Can My Child Lose Their License After an Underage DUI?

Q: Why does an underage DUI involve two separate cases?

Richard S. Sterger: Whether you're a juvenile or you're a young adult under the age of 21 who's been arrested for a DUI, you're going to have two hearings, or two separate proceedings. One is going to be the juvenile proceeding if you're [under] 18, and an administrative proceeding with the Department of Motor Vehicles. And if you're over 18, you're going to have two proceedings, one being the administrative hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the other being the criminal case that's handled in the traditional criminal court system. There are some different penalties that you're going to have both in the administrative and in the criminal when alcohol and driving are involved with a young adult.

Q: Will my child's license be suspended after an underage DUI?

Richard S. Sterger: They're likely going to. They're going to be suspended.

Q: What are California's BAC levels for drivers under 21?

Richard S. Sterger: In California, if you're [under] 21, it's zero tolerance. At the 0.01, less than a 0.05, you're going to be looking at just a civil fine that you're going to pay, noncriminal. And at the 0.05 to below 0.08, you're going to be looking at an infraction where it's a noncrime still. And then at the 0.08, you're going to be looking at an actual DUI. The reason I point out those different tiered levels is that at all three of those levels, with the zero tolerance with respect to the DMV and that administrative hearing, the DMV is going to impose a 12-month suspension on your license.

Q: How do the DMV hearing and 10-day deadline work?

Richard S. Sterger: Now how this actually works is your driver's license, if it's with you, is going to be confiscated by the police. They're going to issue a pink slip of paper. That pink slip of paper is going to tell you what you have to do if you want to try and contest this. You have 10 days to contest it. You'll be provided evidence. You'll [be provided] a hearing date. Now an important thing to understand: this is not a criminal action. This is an administrative action, it's governed by civil law, which means they don't have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. They only need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence, which means they only need to be 50.00001 percent [certain] that this actually occurred. So it's a very difficult standard to overcome. It's not what we typically hear about in the criminal context, which is beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a very high burden for the state to establish. They're going to lose it for twelve months if it can be established at the administrative hearing that they had any alcohol in their system.

Q: Can an underage driver refuse the roadside breath test?

Richard S. Sterger: An important thing to also know is the difference between an adult and an underage driver. Part of when you signed up for a driver's license is we have this implied consent that applies to all adults, that they have to blow in the breathalyzer or they automatically lose their license. But when they do the field test, which is called the PAS system, where they are out in the field and they have you blow into it while you're still on scene of your arrest, an adult doesn't have to consent to that. They can say, no, I'm not doing that. A juvenile can't. They have the different form of the license. I think it actually reads vertically as opposed to horizontally: portrait, versus landscape for an adult. And being [under] 21, one of the things is that you have to submit to an alcohol [test]. It might seem a little unfair, but the reality is that it's zero tolerance. You shouldn't have been drinking at all. So testing for whether there was any drinking at all is kind of a given. Underage people cannot refuse the field breath test. Consequences by BAC level for drivers under 21 in California, as described by Richard S. StergerBAC levelCriminal consequenceDMV consequence0.01 to under 0.05Civil fine, noncriminal12-month suspension0.05 to under 0.08Infraction, still a noncrime12-month suspension0.08 and aboveActual DUI12-month suspension

Can My Child Lose Their License After an Underage DUI?

Richard S. Sterger • October 19, 2026

TL;DR

Yes. Founding attorney Richard S. Sterger explains that California applies zero tolerance to drivers under 21, and at every blood alcohol level, from 0.01 up to a full DUI, the DMV will impose a 12-month license suspension. Families have only 10 days from the arrest to contest that suspension at a separate administrative hearing.

An underage DUI arrest starts two separate proceedings. One is an administrative case with the DMV. The other is either a juvenile proceeding for a child under 18 or a regular criminal case for an 18 to 20 year old.
For drivers under 21, a BAC from 0.01 to under 0.05 brings a noncriminal civil fine. A BAC from 0.05 to under 0.08 is a noncriminal infraction, and 0.08 or higher is an actual DUI.
At all three of those levels, the DMV imposes a 12-month license suspension.
Police confiscate the license and issue a pink slip that explains how to contest the suspension. The driver has 10 days to do so.
The DMV hearing uses the civil preponderance of the evidence standard, not proof beyond a reasonable doubt. That makes the suspension difficult to overcome.
Adults can decline the roadside PAS breath test. Drivers under 21 cannot refuse it.

