substance, a drug other than alcohol or a combination of alcohol and another drug.
  • Consent by Law

    Consent by Law means that by driving a motor vehicle in Iowa, you agree to give the test. If you refuse to provide the test, you will be punished more severely than you would if you consented and the tests reflected that you were under the influence.
  • Operation

    Operation was defined by the Iowa Supreme Court as the immediate, actual physical control over a motor vehicle that is in motion and/or has its engine running. If, for example, you are sitting in the driver's seat of a parked vehicle with the keys in the ignition, if the engine is not running, you are not operating the vehicle. If you start the motor, you are now operating the vehicle, even though it is parked. Riding a riding lawn mower while intoxicated will get you charged with OWI.
  • BAC - Blood Alcohol Content

    Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) or blood alcohol concentration is a measure of the concentration of alcohol in blood, and is represented in percentages. BAC can be measured either by blood, urine or breath testing. Having a BAC of 0.10% means that your blood contains 1 gram of alcohol per 1000.
  • Serious Injury

    Serious Injury means a bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes serious permanent disfigurement, or which causes protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ or major bodily member, or which causes the loss of any bodily member.
  • Contest DL Revocation

    If you wish to contest the revocation of your license, this is started as an administrative proceeding. A hearing with the department of motor vehicles may be requested to contest the revocation of a driver's license for a chemical test refusal or failure. The request for a hearing must be made within 10 days following the date of receipt of the notice of revocation. Once requested, the department must hold a hearing within 45 days of the request in the county where the alleged events occurred. The hearing may be by telephone conference call. At the administrative hearing, the only issues are: whether the police had reasonable grounds to believe that the person was operating a motor vehicle under the influence, and
    • whether the person refused to submit to the test or tests, or
    • whether a test was administered and the results indicated a prohibited BAC level, or
    • whether a test was administered and the test results indicated the presence of alcohol, a controlled substance or other drug, or a combination of alcohol and another drug.
    After the hearing, the DMV will order the revocation to be rescinded (voided) or sustained (confirmed as valid). If the revocation is sustained, you may file a request for review within 10 days. The director or the director's designee shall review the decision within thirty days and will either rescind or sustain the revocation or order a new hearing. If the director orders a new hearing, it must take place within 20 of the director's order. If you can show that new material evidence exists and there were valid reasons the evidence was not presented at the first hearing, the department will stay the revocation until a new hearing can be held. Your license revocation will be rescinded if the DMV fails to comply with the time limitations under which a hearing must be held. Furthermore, if the trial court finds in your case that the peace officer did not have reasonable grounds to believe that an OWI violation occurred to support a request for or to administer a chemical test or that the chemical test was otherwise inadmissible or invalid, the license revocation will be rescinded and your full driving privileges will be reinstated.
  • Home
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