Quick answer: Yes. No one in Maryland can hold you down and make you blow — Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 10-309(a)(1)(i) says a person “may not be compelled” to take the test. But there are three different tests on a Maryland DUI stop, and refusing them carries three completely different prices. One costs you nothing. One costs you nothing. One costs you 270 days of your license. Almost nobody knows which is which.
I’m David Waranch, and I’ve handled thousands of Maryland traffic and DUI cases.
Already refused? You have a clock running — 10 days, and it started the night you were stopped. Skip straight to what you have to do.
There Isn’t One Test. There Are Three.
This is the single most useful thing on this page. When people say “can I refuse the breathalyzer,” they almost always mean the little handheld unit at the roadside. That is not the test that suspends your license.
| What you’re asked to do | Where | Cost of saying no |
|---|---|---|
| Field sobriety tests — walk the line, follow the pen, stand on one leg | Roadside | Nothing. Not covered by implied consent. |
| Preliminary breath test (the handheld PBT) | Roadside | Nothing. § 16-205.2 says so expressly. |
| The evidentiary breath test | Station, after arrest | 270 days. This is the one. |
Three requests, one consequence. If you take nothing else from this page, take that.
The Roadside Handheld: You Can Say No
Md. Code, Transp. § 16-205.2 governs the preliminary breath test, and it is unusually clear:
“Refusal to submit to a preliminary breath test shall not constitute a violation of § 16-205.1 of this subtitle.”
§ 16-205.1 is the suspension statute. So refusing the handheld cannot trigger the 270 days. It cannot trigger anything.
And it cuts both ways in court. The same section provides that the taking of, or refusal to submit to, a PBT “is not admissible in evidence in any court action.” The result itself can only be used by a defendant — never by the State. The PBT exists for one purpose: to give the officer probable cause to arrest you.
One caveat, and it’s important: refusing the PBT does not get you out of the real test later. The statute says so directly — the officer must advise you that neither refusing nor taking the preliminary test prevents or requires the chemical test that follows.
Field Sobriety Tests: Also Optional
Walk-and-turn, one-leg-stand, the pen in front of your eyes. Maryland’s implied consent law covers chemical tests of breath or blood. It does not cover balance exercises on a gravel shoulder at 1 a.m.
You can decline them, and there is no license penalty for doing so. Understand what you’re trading, though: declining is noted, and the officer’s report will describe a driver who wouldn’t cooperate. What you avoid is handing the State a video of yourself failing tests that are difficult sober — particularly if you’re tired, injured, overweight, over 65, or wearing anything other than flat shoes.
The Station Test: This Is the One That Costs You
After the arrest, at the station, you’ll be read a form called the DR-15 Advice of Rights and asked to submit to an evidentiary breath test. This is the request that matters.
| What you do | First offense | Second |
|---|---|---|
| Blow 0.08 – 0.14 | 180 days | 180 days |
| Blow 0.15 or higher | 180 days | 270 days |
| Refuse | 270 days | 2 years |
Look at the bottom row against the top. Refusing is punished more harshly than blowing a 0.14. Nine months off the road for saying no; six months for a reading that would have proved the case against you.
If a website told you 120 days, that number changed with Noah’s Law in 2016 and has been wrong for a decade.
There is a second sting. Under Transp. § 21-902(g), if you’re convicted of DUI or DWI and the court finds you knowingly refused, that adds a further 2 months and $500 on top of the sentence.
You Can Ask to Call a Lawyer First
This is the part that almost nobody uses, and it is a genuine right in Maryland.
In Sites v. State, 300 Md. 702, 481 A.2d 192 (1984), Maryland’s highest court held that a person arrested for drunk driving has the right to consult an attorney before deciding whether to take the test — if that person asks.
Read that condition again. The right is real, but it is not self-executing. Nobody offers it. You have to say the words: “I would like to speak to a lawyer before I decide.”
Two things follow. If they let you call, you get advice from someone who does this every day, at the one moment it can still change the outcome. If they refuse you, that refusal becomes an issue I can raise at your MVA hearing. Either way you are better off than staying silent — so ask, and note the time you asked.
The right has a practical limit: it cannot be used to run the clock out on the test. Ask promptly, ask clearly, and don’t stall.
