Getting arrested for DUI in Tennessee sets off a chain of legal events that move faster than most people expect. There are deadlines to meet, hearings to request, and decisions that affect your driving privileges, your criminal record, and potentially your freedom. Attorney Chad Turnbow at Turnbow Law in Mt. Juliet represents clients facing DUI charges throughout Middle Tennessee, and the question he hears most often in that first phone call is some version of “what happens now?” This post walks through the process from the moment of arrest through resolution, so you know what you’re facing and where the critical decision points are.
The Arrest and Implied Consent
Tennessee is an implied consent state. Under T.C.A. § 55-10-406, when you operate a motor vehicle on Tennessee roads, you’ve already consented to submit to a chemical test (blood or breath) if an officer has reasonable grounds to believe you’re driving under the influence. This doesn’t mean you have no choice at the scene. You can refuse the test. But refusal carries its own consequences, and they’re immediate.
If you refuse a chemical test, your license is revoked for one year on a first offense. That revocation is separate from and in addition to whatever happens in your criminal DUI case. If you submit to testing and your blood alcohol concentration comes back at .08% or higher (.04% for commercial vehicle operators, .02% for drivers under 21), the officer will confiscate your license on the spot and issue a notice of implied consent suspension.
Here’s what catches people off guard: the criminal charge and the license suspension are two different proceedings running on two different tracks. You can win your criminal case and still lose your license, or vice versa. Understanding that distinction early is critical.
The Implied Consent Hearing
After your license is confiscated, you have ten days to request an Implied Consent Hearing. Miss that window and the suspension becomes final by default. This hearing takes place before a judge in the county where the arrest occurred and deals exclusively with your driving privileges, not the criminal charge itself.
At the hearing, the state has to establish that the officer had reasonable grounds for the stop and the arrest, that you were properly informed of the implied consent law, and that you either refused testing or tested above the legal limit. Your attorney can challenge any of those elements. If the arresting officer failed to read the implied consent advisement correctly, if the traffic stop lacked reasonable suspicion, or if there were problems with how the blood draw or breath test was conducted, the suspension can be overturned.
If the suspension stands, the length depends on the circumstances. A first-offense failed test results in a one-year suspension. Refusal also triggers a one-year revocation. Second and subsequent offenses carry longer periods. But in many cases, you may be eligible for a restricted license.
Restricted Licenses and Ignition Interlock
Tennessee allows certain DUI defendants to obtain a restricted license that permits driving to and from work, school, medical appointments, and other approved destinations during the suspension period. For most DUI offenses, obtaining a restricted license requires the installation of an ignition interlock device (IID) on your vehicle.
The IID requires you to blow into a breath-testing unit before the car will start. It also requires periodic retests while driving. Any detected alcohol triggers a lockout and is reported to the court. The device comes with monthly monitoring fees that the driver pays out of pocket, typically in the range of $70 to $100 per month depending on the provider.
For a first-offense DUI, the interlock requirement runs concurrently with the license restriction period. Tennessee law changed significantly in recent years regarding interlock requirements, and the current framework ties the length and conditions of interlock use to the specific offense. Chad Turnbow reviews interlock eligibility with every DUI client because maintaining the ability to drive legally often determines whether someone can keep their job during the pendency of the case.
The Criminal Case: Mandatory Minimums by Offense
While the license suspension process runs on its own track, the criminal DUI case proceeds through the general sessions or criminal court system. Tennessee’s DUI penalties escalate sharply with each subsequent offense, and certain aggravating factors can push even a first offense into more severe territory.
First Offense DUI
A first-offense DUI in Tennessee carries a mandatory minimum of 48 hours in jail, a fine between $350 and $1,500, and a one-year license revocation. If your BAC was .20% or higher, the mandatory minimum jail time jumps to seven consecutive days. That elevated BAC threshold is one of the ways a first offense can escalate quickly. The court will also order participation in an alcohol and drug treatment program and community service, typically a minimum of 24 hours if you are sentenced to less than the full minimum jail time.
Second Offense DUI
A second DUI conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 45 days in jail, fines between $600 and $3,500, and a two-year license revocation. The jail time cannot be suspended or served on probation. You will physically serve those 45 days.
Third Offense DUI
A third offense is a Class A misdemeanor with a mandatory minimum of 120 days in jail, fines between $1,100 and $10,000, and a six-year license revocation. At this level, many defendants also face vehicle seizure and forfeiture.
Fourth and Subsequent Offenses
A fourth DUI in Tennessee is classified as a Class E felony. The mandatory minimum is 150 consecutive days in jail, fines up to $15,000, and an eight-year license revocation. A felony conviction carries consequences that extend well beyond the sentence itself, affecting employment, housing, voting rights, and firearm possession.
How a First-Offense DUI Escalates
Not all first-offense DUIs are treated equally. Several factors can increase the severity of a first charge beyond the baseline mandatory minimums.
A BAC of .20% or above triggers the enhanced seven-day jail minimum mentioned above. If a minor under 18 was in the vehicle at the time of the offense, additional charges and enhanced penalties apply, including potential child endangerment charges that carry their own sentencing consequences. If the DUI involved an accident causing bodily injury, the charge may be elevated to vehicular assault under T.C.A. § 39-13-106, a Class D felony. If someone died as a result, vehicular homicide under T.C.A. § 39-13-213 is a Class B felony carrying 8 to 30 years in prison.
Refusing the chemical test also has indirect consequences in the criminal case. While refusal isn’t a separate criminal charge, prosecutors regularly use the refusal as evidence of consciousness of guilt at trial, arguing that the defendant refused because they knew they would fail.
What Turnbow Law Does Differently in DUI Cases
Every DUI case has pressure points that only become visible when you examine the details. Was the initial traffic stop legally justified? Did the officer follow the standardized field sobriety test protocol correctly, or were the instructions rushed or the conditions unfair (uneven pavement, poor lighting, medical conditions affecting balance)? Was the breath-testing device properly calibrated and maintained? For blood draws, was the sample collected, stored, and tested in accordance with Tennessee Bureau of Investigation lab protocols?
These aren’t technicalities. They’re constitutional requirements, and when law enforcement doesn’t follow them, the evidence can be challenged and suppressed.
Chad Turnbow reviews every piece of discovery in a DUI case: dashcam and bodycam footage, calibration records, the officer’s training certifications, lab chain-of-custody documentation, and the arrest report narrative. That review often reveals issues the client had no idea existed.
Take Action Before the Deadlines Pass
The ten-day window to request an Implied Consent Hearing starts running the day of your arrest. Once it closes, your leverage on the license suspension disappears. The criminal case has its own timeline, and early involvement by an attorney gives you the best chance of identifying weaknesses in the state’s case before the pressure to plead builds.
If you’ve been arrested for DUI anywhere in Middle Tennessee, contact Turnbow Law at (615) 669-8619. Chad Turnbow will review your case, explain exactly where you stand, and lay out the options available to you based on the specific facts of your arrest.
