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How Long Does a DUI Stay on Your Record?

Posted by Ronald D. Hedding | Feb 11, 2020

For many years that I've been practicing, a DUI would stay on your record for criminal purposes for seven years, but the law changed quite some time ago.  So, now in today's society, a DUI stays on your record for criminal purposes for ten years.

If you pick up a DUI and have prior DUIs, they will look back and see whether or not you have another DUI within ten years.  If you, it's a second-time DUI.  If you have two DUIs within ten years, it's a third-time DUI, etc.

The more prior DUIs you have, the more severely the prosecutors and judges will treat you for purposes of punishment and sentencing related to your current DUI offense. So, one area is to look at the DUI for criminal purposes.  Sometimes you're outside those ten years, but the prosecutors can still see it on your criminal record.  If that's the case, you can't stop them from considering it.

They can't legally use it to enhance your sentence and call it a second, third, or fourth-time DUI. Still, they can certainly consider it in the big scheme of things in deciding how they're going to deal with you for the current DUI against you. See CALCRIM 2110- driving under the influence.

Insurance Company Policy for DUI Cases

Also, for insurance purposes, you're going to want to know how long a DUI will stay on your criminal record. Usually, the insurance companies can get your criminal record if they run your paper the right way and see that you have prior DUI's. Then it's just a manner of a particular insurance company's policy related to DUIs.  Some of these insurance companies have different policies.

How Long Does a California DUI Stay on Your Record?

Some are specifically designed to try to rope in business for people who have prior DUIs, so those companies are going to be more lenient when it comes to quoting insurance rates for those individuals who have DUIs versus a lot of the leading stream insurance companies, who simply are not going to give you insurance.

They will quote the quote so high that you won't be able to pay it, or they will simply not insure you because you have a prior DUI.

So, looking at it from a criminal standpoint, it's looking back ten years.  Looking back from an insurance standpoint, it's the particular insurance company.  There is another category.  There's also just your criminal record.

Let's say you go and try to get a job.  Your arrest and conviction — if they do a live scan or search your record the right way — they will see your arrest.  They're going to see your confidence.

DUI Expungement in California

One thing you can do is file a 1203.4 of the Penal Code dismissal.  It used to be called an expungement, but then they realized it's not a true expungement in California.

Many people were getting confused, thinking that it would be completely wiped off their record when they filed that, and it was granted, which is not the case.  It shows a dismissal related to a prior DUI, and that's typically the best you can do in California if you've completed your probation and you file that motion.

So, those are the three areas where DUIs are found in your record.  The real issue is if you've got a prior DUI or even a current DUI and you're concerned about the ramifications are going to be long-term for those three years — your criminal record, your public record, and your insurance record.

You're going to want to sit down with a DUI attorney and probably bring in a Minute Order from your record or even do a live scan, which I have a lot of people do. Then we see what you're looking at moving forward and whether any of the records can be alleviated, and we can get a 1203.4 motion granted.

For example, if you have a prior DUI and you've completed your probation, sometimes people have been arrested on their record, and nothing was filed; depending on the circumstances, we may be able to file a motion to seal and destroy your arrest record.

Reviewing Strategy with a DUI Attorney

So, several things can be done depending on the circumstances and what happened in your case, and sometimes there's nothing that can be done. Sometimes you've got the conviction.  You've made the motion, and it's been dismissed.  It shows up, and you can see that someone had a DUI, and it was denied at a particular time.  That's the best that you can do in California in many circumstances.

Even if you have a new case and you're worried about your criminal record, you will want to sit down with somebody like me who's been doing this for 26 years. Let's talk about what you're genuinely facing moving forward, and I think it's incumbent upon DUI defense attorneys to e honest with you and tell you. You do the damage control that needs to be done, get out of the criminal justice system as fast as possible, and moves on with your life.

Hedding Law Firm is a criminal defense law firm located in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County at 16000 Ventura Blvd #1208 Encino, CA 91436. We are also located at 633 West Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071. Contact us for a free case evaluation at (213) 542-0963.

About the Author

Ronald D. Hedding

What Makes Ronald Hedding Uniquely Qualified To Represent You? I've been practicing criminal defense for almost 30 years and have handled thousands of cases, including all types of state and federal sex crime cases. All consultations are discreet and confidential.

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Hedding Law Firm is committed to answering your questions about DUI law issues in California and throughout the United States.

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