So Should You Refuse?
I’m not going to give you a slogan. It depends on facts you know and I don’t. But here is the honest shape of it.
| Refusing tends to hurt you when… | Refusing tends to help you when… |
|---|---|
| You’d likely have blown under 0.08, or close to it — you’re taking 270 days to hide a number that would have helped you | You’d likely have blown well over 0.15, where the reading itself becomes the case |
| You need to drive for work and can’t manage the interlock | The rest of the evidence against you is thin — no accident, no admissions, decent driving |
| There’s already strong evidence of impairment, so you gain nothing and lose the license time | There’s a real dispute about whether the stop or the arrest was lawful |
The general rule: on the license side, refusing usually costs you more than blowing. That surprises people. It shouldn’t — the legislature designed it that way on purpose, to make refusing unattractive.
And be clear-eyed about one thing: refusing does not make the case disappear. Under Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 10-309(a)(2), “the fact of refusal to submit is admissible in evidence at the trial.” The prosecutor will invite the judge to draw the obvious inference. That argument can be answered — but it will be made.
You Refused. The Ten-Day Clock.
If it’s already done, this section is the one that matters. Everything runs off the same short deadline, and it started the night you were stopped.
- The officer took your Maryland license and gave you a temporary license good for 45 days.
- Within 10 days you can request an MVA hearing. That is the window that protects you — a timely request means you are not suspended while you wait to be heard.
- Within the same framework you can instead elect the Ignition Interlock Program and keep driving.
- A request made between day 11 and day 30 is still accepted — but it does not extend your 45-day paper license. You can be suspended on day 46, before your hearing is ever heard.
So: the outer limit is 30 days, but the real deadline is 10. Treat day 10 as the last day and you will never be caught out.
You Can Keep Driving. Here’s How.
This is the part that changes lives and almost nobody writes about.
Section 16-205.1(g) allows you to elect to participate in the Ignition Interlock System Program instead of serving the suspension. For a refusal, that election is for one year.
| Do nothing | Elect the interlock |
|---|---|
| 270 days with no license at all | 12 months driving, with a device on your car |
| No work. No school run. No hospital visits. | You blow into it to start the engine. That’s the price. |
For anyone who has a job, that isn’t a close call.
And note this, because it matters: for a refusal, the interlock is the only way to drive. Section 16-205.1 allows the MVA to modify a suspension or issue a restricted license after a refusal only if you’re in the program. The ordinary hardship route — “I need my car for work” — is available to someone who blew 0.08 to 0.14. It is not available to you.
To elect it you must surrender your license (or certify you no longer have it) and elect in writing. Do it inside the 10 days along with everything else.
The Paperwork You Were Handed
When you refused, the officer was required to do a specific series of things. Each one is a place the case can fail.
- Confiscate your Maryland license.
- Personally serve you with an order of suspension.
- Issue you a temporary license, good for 45 days.
- Tell you that you may request a hearing at that moment or within 10 days.
- Tell you about the Ignition Interlock Program and how to join it.
- Send your license, the order and a sworn statement to the MVA within 72 hours.
Bring me that paperwork. What it says — and whether it says everything it was supposed to — is very often where the case is decided.
The Defense: “Were You Fully Advised?”
Here is where refusal cases are won, and it is written into the statute.
Among the issues the hearing officer must decide is this one: whether the officer requested the test after the person was fully advised, as required by § 16-205.1(b)(2), of the administrative sanctions that would be imposed.
“Fully advised” is doing a great deal of work in that sentence. The officer was required to advise you of:
- the sanctions that shall be imposed for refusing;
- that you will be ineligible for any modified or restricted license unless you join the Ignition Interlock Program;
- the additional criminal penalties under § 21-902(g) if you’re convicted and found to have knowingly refused;
- that a court shall impose interlock participation as part of any sentence.
That’s a lot to get right at 2 a.m. on the side of a road. If the advice was incomplete, rushed, garbled, or not given at all, the State’s case for the suspension has a hole in it — because being fully advised is an element, not a formality.
The other thing worth knowing: the officer’s sworn statement is prima facie evidence of the refusal. So the paperwork carries the case — which means the paperwork is what gets examined.
