--- title: "Third DUI in 10 Years in California: Felony or Misdemeanor After January 1, 2027?" description: "Starting Jan. 1, 2027, AB 1546 lets prosecutors charge a third DUI within 10 years as a felony. Here is how the 10-year count works, who decides between felony and misdemeanor, why a felony label follows you into the next case, and why an arrest before 2027 is still judged under the old rules." url: "https://www.thehfirm.com/blog/third-dui-felony-california-2027" site: "H Law Group" published: "2026-11-08T17:00:00.000Z" --- # Third DUI in 10 Years in California: Felony or Misdemeanor After January 1, 2027? Starting Jan. 1, 2027, AB 1546 lets prosecutors charge a third DUI within 10 years as a felony. Here is how the 10-year count works, who decides between felony and misdemeanor, why a felony label follows you into the next case, and why an arrest before 2027 is still judged under the old rules. Category: DUI Law Author: Nima Haddadi -- California DUI and criminal defense lawyer Until the end of 2026, a third DUI in California with no injury is a misdemeanor. The jail exposure is serious, 120 days to one year in county jail, but the conviction is not a felony. That changes for offenses committed on or after Jan. 1, 2027. [AB 1546](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1546), which Gov. Newsom signed on Sept. 25, 2026 (Chapter 444, Statutes of 2026), turns a third DUI within 10 years into a "wobbler." Prosecutors can file it as a misdemeanor or as a felony. It also makes a fifth DUI within 10 years a felony in every case. This post explains how that works in practice and what the felony option changes beyond the sentence itself. ## What AB 1546 changes The bill rewrites Vehicle Code 23546 (third offense) and 23550 (fourth and later). Here is the before and after for a DUI with no injury: | DUI within 10 years | Offense before Jan. 1, 2027 | Offense on or after Jan. 1, 2027 | | --- | --- | --- | | Third (two priors) | Misdemeanor: 120 days to 1 year county jail | Wobbler: misdemeanor (120 days to 1 year) or felony (16 months, 2 or 3 years under PC 1170(h)) | | Fourth (three priors) | Wobbler | Still a wobbler; misdemeanor range is 180 days to 1 year | | Fifth or later (four or more priors) | Wobbler | Felony only, under PC 1170(h) | Fines stay at $390 to $1,000 plus penalty assessments. A third offense still means a person is designated a habitual traffic offender for three years after the conviction, which is written into the amended 23546(b). Our [DUI penalties page](/dui/penalties) and [felony DUI guide](/dui/felony-dui) cover the rest of the sentencing picture, and our explainer on [the new California DUI laws for 2027](/new-california-dui-laws-2027) covers the other three bills signed the same day. ## How the 10-year lookback is counted The statute counts from offense date to offense date. The question is whether the new offense "occurred within 10 years" of the earlier violations that ended in convictions. A few points trip people up: - A wet reckless counts. A conviction under Vehicle Code 23103.5, the usual plea-bargained reduction from a DUI, counts as a prior just like a DUI conviction. - A DUI causing injury under [Vehicle Code 23153](/penal-codes/vehicle-code-23153-vc-dui-causing-injury) counts as a prior too. - Out-of-state convictions can count. Vehicle Code 23626 treats a conviction from another state as a prior if the conduct would have been a DUI in California. - An arrest that never led to a conviction does not count, and neither does a DMV suspension on its own. Getting the dates exactly right matters. A prior that is 10 years and two weeks old drops out of the count, and that can be the difference between a third-offense wobbler and a second-offense misdemeanor. Our [second offense DUI page](/dui/second-offense) explains how that lower tier works. ## Who decides: felony or misdemeanor? With a wobbler, the first decision belongs to the prosecutor, who chooses how to file the complaint. AB 1546 gives no list of factors, so in practice charging decisions tend to turn on the facts of the arrest and the person's history: how high the blood alcohol reading was, whether there was a crash, whether a child was in the car, how recent the priors are, and whether the person completed probation on the earlier cases. The prosecutor's choice is not the last word. Under Penal Code 17(b), a judge can reduce a wobbler that was charged or convicted as a felony to a misdemeanor, at sentencing or later after probation. A felony filing can also be negotiated down to a misdemeanor plea. We cover the mechanics in our post on [reducing a felony DUI to a misdemeanor](/blog/reducing-felony-dui-to-misdemeanor-california). None of these outcomes is automatic. Each depends on the case. ## Why the felony label follows you into the next case Felony time under Penal Code 1170(h) is usually served in county jail rather than state prison, so the sentence can look similar either way. The bigger difference is what a felony conviction does to the future. Vehicle Code 23550.5 makes any later DUI within 10 years of a prior felony DUI a wobbler with possible state prison time. AB 1546 adds felony third-offense DUIs under 23546 to that list. Picture someone with DUIs in 2018 and 2020 who picks up a third in 2027 that is filed and sentenced as a felony. If that person is arrested again in 2035, the 2018 and 2020 convictions are outside the 10-year window. Without the