Florida sets a 0.04 alcohol limit for commercial drivers, half the 0.08 limit for other adult drivers. For a CDL holder, a DUI conviction disqualifies the commercial license for at least 1 year, even if the arrest happened in a personal vehicle.
A lower limit for commercial drivers
Florida's alcohol limit for commercial drivers is 0.04, compared with 0.08 for drivers 21 and older generally. The lower number reflects the size of the vehicles involved and the responsibility that comes with operating them.
The number is only one route to a charge. Impairment of normal faculties by alcohol or a chemical or controlled substance is a separate basis for DUI, regardless of the reading, so a commercial driver can face a DUI case without any breath result at all.
How CDL disqualification works after a conviction
The career consequences come mainly from disqualification of the commercial license. A DUI conviction disqualifies a CDL for 1 year. If the driver was transporting hazardous materials, the period is 3 years. A second DUI conviction leads to lifetime disqualification.
These rules reach beyond the commercial vehicle. A DUI conviction disqualifies the CDL even when the arrest happened in the driver's own car on a day off.
Disqualification alongside the ordinary DUI penalties
Disqualification sits alongside the regular DUI consequences rather than replacing them. A first conviction still carries the standard license revocation of 180 days to 1 year, the fine range, DUI school and the other first offense penalties.
The administrative suspension that begins at arrest, with its 10 day window to request a formal review hearing, applies to CDL holders as well. A hardship license may be available during some suspensions, depending on the suspension type and the driver's record, but its limits are worth understanding before relying on it for work.
Career questions that come with a CDL case
For many commercial drivers, the license is the job. Employers and carriers may have their own policies about drivers with a pending DUI or a conviction, and those policies vary. Questions about employment terms or company policy belong with the employer or an employment lawyer.
Within the DUI case itself, the defense review covers the same ground as any other case, including the stop, the testing and the video, with the knowledge that a conviction carries disqualification. Depending on the evidence, a case may in some situations be resolved as a lesser charge, which is never automatic. DUI Lawyers Shield Firm can review a commercial driver's case in a free case review.
Keep reading
- Underage DUI in Florida: The 0.02 Zero Tolerance Rule
- Boating Under the Influence in Florida: What BUI Arrests Look Like
- Florida Field Sobriety Tests: What They Are and How They Fail
General information only, not legal advice. Every case depends on its own facts, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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