Hard time is the part of a license suspension that hurts the most: a stretch where you cannot drive at all, not even to work. It comes before any hardship license is possible, and how long it lasts, or whether you face it at all, depends on the choices you make in the first ten days.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| First offense, breath or blood 0.08+ | 30 days of no driving |
| First offense, refusal | 90 days of no driving |
| Second refusal, any prior refusal | 18 months, the entire suspension is hard time |
| Two prior DUI convictions | No hardship at all, the whole period is hard time |
| First DUI, waiver review | No hard time, immediate hardship license |
Hard time is the period during which no hardship or business-purposes license is available. A first DUI with no prior can avoid it through the waiver review. Based on sections 322.2615 and 322.271, Florida Statutes. Procedures and figures last verified June 2026.
The 30 and 90 day rule
For a first offense, the hard time is 30 days if you took the breath test and the reading was 0.08 or higher, and 90 days if you refused. During that window, no hardship license is available, so the practical question is how to shorten or avoid it. A first DUI with no prior can skip the hard time entirely through the waiver review, trading the right to fight the suspension for an immediate business-purposes license.
When the whole suspension is hard time
Repeat refusals are where this turns severe. A second refusal carries an 18-month suspension that is entirely hard time, with no hardship license at any point. And a driver with two prior DUI convictions generally cannot get a hardship license on a new breath case at all. In those situations the only real protection is to attack the suspension itself at the formal review hearing.
How to shorten it, or skip it entirely
Hard time is not always unavoidable. On a first DUI with no prior suspension, the waiver review lets you trade the challenge for an immediate business-purposes license and no hard time at all, as long as you are enrolled in DUI school, a choice laid out on the ten-day decision page. The other way out is to win, because a formal review hearing that invalidates the suspension erases the hard time with it, with no suspension left to serve.
What you cannot do while serving it
During hard time there is no legal driving for any reason, including work, school, or medical needs, and no hardship license is available until the period ends. Driving anyway is its own crime under section 322.34, and a driving-while-suspended charge during a DUI suspension stacks new penalties on the suspension you are already serving. The safer path is to plan around the period and apply for a hardship license the day you become eligible.
I started out as an Assistant Public Defender in Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, in Tampa, and today I am one of six ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientists in Florida. I demand the formal review hearing in DUI cases and appear at the Tampa and Clearwater Bureau of Administrative Reviews offices, because that hearing protects your license and locks in the officers early. Learn more about my background.
Hard suspension questions
What is hard time on a DUI suspension?
Hard time is the mandatory period after a DUI suspension during which you cannot drive at all, not even on a hardship license. For a first offense it is 30 days if you took the breath test and blew 0.08 or higher, or 90 days if you refused. After the hard time ends, you can apply for a business-purposes hardship license.
How do I avoid the hard suspension?
On a first DUI with no prior, you can avoid the hard time entirely by using the waiver review within ten days of arrest. You enroll in DUI school, waive your right to a formal review hearing, and get an immediate business-purposes license. The tradeoff is that you stipulate to the suspension and it stays on your record.
How long is the hard time for a refusal?
A first refusal carries a 90-day hard suspension before hardship eligibility, within a 12-month total suspension. A second refusal is far worse: the entire 18-month suspension is hard time, with no hardship license available at all.
Does demanding the hearing risk hard time?
Yes, but only if you lose. If you demand the formal review hearing and the suspension is sustained, you then serve the 30 or 90 day hard time before getting a hardship license. If you win, there is no hard time because the suspension is gone. For most first offenders, the upside of fighting outweighs the limited downside.
Can I get a hardship license during hard time?
No. The whole point of hard time is that no hardship or business-purposes license is available during that period. You must serve it first. The only way to avoid it on a first offense is the waiver review, and the only way to eliminate it after demanding a hearing is to win that hearing.
Related: the 10-day decision, the formal review hearing, the hardship license, and the administrative suspension.
This page is general information about Florida law, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The Florida administrative suspension and review process is governed by sections 322.2615, 322.2616, and 322.64, Florida Statutes, and Chapter 15A-6 of the Florida Administrative Code, and license revocation, hardship, and reinstatement are governed by sections 322.271 and 322.28. Deadlines are short and the rules change, so confirm current requirements with the DHSMV or an attorney. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
