A drink driving conviction can disrupt much more than your ability to drive for the period set by the court. It creates a criminal record and may also affect your driving licence, car insurance costs, employment, professional responsibilities and overseas travel.

The precise restrictions depend on the drink driving offence, the sentence imposed and your personal circumstances. Someone convicted of driving above the legal alcohol limit may face different consequences from someone found guilty of being in charge of a vehicle, failing to provide a specimen or causing death by careless driving while under the influence of alcohol.

This guide from JMW’s expert motoring offence solicitors explains the drink driving restrictions you could face after a conviction and what you may need to do before returning to the road.

What Restrictions Follow a Drink Driving Conviction?

Drink driving is a criminal offence. A person found guilty will receive a driving ban, and could also receive an unlimited fine, community order or a prison sentence, depending on the seriousness of the offence.

A drink driving conviction may also lead to:

• A requirement to reapply for a driving licence
• A DVLA medical assessment
• An order to pass an ordinary or extended driving test
• Higher car insurance costs
• Restrictions on driving for work
• Disclosure requirements for some jobs
• Professional or regulatory consequences
• Possible difficulties entering certain countries

Not every restriction applies in every case. The outcome depends on the offence, alcohol level, previous convictions and any aggravating or mitigating factors.

How Long Will You Be Disqualified From Driving?

A first conviction for driving or attempting to drive while above the legal limit or unfit through drink normally carries a minimum driving disqualification of 12 months.

The court may impose a longer driving ban where the alcohol reading is high or the offence involves poor driving, a collision, passengers or previous driving convictions.

A DR10 endorsement usually applies where someone is convicted of driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol. A DR20 applies where someone was unfit through drink.

Where a person receives another relevant drink driving conviction within 10 years, the minimum disqualification normally increases to three years.

The position differs for being in charge of a vehicle while above the legal alcohol limit or unfit through drink. The court may impose a driving ban or penalty points, depending on the circumstances.

What Can You Not Do During a Driving Ban?

A disqualified person must not drive or attempt to drive a motor vehicle on a road or other public place.

The ban is not limited to the vehicle involved in the original offence. It also applies to a company vehicle, a borrowed car or any other motor vehicle covered by the disqualification.

Driving while banned is a separate offence. It may lead to a further driving ban, an unlimited fine, a community order or a prison sentence. Driving without valid insurance may result in an additional prosecution.

You should not assume that you can drive as soon as the disqualification period ends. You may need to apply for a new driving licence, complete a DVLA medical assessment or pass a driving test first.

Can You Reduce a Drink Driving Ban?

Some motorists disqualified for 12 months or more may be offered an approved drink-drive rehabilitation course.

The court must offer the course when imposing the sentence. A person cannot enrol independently and automatically receive a reduction.

Completing the course by the deadline set by the court can reduce the driving ban by up to one quarter. However, it does not:

• Remove the conviction
• Erase the criminal record
• Remove the driving endorsement
• Cancel a fine
• Replace a High Risk Offender medical assessment

Will Your Driving Licence Be Returned Automatically?

Your driving licence will not usually be returned automatically after a drink driving ban. You will normally need to apply for a new licence before returning to the road.

The DVLA should send an application form before the ban ends. High Risk Offenders receive the form earlier because they must complete a medical process.

Do not assume that submitting an application gives you permission to drive. You must confirm that the ban has ended and that you are legally entitled to drive.

Where the court has ordered a retest or extended driving test, you must also pass that test before receiving a full driving licence.

What Is the High Risk Offender Scheme?

The High Risk Offender Scheme applies to certain convicted drink drivers. It requires them to prove that they are medically fit before the DVLA issues a new licence.

You may be treated as a High Risk Offender if you:

• Had an alcohol reading at least two and a half times the legal limit
• Were convicted of failing to provide a breath, urine or blood sample without reasonable excuse
• Received two or more relevant drink driving disqualifications within 10 years

The medical assessment may include questions about alcohol consumption, a physical examination, blood tests and medical evidence from your GP.

The DVLA will not issue a new licence until it is satisfied that you meet the required medical standards.

Can the DVLA Refuse to Return Your Licence?

The DVLA can refuse a driving licence application where the medical evidence shows alcohol misuse, alcohol dependence or another condition that affects fitness to drive.

It may also request further blood tests, medical reports or information before reaching a decision.

The DVLA may:

• Issue a full licence
• Issue a short-term licence
• Delay the decision while seeking more evidence
• Refuse the application

A refusal does not extend the court-imposed driving ban. It means that you remain unable to drive because you do not hold a valid licence.

Will You Have to Retake Your Driving Test?

A drink driving conviction does not automatically require every motorist to retake their driving test.

However, the court may disqualify someone until they pass an ordinary or extended driving test. An extended driving test is longer and more demanding than the usual practical test.

It may be required following serious driving offences, including causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink.

A person required to take an extended driving test will usually need to obtain a provisional licence, comply with learner-driver rules and pass the theory test first.

The extended driving test and the High Risk Offender medical are separate requirements.

How Will a Drink Driving Conviction Affect Car Insurance?