felony, the 2035 case would be treated as a second offense. Because the 2027 case was a felony, the 2035 case can be charged as a felony with state prison exposure. A felony conviction also carries consequences outside the DUI system, including a lifetime ban on owning firearms under Penal Code 29800, possible immigration consequences for noncitizens, and problems with professional licenses. See our pages on [DUI and professional licenses](/dui/professional-license) and [DUI and immigration](/dui/dui-immigration). One smaller change: the extra jail time for having a child under 14 in the car (Vehicle Code 23572) now refers to third and fourth offenses "punished as a misdemeanor," so its 30-day and 90-day add-ons apply on the misdemeanor track. ## If your arrest was before January 1, 2027 AB 1546 increases punishment, and both the U.S. and California constitutions bar applying a harsher penalty to conduct that happened before the law changed. A third DUI committed in December 2026 is sentenced under the current misdemeanor rules even if the case is still open in 2027. The date that matters is the date of the offense, not the date of arrest paperwork, filing or sentencing. ## The DMV side of a third DUI None of this changes the DMV process. A third-offense DUI conviction still leads to a three-year license revocation under [Vehicle Code 13352](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=13352), and the [10-day deadline to request a DMV hearing](/dui/dmv-hearings) after the arrest still applies. A restricted license during the revocation usually requires an [ignition interlock device](/dui/ignition-interlock). Our [license suspension guide](/dui/license-suspension) covers the timelines. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is a third DUI a felony in California? For an offense committed on or after Jan. 1, 2027, a third DUI within 10 years can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor under AB 1546. For an offense before that date, a third DUI with no injury is a misdemeanor. ### Does a wet reckless count as a prior DUI? Yes. A wet reckless conviction under Vehicle Code 23103.5 counts toward the 10-year lookback for a later DUI, the same way a DUI conviction does. ### How is the 10-year period for DUI priors counted? From the date of each earlier offense to the date of the new offense. Only priors that ended in convictions count, and out-of-state convictions can count if the conduct would have been a DUI in California. ### Can a felony third DUI be reduced to a misdemeanor? It can be. Because it is a wobbler, the prosecutor can file it as a misdemeanor, the case can be negotiated to a misdemeanor plea, or a judge can reduce it under Penal Code 17(b). Whether that happens depends on the facts of the case. ### Does a felony third DUI mean state prison? Usually not. The felony sentence of 16 months, two years or three years is served under Penal Code 1170(h), which generally means county jail. A later DUI within 10 years of a felony DUI, though, can carry state prison under Vehicle Code 23550.5. ## Sources - [AB 1546 (Schultz), Chapter 444, Statutes of 2026: bill text](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1546), California Legislative Information - [Vehicle Code section 23546](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=23546), California Legislative Information - [Vehicle Code section 23550.5](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=23550.5), California Legislative Information - [Vehicle Code section 23626 (out-of-state priors)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=23626), California Legislative Information - [Vehicle Code section 13352 (suspension and revocation periods)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=13352), California Legislative Information - [Penal Code section 17 (wobbler reductions)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=17), California Legislative Information - [Governor Newsom signs Braun's Law and package of bills to crack down on DUI offenders](https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/25/governor-newsom-signs-brauns-law-and-package-of-bills-to-crack-down-on-dui-offenders/), Office of the Governor, Sept. 25, 2026 ## About Nima Haddadi Nima Haddadi is a leading California DUI and criminal defense attorney with deep expertise in handling complex cases. Known for strategic defense and courtroom strength, he is a trusted choice for clients facing DUI, felony, and misdemeanor charges. --- ## Contact H Law Group - Phone: (888) 499-4948 (phones answered 24/7) - Email: info@thehlawgroup.com - Free consultation: https://www.thehfirm.com/free-consultation - Contact form: https://www.thehfirm.com/contact-us ### Offices - Los Angeles Branch: 714 W Olympic Blvd, Suite 803, Los Angeles, CA 90015 -- (213) 463-5888 - San Diego Branch: 600 W Broadway, Suite 700, San Diego, CA 92101 -- (619) 257-6655 - San Jose Branch: 333 W San Carlos St, San Jose, CA 95110 -- (408) 547-9982 - Orange County Branch: 2030 Main St, Suite 1300, Irvine, CA 92614 -- (949) 356-9818 - Riverside County Branch: 41593 Winchester Rd, Suite 200, Temecula, CA 92590 -- (951) 327-7161 - Santa Barbara Branch: 1117 State St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 -- (888) 499-4948 ### Disclaimer This website provides general legal information only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. 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