Chapter 3 of 13 · Drink and drug driving · 2 of 8
Drink driving disqualification periods in Ireland: the section 65 table
Checked 15 Oct 2026the Road Traffic Acts, the Criminal Justice Acts and the District Court Rules as amended.
The Road Traffic Act 2010 fixes a minimum drink driving ban by reading: 6 months to 3 years for a first offence, 1 to 6 years for a second, 4 years for incapable of control. When it starts.
Written for the person who has to go to court. This guide covers the District Court of the Republic of Ireland.
A drink driving conviction in Ireland carries a disqualification the court cannot waive. The Road Traffic Act 2010, section 65, fixes a minimum period for each band of reading and a longer one for a second offence. This guide sets out the table, explains the incapable-of-control and refusal cases, says when the disqualification starts, and covers the appeal to the Circuit Court.
The table
The minimums below apply on conviction in the District Court. The reading is the blood figure; breath and urine readings convert to it, as the limits guide explains.
| Reading or offence | First offence | Second or later offence |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 80 mg | 6 months | 1 year |
| 80 to 100 mg | 1 year | 2 years |
| 100 to 150 mg | 2 years | 4 years |
| Over 150 mg | 3 years | 6 years |
| Incapable of proper control, s.4(1) | 4 years | 6 years |
| Refusing or failing to provide a specimen | 4 years | 6 years |
The refusal figures are the ones given in the Citizens Information account of the Act and are flagged on this site for verification against the current text. A fine of up to €5,000 and/or up to six months in custody can accompany any of these, and a conviction is a criminal record.
For the lowest bands, a first offence usually never reaches the table: the fixed penalty notice carries three months (up to 80 mg) or six months (80 to 100 mg), as the first offence guide explains.
Minimum means minimum
The word that matters in section 65 is minimum. The court cannot disqualify for less than the period in the table, whatever the circumstances. Hardship, a job that depends on driving, a clean record and a guilty plea all bear on the fine, on whether the court goes above the minimum and on whether it imposes custody. They do not bear on the floor.
The court can go above the minimum. It does so most often where the reading is high within the band, where there was a collision, where the driving was bad, or where there is a record.
First or second: the look-back
The longer period applies to a second or later offence under the section. The Act looks back over your record for this purpose: the figures on this site use a ten-year window, and the three-year and ten-year look-backs in the Act are something a solicitor checks by hand against your own record. If you have any previous drink driving conviction, tell your solicitor the date and the section before the first appearance, because it changes which column you are in.
A fixed penalty notice paid in time is not a conviction and does not put you in the second column. It does bar a further notice for three years, so a second reading within that window goes to court even if it is in a notice band.
Incapable of proper control
Section 4(1) of the 2010 Act is the offence of driving while under the influence of an intoxicant to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the vehicle. It needs no reading. The Garda's observations of the driving, your speech, your balance and your condition ground it, and it is the charge used where a specimen could not be taken or where the driving itself was the problem. The minimum is four years for a first offence and six for a second, the longest in the table alongside refusal.
Refusal
Refusing or failing to provide a specimen at the station is its own offence under the 2010 Act. It carries the same four and six year minimums as incapable of control, plus the same maximum fine and custody. A refusal does not stop a prosecution for the driving itself: the Garda can still charge under section 4(1) on observation evidence. The refusal guide explains the offence and what the court looks at.
Drug driving periods
The Road Traffic Act 2016 fixed its own periods for the specified drugs: one year for a first offence of driving with cannabis, cocaine or heroin above the limit, two years for a repeat, and four years for driving while impaired by any drug. The drug driving guide covers them.
The ancillary disqualification and penalty points
Drink driving does not carry penalty points; the disqualification takes their place. Where other offences are dealt with on the same occasion, the Road Traffic Act 2024's provision commenced on 31 March 2025 means the points for those offences are endorsed on your licence record even where the court also imposes an ancillary disqualification of up to six months. Before that date, points were not endorsed where a disqualification was imposed at the same time. The points stay on your record for three years from endorsement and count towards the twelve-point threshold (seven for learners and novices). Anything coming in 2026 on this is tracked on the changes page.
