Penalties for any offense are designed to prevent offenders from committing it again. The effect for any wrongdoing is the punishment for it. The punishment for DUI offenses are harsher because of the potential consequences of injuries and deaths that may result from it.

The punishments are decided according to the associated factors involved when DUI was committed and the number of times the DUI offense is committed. The type of punishments involve a combination of penalties such as court probation, fines, license to drive the vehicle, attendance in DUI school and jail term.

A first time convicted offender gets a court probation for a period of 3 to 5 years in which he or she has to avoid drinking and driving. But the offender need not report to a formal court officer. The fines are paid either in full or in installments. The diver license is nullified for a period of 6 months. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has the authority to issue restricted license to travel to work or school. Further the offender may have to attend a DUI school to attend alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs for a period of 12 to 45 hours depending on the level of alcohol concentration in the blood. California laws require mandatory jail of 48 hours. This may be converted to community service.

If the offense is repeated within a period of 10 years, the consecutive punishments get harsher. The second offense carries court probation without any reporting but the third offense requires reporting to an officer. The fines and fees remain the same for second and third offense. The license will be suspended for 18 months and 3 years respectively. The license may be renewed after one year. An ignition interlocking device may have to be installed that tests breath for alcohol. The offenders will have to attend 18 months of DUI school training. The jail sentence is for 96 hours for second offense and 210 days for third offense.

If the offender is convicted of causing injuries, there will be permanent loss of license and severe jail sentence. If manslaughter is involved, it may even be tried as murder charge. Also the fourth offense carries loss of license and jail term.

The above mentioned punishments may vary depending upon the case. There is a psychological side to the punishments. The suspension of license may also result in loss of job, if the job requires continuous travel.