Pasco County DUI Penalties

Pasco County runs from the Gulf coast towns of New Port Richey, Port Richey, and Hudson, across the fast-growing middle of Wesley Chapel and Land O’ Lakes, to the old county seat of Dade City and nearby Zephyrhills in the east. That west-to-east split shapes a Pasco DUI from the start, because it decides which courthouse hears the case.

Pasco County DUI penalties are set by the same Florida statute that applies statewide, section 316.193. The law allows the same sentence everywhere in Florida; what shifts at the county line is the machinery, meaning the diversion program available, the courthouse that takes the case, and the Bureau of Administrative Reviews office that rules on the license. Pasco County sits in the Sixth Judicial Circuit. Below is the statewide penalty framework, followed by the parts that are specific to Pasco County.

Florida DUI penalties at a glance, by offense level

Offense	Fine	Max jail	Mandatory min	Revocation	Hardship	Impound	Interlock
1st DUI	$500 to $1,000	6 months	None	180 days to 1 year	See note	10 days	None unless 0.15+ or minor
1st, 0.15+ or minor	$1,000 to $2,000	9 months	None	180 days to 1 year	See note	10 days	6 months minimum
2nd, within 5 yrs	$1,000 to $2,000	9 months	10 days in jail	5 years minimum	After 1 year	30 days	1 to 2 years
2nd, outside 5 yrs	$1,000 to $2,000	9 months	None	180 days to 1 year	After DUI enrollment	10 days	1 to 2 years
3rd, within 10 yrs	$2,000 to $5,000	5 years (felony)	30 days in jail	10 years minimum	After 2 years	90 days	2 years minimum
3rd, outside 10 yrs	$2,000 to $5,000	12 months	None	180 days to 1 year	After DUI enrollment	10 days	2 years minimum
4th or more	$2,000 or more	5 years (felony)	Felony exposure	Permanent	After 5 years	Per court	2 years minimum

Enhanced fine and jail figures apply when the breath or blood alcohol level is 0.15 or higher or a minor was in the vehicle. A third DUI within ten years of a prior is a third-degree felony, as is any fourth or subsequent DUI, each punishable by up to five years and a $5,000 fine. Hardship eligibility shows when you may apply to the DHSMV for a restricted license; a permanent revocation allows a hardship after five years through Special Supervision Services. Enrollment in DUI school, not completion, is what hardship eligibility requires, though the school has to be finished before the license is fully reinstated. Figures reflect section 316.193 and sections 322.28 and 322.271, Florida Statutes, as summarized by the Florida DHSMV. First DUI: you become eligible for a hardship once you enroll in DUI school, and the timing in this column is for reinstatement after the case ends. At the arrest stage a first DUI (including the 0.15 or minor enhancement) also carries a hard suspension with no driving at all, 30 days if you were over .08 or 90 days on a refusal, unless within 10 days of the arrest you waive the formal review hearing and apply for immediate hardship eligibility under section 322.2615, Florida Statutes. Waiving that hearing trades away the hard time but leaves the administrative suspension on your driving record, and the arrest-stage process is covered in the hardship license guide. Program terms last verified June 2026.

The chart above is the statewide exposure. What follows is the Pasco-specific picture: which courthouse gets the case, how it moves, the DROP diversion path, repeat-offense stakes, and the separate license deadline.

Where a Pasco County DUI is heard

A Pasco County DUI is filed in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, the same circuit as Pinellas, and the courthouse depends on where the arrest happened. A west-county arrest, around New Port Richey, Port Richey, or Hudson, goes to the West Pasco Judicial Center at 7530 Little Road in New Port Richey, while an east-county arrest, around Dade City or Zephyrhills, goes to the Robert D. Sumner Judicial Center at 38053 Live Oak Avenue in Dade City. County court handles the misdemeanor levels and circuit court handles a felony DUI.

Local enforcement and DUI school in Pasco County

Pasco DUI arrests come from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and the New Port Richey, Port Richey, and Zephyrhills police, along with the Florida Highway Patrol, and saturation patrols are the regional norm rather than fixed checkpoints. Because the stop is where many Pasco cases are won or lost, the reason for the stop and the dash and body camera footage are an early focus.

DUI school for Pasco residents runs through Pride Integrated Services, the DUI and substance-abuse program for the county, with offices in New Port Richey and Zephyrhills: a 12-hour Level I course for a first offense and a 21-hour Level II for a repeat, each with an evaluation.

How a Pasco County DUI case moves

A Pasco DUI case follows the normal criminal path, though most of the early work happens on paper. After the arrest and booking into the Land O’ Lakes jail, there is a first appearance before a judge, usually within 24 hours, where bond is set. Retention triggers three filings: a written plea of not guilty, a notice of appearance that waives the formal arraignment, and a demand for discovery obligating the State to turn over the offense and arrest reports, the DUI investigation and breath or blood materials, the body-camera and dash video, and the witness list. The case then moves through pretrial conferences at the West Pasco or Dade City courthouse, depending on where the arrest happened, where the defense reviews that discovery and files motions, including a motion to suppress. Misdemeanor DUI depositions are not a matter of right and need leave of court for good cause, so the first sworn testimony from the officers often comes at the DHSMV formal review hearing. This is where most first-offense cases end, whether by plea, diversion, or dismissal, while suppression fights and trials extend the timeline. The window to ask for DROP comes early, at or before the second pretrial hearing and before any defense motion or speedy-trial demand.

On a misdemeanor DUI a waiver of appearance covers the routine monthly disposition settings, so your first personal appearance is usually the docket sounding, the final pretrial, or trial itself. Felony cases work differently, and the court usually requires the defendant to appear in person at every hearing.