You May Be Able to Take It Back
Almost nobody knows this one. Section 16-205.1(h):
“An initial refusal to take a test that is withdrawn as provided in this subsection is not a refusal to take a test.“
A driver who initially refuses may withdraw that refusal and consent to the test, subject to the conditions in the statute. If you said no and then changed your mind — even minutes later — tell me exactly what happened and when. It may not be a refusal at all.
If You Hold a CDL, Different Math Entirely
A refusal disqualifies you from driving commercially for one year — three years if you were carrying placarded hazardous materials — and for life on a second. That runs alongside the suspension of your ordinary license, not instead of it.
If you drive for a living, this is not a decision to make alone at a station counter. More on CDL disqualifications — or call me today, not next week.
Related Questions
- The MVA hearing and the 10-day deadline
- DUI vs DWI in Maryland — they are not the same charge
- How long a Maryland DUI suspension actually lasts
- Plea options and PBJ in a Maryland DUI case
- First-offense DUI penalties in Maryland
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you legally refuse a breathalyzer in Maryland?
Yes. Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 10-309(a)(1)(i) states that a person “may not be compelled” to take the test. Refusing is not a crime by itself. But refusing the evidentiary test at the station triggers an automatic 270-day license suspension for a first offense, imposed by the MVA whatever happens in court.
Can I refuse the roadside breath test in Maryland?
Yes, and with no license penalty at all. Transp. § 16-205.2 says refusing the preliminary breath test “shall not constitute a violation of § 16-205.1” — the suspension statute. Neither taking it nor refusing it is admissible in court. It is a different test from the one at the station, and people confuse the two constantly.
How long is your license suspended for refusing a breath test in Maryland?
270 days for a first refusal. Two years for a second. The 120-day figure still published on many websites has been wrong since Noah’s Law in 2016.
Can I drive at all after refusing?
Yes — if you elect the Ignition Interlock Program. One year with the device, driving throughout, instead of 270 days off the road entirely. For a refusal it is the only route to driving; the ordinary hardship license is not available to you. Make the election inside the 10 days.
Do I have to do field sobriety tests in Maryland?
No. Implied consent covers chemical tests of breath or blood, not roadside balance and eye exercises. Declining carries no license penalty, though the officer will record that you declined.
Can I call a lawyer before taking the breath test?
Yes — if you ask. Under Sites v. State, 300 Md. 702 (1984), a person arrested for drunk driving has the right to consult an attorney before deciding whether to take the test, where they request it. The right is not offered to you; you have to ask. If the request is denied, that becomes an issue at your MVA hearing.
How long do I have to act after a refusal?
10 days. That is the window that keeps you driving while your case is resolved. A request made up to day 30 is still accepted, but it will not extend your 45-day paper license — so you can be suspended before you are ever heard.
Is it better to refuse or take the breath test in Maryland?
On the license side, refusing usually costs more — 270 days for refusing against 180 for blowing anything up to 0.14. Refusing tends to make sense only where the reading would have been high enough to prove the case on its own. And the refusal itself is admissible at trial under § 10-309(a)(2), so it does not make the charge go away.
Is refusing a breath test a crime in Maryland?
Not by itself — it is an administrative action against your license. But if you’re convicted of DUI or DWI and the court finds you knowingly refused, § 21-902(g) adds a further 2 months and $500 on top.
Can police force you to take a breath or blood test in Maryland?
Not in an ordinary DUI stop — § 10-309 forbids compelling the test. The statute carves out narrow exceptions, and a fatal or life-threatening collision changes the analysis considerably. If someone was seriously hurt, call me before you decide anything.
Ten Days. Starting Now.
Whether you’re still deciding or it’s already done, the same advice holds: get someone who does this every day on the phone before the clock runs out.
Call me. Bring the paperwork the officer handed you. What it says, and whether it says everything it was supposed to, is where this case is decided.
Toll-free 1-877-566-2408. Free consultation. Hablamos Español. More on how I defend Maryland DUI charges.
Last updated: August 2026. Statutory references: Md. Code, Transp. §§ 16-205.1, 16-205.2, 21-902; Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 10-309; Sites v. State, 300 Md. 702 (1984).