DWI and DWAI in Central New York

The charges, and what separates them

New York does not have one drink-driving offense. It has a ladder, and where you land on it is decided mostly by a number, but not entirely, because the statute also allows a charge on the officer’s observations alone.

The line that matters most to most people is the first one. DWAI by alcohol is a traffic infraction. It is not a crime. DWI is a misdemeanor and leaves you with a criminal record. Everything else on this page follows from which side of that line a case ends up on.

When each one applies

• DWAI — Alcohol — BAC more than .05 and not more than .07, or other evidence that your ability was impaired.
• DWI — BAC of .08 or higher, or other evidence of intoxication. For a commercial driver the line is .04.
• Aggravated DWI — BAC of .18 or higher.
• Aggravated DWI, child in the vehicle — Driving while intoxicated with a passenger 15 years old or younger. There is no BAC threshold and no prior conviction required, the child in the car is what makes it a felony.
• DWAI — Drugs, or a combination — Ability impaired by a drug other than alcohol, or by drugs and alcohol together. A validly prescribed medication is not a defense to the charge itself.
• Zero Tolerance — A driver under 21 with a BAC of .02 to .07. It is handled at a DMV hearing rather than in court.

Leandra’s Law: a child in the car makes it a felony

This is the provision most people do not know about until it applies to them. Under VTL § 1192(2-a)(b), driving while intoxicated with a passenger 15 years old or younger is a class E felony on a first offense. No prior conviction is needed and there is no BAC threshold, the child in the vehicle is the aggravating fact.

It reaches ordinary situations: a parent driving home from a family dinner, a grandparent collecting a child, someone giving a teenager a lift. The same arrest without the passenger would be a misdemeanor.

Second and third offenses

Prior convictions inside the lookback period change the charge itself, not just the sentence. A second DWI within ten years is a felony.

Beyond that the DMV applies its own rules on top of the court’s. Three or more alcohol- or drug-related convictions or refusals within ten years can bring a permanent revocation, with a waiver request permitted only after at least five years. A prior Aggravated DWI within ten years raises the minimum revocation on a later conviction to eighteen months. And three or more of the listed offenses within fifteen years is itself a class D felony.

Refusing the chemical test

People assume refusing protects them. It creates a second proceeding instead.

• $500 civil penalty and revocation for at least one year, $550 and eighteen months for a commercial driver.
• A refusal within five years of an earlier DWI-related charge or refusal: $750 and at least eighteen months. For a commercial driver, permanent CDL revocation.
• Under 21 on the Zero Tolerance track: $300 civil penalty plus a $100 re-application fee, and revocation for at least a year.

The refusal is also admissible against you at trial, and the case can proceed without a reading at all. So a refusal does not remove the evidence. It adds a separate DMV revocation to the criminal charge you were already facing.

The ignition interlock

Since Leandra’s Law, a court sentencing anyone for DWI must impose probation or a conditional discharge, and must require an ignition interlock on any vehicle that person owns or operates. The restriction is added to the license record even while the license is revoked, and it prints on the back of the document.

The DMV describes the minimum period as twelve months for a sentencing court, and the court can vary it. The exact term in a given case is set at sentencing and is one of the things worth negotiating rather than accepting.

What it actually costs

The fine is the number people focus on and it is rarely the biggest one:

1. The fine, mandatory, within the range in the tables above.
2. Surcharges and fees — $395 on an alcohol-related misdemeanor, $520 on a felony, plus $5 if the conviction is in a town or village justice court, which most of ours are.
3. The Driver Responsibility Assessment — $250 a year for three years, $750, billed by the DMV separately from the court. It applies to a refusal as well as a conviction.
4. Eleven points since February 16, 2026, on its own the suspension threshold. See points and insurance.
5. The interlock, installed and monitored at your expense.
6. Insurance, for years, and it is usually the largest of all.

Where these cases are heard

A DWI arrest in Onondaga or Cortland County is arraigned in the town or village justice court for the place you were stopped, or in Syracuse or Cortland City Court inside those city lines. Felony charges move to County Court. Every court in both counties is listed with an address and a phone number on our Onondaga County and Cortland County pages.

Questions people ask

Is DWAI the same as DWI?

No, and the difference is the single most important one on this page. DWAI by alcohol under VTL 1192(1) is a traffic infraction, not a crime, and not a criminal record. DWI under 1192(2) or (3) is a misdemeanor. Both carry fines and a license consequence; only one leaves you with a conviction.

What happens if I refuse the breath test?

Refusing a chemical test carries its own penalty separate from the criminal case: a $500 civil penalty and revocation for at least one year, imposed by the DMV at its own hearing. Refusing within five years of a prior DWI charge or refusal raises it to $750 and at least 18 months.

Does a refusal mean the case goes away?

No. The refusal itself is admissible against you at trial, and the prosecution can proceed on the officer’s observations, field testing and any video. You end up facing both the criminal charge and a separate DMV revocation, which is why the refusal hearing matters as much as the court date.

Will I have to put an interlock in my car?

For any DWI conviction, yes. Since Leandra’s Law, a court sentencing someone for DWI must impose probation or a conditional discharge with an ignition interlock on any vehicle the person owns or operates, and the restriction goes on the license record even while it is revoked.

How much does a DWI cost beyond the fine?

The fine is rarely the largest number. A misdemeanor conviction adds $395 in mandatory surcharges and fees, a felony $520, plus $5 in a town or village court. The DMV then bills a Driver Responsibility Assessment of $250 a year for three years, $750, separately from anything the court ordered.

Does a DWI put points on my license?

Eleven, as of February 16, 2026. Before that date an alcohol- or drug-related conviction carried none. Eleven is the suspension threshold on its own, so the conviction now brings a point consequence on top of the revocation the court and the DMV impose.

What if the arrest was out of state?

New York revokes your privilege to drive here for at least 90 days for an out-of-state alcohol conviction, and at least a year if you were under 21. It works the other way too, a New York conviction is reported, and what your home state does with it is governed by that state’s law.

Can a DWI be reduced to DWAI?

It is the ordinary favorable outcome in a first-offense case and it is worth understanding why it matters: it is the difference between a criminal conviction and a traffic infraction. Whether it is available depends on the evidence, the BAC, the county and the prosecutor, and nobody can promise it in advance.

Related

Sources

NY VTL § 1192 — Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs ·NYS DMV — Penalties for Alcohol or Drug-Related Violations ·NYS DMV — Leandra’s Law & Ignition Interlock Devices ·NYS DMV — Driver Responsibility Assessment
Charge levels, fines, jail maximums and revocation periods verified against these pages on August 23, 2026. This page describes what the statute and the DMV provide. It is not advice about your own case: the charge, the available defenses and the outcome in any particular matter depend on facts this page cannot know.