Is DUI a felony or a misdemeanor in Florida?

DUI can be classified as either a felony or a misdemeanor. First and second offenses are misdemeanors unless there is property damage or personal injury.

A third offense that occurs within ten years of conviction of a second offense can be filed as a felony and lifetime fourth offense is a felony in Florida. Which means if somebody has three DUI’s when they’re in their 20’s and 30 years later – maybe they’ve stopped drinking that entire time – and 30 years later something happens, a traumatic event in their life, and they get arrested for DUI again, even though those priors were 30 years ago, that fourth offense is a felony and it is punishable by up to five years in prison.