Routine Pasco county court settings can usually be handled through a signed waiver of appearance, and both courthouses accept it, but the waiver holds only until a judge says otherwise, which some will as a case ages or by a third or fourth setting.

Diversion in Pasco County: DROP

Pasco is in the Sixth Circuit, so it runs the same DROP program as Pinellas. An eligible first DUI can be reduced to reckless driving with alcohol as a significant factor, with Tier 1 at 0.120 or below ending in a withhold and Tier 2 above 0.120 up to 0.150 ending in a reckless-driving conviction. Full details, eligibility, and the conditions are on the DROP program page.

A repeat DUI in Pasco County

DROP is a first-offense program by design. A second or later DUI in Pasco County does not qualify, and the exposure climbs with the count and the timing. The escalation runs: second DUI within five years of a prior, mandatory ten days in jail plus a five-year revocation; third within ten years, a third-degree felony with a mandatory thirty days and a ten-year revocation; fourth, a felony on the count alone regardless of when the priors happened. In a repeat Pasco case the record gets mapped against the five-year and ten-year windows first, since those windows run from the dates of the priors and a single month can turn a misdemeanor into a felony.

The license side routes to the Tampa BAR office

Here is a quirk worth knowing: even though a Pasco DUI is a Sixth Circuit case, its formal review hearing does not route to Clearwater. The Bureau of Administrative Reviews is organized by geography, not by circuit, and Pasco is served by the Tampa BAR office, which you can reach at (813) 276-5795. The criminal case stays in New Port Richey or Dade City, but the license challenge is decided in Tampa. The deadline is ten days from the arrest. Demanding the formal review within those ten days holds the right to challenge the suspension and gets you a forty-two-day business-purposes permit while the hearing is pending, and the office must schedule the hearing within thirty days of receiving the complete request and the fee. Once the ten days run out the suspension starts automatically, with hard time on a first offense of thirty days of no driving on a breath case or ninety days on a refusal. Nothing in the courtroom pauses this license clock, so it is the first deadline to calendar after a Pasco County arrest. The steps, the permit, and the grounds to invalidate a suspension are covered on the formal review hearing page and the 10-day decision page, and the office itself is covered on the Tampa BAR office page.

Two Courthouses, One Highway Line

Pasco splits its DUI docket down the middle of the county. An arrest west of U.S. 41 is generally heard at the West Pasco Judicial Center in New Port Richey, and an arrest east of it goes to the Robert D. Sumner Judicial Center in Dade City. Same statute, same county, but two different courthouses with their own judges, dockets, and rhythms, and which side of that line you were stopped on shapes how your case actually moves.

On the enforcement side, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office runs a Selective Traffic Enforcement Patrol unit, deputies devoted to traffic and impaired-driving arrests who account for hundreds of DUI cases a year. STEP paperwork is high-volume paperwork, and I read it the way I read any production line: looking for the step that got skipped.

Pasco County DUI questions

What are the DUI penalties in Pasco County?

Pasco County DUI penalties are set by section 316.193, Florida Statutes, the same as the rest of the state, so a first conviction carries a fine of $500 to $1,000, up to six months in jail, a license revocation, a 10-day impoundment, DUI school, and community service, with enhancements for a 0.15 reading or a minor. What is local is the DROP program and the courthouse and BAR routing.

What diversion program is available in Pasco County?

Pasco uses DROP, the same Sixth Circuit program as Pinellas, run by the State Attorney for the Sixth Judicial Circuit. An eligible first DUI can be reduced to reckless driving with alcohol as a significant factor, with Tier 1 ending in a withhold and Tier 2 ending in a reckless-driving conviction. Admission is at the State Attorney's sole discretion.

Where is a Pasco County DUI heard?

It depends on where the arrest happened. A west-county arrest around New Port Richey, Port Richey, or Hudson is heard at the West Pasco Judicial Center at 7530 Little Road in New Port Richey, and an east-county arrest around Dade City or Zephyrhills is heard at the Robert D. Sumner Judicial Center in Dade City. Misdemeanor DUI levels stay in county court, while a felony DUI is heard in circuit court.

Why does a Pasco license suspension route to Tampa?

The Bureau of Administrative Reviews is organized geographically rather than by judicial circuit, and Pasco County is served by the Tampa BAR office. So even though a Pasco DUI is a Sixth Circuit criminal case in New Port Richey or Dade City, the formal review hearing on the license is decided in Tampa. The ten-day deadline to demand the hearing is the same.

Can a Pasco County DUI be reduced to reckless driving?

Often yes. A first Pasco DUI without a crash, a high reading, or a minor in the vehicle can be reduced to reckless driving through DROP or by negotiation. Take the reduction with a withhold of adjudication and you avoid the mandatory DUI revocation; a DUI conviction can never be sealed, but a withheld reckless often can.

How long does a Pasco County DUI take to resolve?

It depends on the path. A diversion resolution through DROP adds a pre-plea period of conditions before the plea is entered, while a contested case with motions can run several months or more. A simple first DUI typically wraps up sooner than a repeat or a felony-level prosecution. The administrative license side runs on its own ten-day and thirty-day deadlines that do not wait for the criminal case.

What is the deadline to protect my license after a Pasco County arrest?

Ten days from the arrest. Within that window you demand a formal review hearing, which for a Pasco County case routes to the Tampa BAR office, to keep the right to challenge the suspension and to get a forty-two-day permit while it is pending. Letting the ten days pass forfeits the challenge, and the hard-time suspension begins.

Related: the full penalty chart, the DROP program, the diversion overview, a first DUI, and the hardship license guide.

This page is general information about Florida law, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Florida DUI penalties are set by section 316.193, Florida Statutes, and related statutes including sections 322.28, 322.271, and 316.656. Diversion and charge-reduction programs are run at the sole discretion of each State Attorney and can change at any time. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.