Car insurance costs usually increase after a drink driving conviction. Some insurers may refuse cover, while others may impose:

• Higher premiums
• A larger excess
• Restrictions on business use
• Fewer policy options
• Additional conditions

You must answer an insurer’s questions accurately. Failing to declare a relevant driving conviction could result in the policy being cancelled or treated as invalid.

A DR10 or DR20 endorsement generally remains on the driving record for 11 years. A DR30 code for failing to provide a specimen may also remain for 11 years where the offence involved driving or attempting to drive.

The endorsement period is not necessarily the same as the period for which you must disclose the conviction to an insurer. Read the question carefully and provide the information requested.

Can You Still Get a Job With a Drink Driving Conviction?

A drink driving conviction does not automatically prevent you from working or obtaining another job.

Its effect depends on whether:

• Driving is an essential part of the role
• The conviction is spent or unspent
• The employer is entitled to ask about it
• A DBS check is required
• A professional regulator’s rules apply

A driving ban may affect professional drivers, delivery workers, engineers, carers, sales representatives and others who regularly drive for work.

An employer may consider alternative duties, but this depends on the employment contract, the role and the organisation’s procedures.

Will a Drink Driving Conviction Appear on a DBS Check?

Drink driving counts as a criminal conviction and may appear on a DBS check and a basic DBS check normally shows unspent convictions. Standard and enhanced checks may show additional information, subject to the applicable filtering rules.

A conviction becoming spent does not mean it has been deleted from the Police National Computer. It generally means that it no longer needs to be disclosed for most ordinary purposes.

The rehabilitation period depends on the sentence, not simply the offence. A driving disqualification, community order, fine or prison sentence may each have a different rehabilitation period.

For this reason, it is not accurate to say that every drink driving conviction becomes spent after five years.

Does a Drink Driving Conviction Stay With You Forever?

A conviction may remain recorded on the Police National Computer indefinitely, but that does not mean it must always be disclosed.

Three different periods may apply:

1. Driving record: DR10 and DR20 endorsements usually remain for 11 years.
2. Rehabilitation period: this determines when the conviction becomes spent.
3. Police record: the conviction may remain recorded after it becomes spent.

A spent conviction usually does not need to be declared for most jobs or insurance purposes, although exceptions apply to regulated professions, certain positions of trust and some immigration applications.

Do You Have to Declare a DR10 After Five Years?

Whether you must declare a DR10 after five years depends on who is asking, why they are asking and how the question is worded. A DR10 stays on the driving record for 11 years. It may therefore remain visible to an employer checking your licence for a driving role.

For criminal record purposes, the conviction may become spent earlier, depending on the sentence.

For insurance, you must disclose the conviction where the insurer asks about it for the relevant period and is legally entitled to request the information.

Can a Conviction Affect a Professional Licence?

Some professionals must report a drink driving conviction to their regulator.

This may affect people working in:

• Healthcare
• Law
• Education
• Policing
• Financial services
• Accountancy
• Transport
• Taxi and private-hire services

A conviction does not automatically mean that professional status will be lost. However, failing to report it within the required deadline may create a separate regulatory issue.

Can a Drink Driving Conviction Affect International Travel?

A drink driving conviction does not automatically prevent overseas travel, but some countries ask about criminal convictions when assessing visa or travel authorisation applications.

The effect may depend on:

• The offence
• The sentence
• Whether imprisonment was imposed
• Previous convictions
• How long ago the offence occurred

You must answer immigration questions accurately. A conviction becoming spent in England and Wales does not necessarily mean that it can be left out of an overseas visa application.

What Happens After Another Drink Driving Conviction?

Repeat drink driving offences generally lead to more serious consequences.

A further relevant conviction within 10 years normally carries a minimum three-year driving ban. The court may also impose:

• An unlimited fine
• A community order
• A prison sentence
• High Risk Offender status
• A longer period away from driving

Previous convictions may also increase the effect on employment, insurance and professional responsibilities.

When Drink Driving Causes Death

Driving restrictions become significantly more severe where drink driving causes death. Alongside any prison sentence, the court will impose a lengthy driving disqualification and may require the person to pass an extended driving test before regaining their licence.

Causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink can result in life imprisonment for offences committed on or after 28 June 2022, an unlimited fine and a driving ban of at least five years.

Where the court imposes an immediate prison sentence, it may extend the ban to account for time spent in custody. This prevents the disqualification from being largely served while the person is unable to drive in prison.

The court can also impose imprisonment, an unlimited fine and mandatory disqualification for driving above the legal limit, driving while unfit through drink or failing to provide a specimen without reasonable excuse. The length and effect of the ban will depend on the offence, alcohol reading, standard of driving and any previous convictions.

How Can a Solicitor Help After a Drink Driving Charge?

JMW's motoring offence solicitors mount a strong defence by examining:

• Whether the prosecution can prove that you were driving, attempting to drive or in charge
• Whether the police followed the correct breath-testing procedure
• Whether the breath, blood or urine evidence is reliable
• Whether a medical condition affected your ability to provide a specimen
• Whether you had a reasonable excuse
• Whether special reasons may affect disqualification
• Whether the proposed sentence properly reflects the circumstances

Where a full defence is not available, our motoring offence solicitors present focused mitigation and advise on the effect of any conviction, driving ban or licence restriction.