When the disqualification starts
A District Court disqualification takes effect from the fifteenth day after the order. The fourteen days in between are the window to appeal.
If you appeal within the fourteen days, by lodging Form 101.2 with a statutory declaration of service with the District Court clerk and entering the recognisance the judge fixes, the order is stayed. You can drive until the Circuit Court decides. If you do not appeal, you stop driving on day 15, and the court sends the order to the NDLS (see the glossary). The court date tool turns the order date into both dates.
A fixed penalty notice disqualification starts on the date the notice states, which the Garda sets when you pay.
Driving while disqualified is an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1961 carrying a fine of up to €5,000 and/or up to six months, with a further disqualification. Courts treat it seriously, and it is one of the commoner reasons a drink driving matter ends in custody.
The Circuit Court on appeal
An appeal to the Circuit Court is a full rehearing. The Circuit judge hears the evidence again and can affirm, vary or reverse the order. The sentence can go down. It can also go up: the Circuit Court is bound by the same minimums and the same maximums as the District Court, and a judge who hears a worse case than the District Court heard can impose more. Its decision is final.
In 2025, 12,448 offences were appealed from the District Court to the Circuit Court, 6,566 of them road traffic. Of the orders made, 4,383 were varied, 2,209 affirmed, 2,191 reversed, 2,569 withdrawn and 2,554 struck out because the appellant did not appear. An appeal lodged to buy time and then abandoned ends with the original order taking effect. The appeal guide and the guide to staying a disqualification pending appeal cover the procedure.
Early removal
Where a disqualification is two years or more, the Road Traffic Acts allow an application to the court that made the order to remove it early once half of it has run. The court can refuse. The figures on this site for this application carry a note to verify the detail against the current Act; the court office will tell you whether your order qualifies and what to lodge. The licence back guide covers it alongside the NDLS application.
The 2025 picture
The District Court made 3,663 disqualifications on drink and drug driving charges in 2025, out of 9,784 orders. The table above explains why so many: on a conviction the disqualification is not a choice.
Where this leaves you
The drink and drug driving checker takes your reading, licence type and history and shows the minimum the Act fixes, the fine and custody the court can impose, and whether a notice applies instead. If an order has already been made, the court date tool gives you day 14 and day 15.
If you may qualify for legal aid, ask the judge for it at your first appearance. A solicitor can tell you which column you are in and what the court in your district does above the minimum, and the support page lists services if the ban has hit your work or your family.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a drink driving ban in Ireland?
For a first offence in court the Act fixes a minimum of six months up to 80 mg, one year from 80 to 100 mg, two years from 100 to 150 mg and three years over 150 mg. A fixed penalty notice in the lowest bands carries three or six months. The court can impose more than the minimum, never less.
How long is a ban for a second drink driving offence?
The Act doubles the minimum for a second or later offence: one year up to 80 mg, two years from 80 to 100 mg, four years from 100 to 150 mg, six years over 150 mg, and six years for incapable of control or refusing a specimen. A second offence is not eligible for a fixed penalty notice where a notice was issued in the previous three years.
When does a drink driving ban start?
A disqualification ordered by the District Court takes effect from the fifteenth day after the order unless you lodge an appeal within 14 days and enter the recognisance the judge fixes, which stays it until the Circuit Court decides. A fixed penalty notice disqualification starts on the date the notice specifies.
Can a drink driving ban be reduced?
Not below the minimum in the Act: the District Court has no power to go under it. On appeal the Circuit Court rehears the case and can vary the order up or down within the same limits. Where a disqualification is two years or more, an application to remove it early can be made after half of it has run.
Do you get penalty points for drink driving?
Drink driving is not a penalty point offence; it carries a disqualification instead. Since 31 March 2025 the Road Traffic Act 2024 means penalty points for other offences dealt with at the same time are endorsed even where a disqualification of up to six months is imposed alongside them.