Why does an underage DUI involve two separate cases?

Richard S. Sterger: Whether you're a juvenile or you're a young adult under the age of 21 who's been arrested for a DUI, you're going to have two hearings, or two separate proceedings. One is going to be the juvenile proceeding if you're [under] 18, and an administrative proceeding with the Department of Motor Vehicles. And if you're over 18, you're going to have two proceedings, one being the administrative hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the other being the criminal case that's handled in the traditional criminal court system.

There are some different penalties that you're going to have both in the administrative and in the criminal when alcohol and driving are involved with a young adult.

Will my child's license be suspended after an underage DUI?

Richard S. Sterger: They're likely going to. They're going to be suspended.

What are California's BAC levels for drivers under 21?

Richard S. Sterger: In California, if you're [under] 21, it's zero tolerance. At the 0.01, less than a 0.05, you're going to be looking at just a civil fine that you're going to pay, noncriminal. And at the 0.05 to below 0.08, you're going to be looking at an infraction where it's a noncrime still. And then at the 0.08, you're going to be looking at an actual DUI.

The reason I point out those different tiered levels is that at all three of those levels, with the zero tolerance with respect to the DMV and that administrative hearing, the DMV is going to impose a 12-month suspension on your license.

How do the DMV hearing and 10-day deadline work?

Richard S. Sterger: Now how this actually works is your driver's license, if it's with you, is going to be confiscated by the police. They're going to issue a pink slip of paper. That pink slip of paper is going to tell you what you have to do if you want to try and contest this. You have 10 days to contest it. You'll be provided evidence. You'll [be provided] a hearing date.

Now an important thing to understand: this is not a criminal action. This is an administrative action, it's governed by civil law, which means they don't have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. They only need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence, which means they only need to be 50.00001 percent [certain] that this actually occurred. So it's a very difficult standard to overcome.

It's not what we typically hear about in the criminal context, which is beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a very high burden for the state to establish. They're going to lose it for twelve months if it can be established at the administrative hearing that they had any alcohol in their system.

Can an underage driver refuse the roadside breath test?

Richard S. Sterger: An important thing to also know is the difference between an adult and an underage driver. Part of when you signed up for a driver's license is we have this implied consent that applies to all adults, that they have to blow in the breathalyzer or they automatically lose their license. But when they do the field test, which is called the PAS system, where they are out in the field and they have you blow into it while you're still on scene of your arrest, an adult doesn't have to consent to that. They can say, no, I'm not doing that. A juvenile can't.

They have the different form of the license. I think it actually reads vertically as opposed to horizontally: portrait, versus landscape for an adult. And being [under] 21, one of the things is that you have to submit to an alcohol [test]. It might seem a little unfair, but the reality is that it's zero tolerance. You shouldn't have been drinking at all. So testing for whether there was any drinking at all is kind of a given. Underage people cannot refuse the field breath test.

Consequences by BAC level for drivers under 21 in California, as described by Richard S. Sterger

BAC level	Criminal consequence	DMV consequence
0.01 to under 0.05	Civil fine, noncriminal	12-month suspension
0.05 to under 0.08	Infraction, still a noncrime	12-month suspension
0.08 and above	Actual DUI	12-month suspension

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens to my teen's driver's license at the time of a DUI arrest?

According to Richard S. Sterger, police confiscate the license if the driver has it with them. They then issue a pink slip explaining how to contest the suspension. The driver has 10 days to request that challenge.

Does a BAC under 0.05 still lead to a suspension for a driver under 21?

Yes. Sterger explains that a BAC from 0.01 to under 0.05 is only a noncriminal civil fine, but the DMV still imposes a 12-month suspension. That suspension applies at every tier under California's zero tolerance rule.

Is the DMV hearing part of the criminal case?

No. It is a separate administrative proceeding governed by civil law. The DMV only has to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the driver had alcohol in their system, which Sterger calls a very difficult standard to overcome.

Can a driver under 21 refuse the roadside PAS breath test?

No. Sterger notes that adults can decline the field PAS test, but underage drivers cannot. Because the rule is zero tolerance, testing for any drinking at all is treated as a given.

Edited for length and clarity from a recorded conversation with Richard S. Sterger.