Quick answer: It depends on your BAC — and on whether you took the test at all. Under the MVA’s current schedule, a first-offense failure at 0.08–0.14 is a 180-day suspension. So is a first offense at 0.15 or higher (a second rises to 270 days). And refusing the breath test carries the longest suspension of all: 270 days on a first refusal, two years on a second. These are administrative penalties from the MVA, entirely separate from anything the criminal court does. You generally have 10 days from the arrest to request the hearing that can change any of it.
Refusal Is Not the Safe Option
I want to lead with this because the roadside instinct is so often wrong. A lot of drivers assume that refusing the breath test is the cautious move — no number, no evidence, less trouble. On the license side, the opposite is true. A refusal costs you 270 days. Blowing a 0.09 costs you 180. Refusal is the single longest administrative suspension in the schedule.
That doesn’t automatically make taking the test the right call — a reading has consequences in the criminal case that a refusal doesn’t, and the calculus genuinely varies. But anyone who thinks refusal is the low-risk choice for their license has it backwards. I’ve broken the trade-off down in can you refuse a breathalyzer in Maryland.
The Current Suspension Schedule
These are the MVA’s administrative suspension periods for a test failure or refusal:
| Result | First offense | Second offense |
|---|---|---|
| BAC 0.08 – 0.14 | 180 days | 180 days |
| BAC 0.15 or more | 180 days | 270 days |
| Test refusal | 270 days | 2 years |
If a fatality was involved, the ceiling rises: up to a year at the lower BAC band, and up to full revocation at 0.15 or above.
One detail that trips people up constantly: your suspension does not start on the day of your arrest. It starts when you surrender your license to the MVA, or submit a signed statement that you no longer have it. Holding on to the card does not delay the suspension — it delays the clock, which means you’re simply pushing the same 180 or 270 days further into your future.
The 45-Day Paper License and the 10-Day Window
Here is the sequence after a DUI arrest where you fail or refuse the test. The officer takes your Maryland license, issues you a 45-day paper license, and serves an Order of Suspension (form DR-015A). You can keep driving on that paper license — for 45 days.
Inside that window sits the deadline that actually matters. To request an MVA hearing and preserve your ability to drive past day 45, you generally need to file within 10 days of the arrest. Miss the 10-day mark and the suspension takes effect when the paper license expires, whether or not you later get a hearing. Everything you might argue — the validity of the stop, the advice-of-rights form, the test procedure, an interlock alternative — depends on filing inside that window. See the Maryland DUI MVA per se hearing.
The Interlock Alternative: Driving Instead of Waiting
For many drivers the real question isn’t “how long is the suspension” but “how do I keep driving.” The Ignition Interlock Program is the answer more often than people realize.
Eligible drivers can elect one year of ignition interlock instead of serving the suspension. You install the device, you blow into it to start the car, and you keep your ability to get to work and take your kids to school. For a 270-day refusal suspension, that trade is often overwhelmingly worth it — you’re comparing nine months of not driving at all against twelve months of driving with a device on your dashboard.
Repeat offenders — more than one DUI in five years — face a harder version: a one-year suspension followed by a year of interlock, and participation becomes mandatory rather than optional. More in the Maryland ignition interlock program and DUI license restrictions.
The Other Suspension: What the Court Does
Everything above is the administrative track — the MVA acting on your test result. A conviction in the criminal case carries its own, separate license consequences:
- DUI, first offense: up to $1,000, up to 1 year in jail, 12 points, and the license may be revoked for up to 6 months.
- DUI, second offense: up to $2,000, up to 2 years (with at least 5 days required), 12 points, and revocation for up to a year.
- DWI, first offense: up to $500, up to 2 months, 8 points, and a 6-month suspension — a full year if you’re under 21.
- DWI, second offense: up to $500, up to 1 year, 8 points, and a 9-to-12-month suspension.
Two DUI convictions within five years also triggers mandatory interlock participation, plus a likely alcohol evaluation and treatment program.
The two tracks run independently. This is the part that blindsides people: you can beat the criminal case and still lose your license administratively, because the MVA’s suspension rests on the test result, not on a conviction. Winning in court does not automatically hand your license back.
Related Questions
- The Maryland DUI MVA per se hearing
- Can you refuse a breathalyzer in Maryland?
- DUI vs. DWI in Maryland
- First-offense DUI penalties in Maryland
- How to restore a Maryland driver’s license
Frequently Asked Questions
Is refusing the breath test really worse than failing it?
For your license, yes. A first refusal is a 270-day suspension. Failing at 0.08 or even 0.15 is 180 days. Refusal is the longest administrative suspension on the schedule. It may still be the right choice in a given case for reasons on the criminal side — but not because it protects your license. It doesn’t.
When does my suspension actually start?
When you surrender your license to the MVA, or file a signed statement that you no longer have it. Not on the date of arrest, and not automatically. Keeping the physical card in your wallet doesn’t shorten anything — it just moves the same suspension later.
Can I drive at all during the suspension?
Often, yes — through the Ignition Interlock Program. Eligible drivers can take one year of interlock instead of serving the suspension outright. Against a 270-day refusal suspension, that’s usually a trade worth making.
My criminal case was dropped. Do I get my license back?
Not automatically. The MVA’s suspension is administrative and rests on the test result or the refusal, not on a criminal conviction. The two proceedings are independent, and a dismissal in District Court does not undo the MVA’s action.
What is the deadline to fight the suspension?
Generally 10 days from the arrest to request the MVA hearing. Your 45-day paper license buys you time to drive, not time to decide. Miss the 10-day window and the suspension lands when the paper expires.
The Clock Started at the Arrest
The strongest moves in a Maryland DUI case are the early ones, and the license side moves fastest of all. I’ve handled thousands of Maryland traffic and impaired-driving cases, and the drivers who come out best are almost always the ones who called before the 10-day window closed — not after the paper license ran out. If you’re inside that window, there is still a great deal that can be done.
Toll-free: 1-877-566-2408. Hablamos Español. See how I defend Maryland DUI charges, or read the complete Maryland DUI & DWI guide.
Last updated: July 2026.