Quick answer: A DUI disqualifies a Maryland CDL for 1 year — 3 years on placarded hazardous material, life for a second major offense from a separate incident. It applies whether you were in the truck or in your own car on a day off, a test refusal counts the same, and there is no restricted or work-purposes CDL to carry you through it. A probation before judgment does not save the license. Only a dismissal, an acquittal, or a plea to a charge off the disqualifying list does.
I’m David Waranch, and I’ve handled thousands of Maryland DUI cases and MVA hearings, many for drivers whose license is the job.
“I took the PBJ, so it isn’t a conviction.” For a CDL, it is. Maryland law says a completed probation before judgment “is not a conviction for the purpose of any disqualification or disability imposed by law” (Md. Code, Crim. Proc. § 6-220(i)(3)). That sentence binds Maryland, not Washington. 49 C.F.R. § 384.226 forbids a state from masking, deferring imposition of judgment, or allowing diversion that would keep a CDL holder’s conviction “in any type of motor vehicle” off the CDLIS driver record. And 49 C.F.R. § 383.5 defines a conviction to include “the payment of a fine or court cost … regardless of whether or not the penalty is rebated, suspended, or probated.” A judge can grant the PBJ, the MVA must still report it, and the disqualification still runs. Every year I meet drivers who accepted a PBJ believing it protected the CDL. It did not.
Three Alcohol Numbers Apply to You, Not One
Most pages on this subject say “the limit for a CDL is 0.04” and stop. That is half the law, and drivers act on the missing half in ways that cost them the license. Three alcohol numbers apply to you at once, and which one bites depends on the vehicle you are in.
| Number | Where it applies | What it triggers | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any measurable alcohol | Driving, operating, or in physical control of a commercial motor vehicle | Unlawful. A 24-hour out-of-service order from the moment the officer or your employer detects it. A refusal to test does the same. | Transp. § 16-813(a)(1), (b) |
| 0.04 or more | In a commercial motor vehicle only | 1-year disqualification of the CDL. A federal major offense. | Transp. § 16-812(a)(4); § 16-813(a)(2); 49 C.F.R. § 383.51 Table 1 |
| 0.08 or more | Any motor vehicle, including your own car | Criminal DUI per se, and a 1-year disqualification of the CDL on top of it. | Transp. § 21-902(a)(1); § 16-812(a)(5) |
Two corrections follow. First, 0.04 is not a criminal charging threshold — nothing in Md. Code, Transp. § 21-902 mentions 0.04 or commercial vehicles. Blow 0.05 in a tractor and you are not automatically charged with DUI; you are disqualified for a year by the MVA under a different statute. Second, 0.00 is the working limit in a truck. Under Md. Code, Transp. § 16-813, 0.02 in a CMV is unlawful and means 24 hours out of service, with no criminal case and no disqualification. Anyone timing a night off against “0.04” is using a number that does not apply.
What a DUI Costs the CDL
Disqualification is mandatory — Md. Code, Transp. § 16-812 says the Administration “shall disqualify.” Work history and hardship carry no weight.
| Major alcohol offense | First | Second (separate incident) |
|---|---|---|
| DUI conviction in a commercial vehicle | 1 year | Life |
| DUI conviction in your personal vehicle | 1 year | Life |
| 0.04 or more while operating a CMV | 1 year | Life |
| Refusing the chemical test, truck or car | 1 year | Life |
| Any of the above while transporting placarded hazardous material | 3 years | Life |
Offenses from a single stop do not stack: under § 16-812(q) a DUI plus a refusal at one stop is one year, not two. A new disqualification does run in addition to any earlier one, though (49 C.F.R. § 383.51(a)(5)). Serious violations, out-of-service orders and grade-crossing offenses have their own schedule: CDL disqualifications in Maryland, CDL knowledge hub.
A DUI in Your Own Car Disqualifies You Too
Section 16-812(a)(2) disqualifies a CDL holder for a year on a conviction under § 21-902(a), (c) or (d) committed while driving a noncommercial motor vehicle, and § 16-812(a)(5) adds a year for driving any motor vehicle at 0.08 or more. Arrested on a Saturday night in your own pickup, you lose the commercial privilege for twelve months. One narrow limit: a noncommercial-vehicle offense does not count if it predates September 30, 2005, or your first commercial permit (§ 16-812(r)).
Below 0.08, the Charge Matters More Than the Number
Maryland separates DUI under § 21-902(a) from the lesser offense of driving while impaired, § 21-902(b), which has no numeric threshold. Read the disqualification statute closely: for a conviction in a noncommercial vehicle, § 16-812(a)(2)(i) lists § 21-902(a), (c) and (d). It does not list § 21-902(b). In a commercial vehicle that carve-out disappears — § 16-812(a)(1)(i) reaches all of § 21-902 — so a DWI in a truck disqualifies just as a DUI does.
That is why a CDL DUI is never a routine plea: where the reading is under 0.08 or the State’s proof of it is weak, the gap between those subsections is the gap between a fine and a year out of work. A first § 21-902(a) DUI also carries up to 1 year or a $1,200 fine and 12 points — full schedule on Maryland DUI penalties, defense side on Maryland DUI lawyer.
Refusing the Test Is Its Own Disqualification
Refusing does not protect a commercial driver, it doubles the exposure. Under Md. Code, Transp. § 16-205.1, a refusal by anyone operating a CMV or holding a CDL brings a 1-year disqualification, 3 years on placarded hazmat, and life if the CDL had already been disqualified for at least a year — on top of the ordinary license suspension of 270 days for a first refusal or 2 years for a second. You have 10 days from the order of suspension to request a hearing and keep driving on the 45-day temporary: see temporary licenses after a DUI arrest and Maryland MVA hearings.
Can you get a restricted CDL to keep working? The statute answers in one sentence.
“A disqualification of a commercial instructional permit or a commercial driver’s license is not subject to any modifications, nor may a restricted commercial instructional permit or commercial driver’s license be issued in lieu of a disqualification.” — Md. Code, Transp. § 16-205.1(f)(8)(vii)
No hardship CDL, no work-purposes CDL, no interlock route back into a truck. Electing the Ignition Interlock System Program can rescue your personal driving privilege — after a refusal or a 0.15 result it is the only thing that will, because the ordinary restricted license is off the table there (Maryland license restrictions). It does nothing for the commercial side.
Two Federal Deadlines to Tell Your Employer
Both deadlines are yours, not your lawyer’s, missing either is a separate federal violation, and neither is limited to commercial vehicles.
| Trigger | Tell your employer by | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Your license is suspended, revoked or canceled, or you are disqualified from operating a CMV for any period | The end of the business day following the day you received notice | 49 C.F.R. § 383.33 |
| You are convicted of any traffic law violation in any type of motor vehicle, parking excepted | 30 days after the conviction, in writing and signed, stating whether it happened in a CMV | 49 C.F.R. § 383.31 |
A DUI in your personal car triggers both, and staying quiet buys nothing: the conviction lands on CDLIS and your carrier’s annual review finds it. Refusals and positive tests go separately to the FMCSA Clearinghouse.
Getting the CDL Back
- You surrender the license — § 16-812(n).
- You can usually still drive your own car. Under § 16-812(o) the MVA may issue a noncommercial license if you surrender the CDL and your underlying privilege is otherwise clear. Driving a CMV anyway is a separate offense: driving on a suspended or revoked commercial license.
- Under a year, you pay and it comes back — § 16-812(p)(1), restoration on payment of the fees.
- A year or more and you start over. Section 16-812(p)(2)–(3): apply for a new CDL, pass the skills and knowledge tests again, clear CDLIS. A DUI disqualification is exactly one year, so every CDL DUI lands on the retesting side of that line — see reinstating a disqualified Maryland CDL.
- A lifetime disqualification can sometimes be reduced after 10 years — but not by asking a judge. It runs through MVA regulations under § 16-812(d), tracking 49 C.F.R. § 383.51(a)(6): after ten years, only on completing a state-approved rehabilitation program, only once, and never where a vehicle was used in a drug distribution felony.
How I Handle a Maryland CDL DUI
Because nothing short of a clean result protects the license, the work is front-loaded:
- Attack the stop and the test — reasonable grounds for the detention, the advice of rights required by § 16-205.1(b)(2), the 2-hour breath-test window, instrument certification and operator qualification.
- Find a landing spot outside the disqualifying list, not a lighter sentence on a charge that still ends the career.
- Protect the 10-day MVA deadline and try the administrative hearing as its own case.
- Cover the out-of-state exposure. Maryland reports the conviction to your home state, which adds its own sanctions: out-of-state CDL holders ticketed in Maryland.
If you hold a CDL and have been arrested for DUI in Maryland, call before you decide anything about the hearing request or a plea. Most of the window that matters closes before your first court date.
Common Questions
No. Maryland treats a completed PBJ as a non-conviction for state purposes under Crim. Proc. 6-220(i)(3), but 49 C.F.R. 384.226 bars any state from masking, deferring judgment on, or diverting a CDL holder’s conviction in any type of motor vehicle so that it stays off the CDLIS driver record. The MVA must report it and must impose the disqualification. Only a dismissal, an acquittal, or a plea to a charge that is not on the disqualifying list protects a commercial license.
No. Md. Code, Transp. 16-205.1(f)(8)(vii) says a disqualification of a commercial license is not subject to any modifications, and that no restricted commercial license may be issued in lieu of a disqualification. There is no hardship CDL in Maryland and no interlock route back into a commercial vehicle. Electing the Ignition Interlock System Program can preserve your personal driving privilege, but it does nothing for the commercial side.
No. The 0.04 threshold applies only while you are operating a commercial motor vehicle, under Transp. 16-812(a)(4) and 16-813(a)(2). In a personal car the criminal limit is the ordinary 0.08 under Transp. 21-902, and a CDL holder at 0.08 or more in any motor vehicle is separately disqualified for a year under Transp. 16-812(a)(5). In a commercial vehicle the practical limit is zero, because any measurable alcohol is unlawful and puts you out of service for 24 hours.
Law Offices of David R. Waranch — 301-563-9575 · toll-free 1-877-566-2408. Hablamos Español.
Last updated: August 2026. Statutory references: Md. Code, Transp. §§ 16-205.1, 16-812, 16-813, 21-902; Md. Code, Crim. Proc. § 6-220; 49 C.F.R. §§ 383.5, 383.31, 383.33, 383.51, 384.226. This page is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.