Pima County DUI Guide

Arizona logs roughly 35,000 DUI arrests a year statewide, about 480 for every 100,000 residents. That's one of the highest enforcement rates in the country. Pima County, the state's second most populous county at just over a million people, absorbs a large share of that volume across three arresting agencies: the Pima County Sheriff's Department, Tucson Police Department, and Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers working I-10 and I-19. What happens in the hours and weeks after an arrest here follows a specific sequence that's well documented.

Booking and the First 24 Hours

Anyone arrested on suspicion of DUI in Pima County is transported to the Pima County Adult Detention Complex (PCADC) at 1270 W. Silverlake Road. Booking includes fingerprinting, a mugshot, a medical screening, and a warrant check. Arizona operates under implied consent (A.R.S. § 28-1321): anyone driving in the state has already agreed to a breath, blood, or urine test if an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect impairment. Refusing that test triggers an automatic license suspension of 12 months for a first refusal, 24 months for a second, regardless of what happens with the criminal case. Deputies in Pima County routinely obtain a telephonic search warrant from a magistrate on call to draw blood by force when a driver refuses.

Because DUI defendants have to sober up before a judge will consider release, jail staff apply what's informally known as an eight-hour hold. In practice, someone arrested late Friday night may not see a magistrate until the Saturday morning docket, and if they miss that cutoff, they wait for the evening session. Total detention time for what would otherwise be a routine first offense often runs 12 to 24 hours.

Getting Out: Initial Appearance and Bail

Arizona's Rule 4.1 requires that an arrested person be brought before a magistrate "without unnecessary delay," interpreted as within 24 hours. Pima County meets that requirement with video court held twice a day. The defendant stays at the jail and appears by video link, with sessions at 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., 365 days a year. A Pretrial Services officer interviews the defendant beforehand on residency, employment, and criminal history, and the judge uses that report to choose among release on your own recognizance, release with pretrial supervision (check-ins, drug testing, sometimes a SCRAM device), or a secured cash or surety bond.

If a bond is set, you can post the full cash amount yourself (refundable at case resolution) or use a licensed bail bondsman, who typically charges a 10% premium that is not refundable and may require collateral. This site's directory lists bonding companies serving Pima County.

One detail that trips up a lot of families: the jail's release blackout. Releases only happen between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. If you're granted release at the 7:00 p.m. docket, the paperwork alone can take several hours. When it isn't finished before 10:00 p.m., the person stays locked up until 8:00 a.m. the next morning, even with bond already posted. Visitation also requires booking a slot at least a day ahead through the jail's online system; you can no longer just walk in the same day.

Getting Your Car Back

If your vehicle was impounded, Pima County runs what the Sheriff's Department calls a two-stop process. You first go to the Sheriff's Vehicle Impound Unit (VIU) at 1650 E. Benson Highway, Suite B, open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., to get administrative clearance and pay a $150 fee mandated under A.R.S. § 28-3511. Only after that can you go to the contracted tow yard to pay their fees and pick up the car. Most impounds around Tucson go to Gary's Towing at 5131 E. Drexel Rd.; impounds out of the Ajo district go to Del-Sur Towing on N. AZ Hwy 85. Daily storage is capped by A.R.S. § 28-3512 at $25, on top of a base tow fee plus a per-mile charge from the scene to the lot.

Extreme or Aggravated DUI, driving on a suspended license, and underage drinking and driving all trigger a mandatory impoundment of 30 days, though the statute carves out a few exceptions that let the car go early. A spouse with a valid license can retrieve the car under an agreement not to let the arrested driver operate it for a year; rental companies and stolen vehicles are exempt outright. If you want to contest the impound itself, you have to move fast: A.R.S. § 28-3514 gives you only 10 days from the impound notice to request a hearing, first through the Sheriff's Department and, if that doesn't resolve it, through the local Justice Court. The VIU takes credit cards, cashier's checks, and money orders. It does not take cash or personal checks.

Which Court Hears the Case

Where your case lands depends on who arrested you and how serious the charge is. Standard and Extreme misdemeanor DUIs go to the Pima County Consolidated Justice Court (PCCJC) at 240 N. Stone Ave. if the arrest came from the Sheriff's Department or DPS, or to the Tucson City Court at 103 E. Alameda St. if Tucson PD made the stop. Felony Aggravated DUI goes to the Superior Court of Arizona in Pima County at 110 W. Congress St., which also hears appeals from the lower courts. Outside the Tucson metro area, the Green Valley Justice Court and the Ajo Justice Court handle cases from their own districts. Ajo alone covers more than 100 miles of sparsely populated western county, which creates real logistical strain for prisoner transport and hearings.

Pima County judges have less discretion than you might expect once a conviction is entered. Arizona's mandatory minimums do most of the sentencing work, so plea negotiations between your attorney and the prosecutor tend to matter more than the sentencing hearing itself. The county also runs diversion programs for defendants who complete them: the Green Valley DUI Treatment Court targets repeat offenders and those with a high BAC, with intensive supervision and testing, and Tucson City Court's Mental Health Diversion program can lead to dismissal after roughly six months of compliance for eligible defendants with a qualifying mental health or substance use diagnosis.

Jail Time and Penalties

Under A.R.S. § 28-1381, a driver's first Standard DUI (BAC 0.08-0.149, or impairment to the slightest degree at a lower BAC) carries a minimum 10 days in jail. Courts routinely suspend 9 of those days if the defendant completes an alcohol screening, leaving one day actually served. An Extreme DUI (BAC 0.15-0.199) carries a minimum of 30 days with 21 typically suspended; a Super Extreme DUI (0.20 and above) carries 45 days with 31 suspended. All three come with a license suspension lasting 90 days and fines that commonly run into the thousands of dollars once surcharges are added.

Arizona uses an 84-month lookback: a second DUI within seven years of the first jumps the penalties sharply, and a third pushes the case into felony territory in Superior Court, with the possibility of prison time through the Arizona Department of Corrections. Aggravating factors that can turn a misdemeanor into a felony Aggravated DUI include driving on a suspended license, having a passenger under 15 in the car, or that third offense within the lookback window.

The License Suspension Clock

A DUI arrest triggers an administrative license action separate from the criminal case, under A.R.S. § 28-1385. You generally have 30 days from the date the officer serves the Admin Per Se affidavit to request a hearing with the Arizona Department of Transportation's Executive Hearing Office; miss that window and the suspension takes effect automatically. Requesting the hearing on time keeps the suspension on hold until an administrative law judge rules.

For Pima County residents, there's a real trap here. Hearings are physically held at 400 W. Congress St. in downtown Tucson, but the Executive Hearing Office does not accept filings at that address. There's no drop box, no counter, no mail delivery to Tucson. The request has to go to the Phoenix office, by mail, fax, or the online portal, and dropping paperwork off at the Tucson hearing room can mean it never gets filed. Most hearings, once scheduled, happen virtually by video or phone; a hearing held in person has to be requested from the administrative law judge at least 7 days ahead.

A 2023 change under Senate Bill 1334 removed the "hard suspension" drivers used to have to sit through before qualifying for a restricted license. If you waive the hearing or lose it, you can move straight from your temporary permit, valid for 30 days, into a Special Ignition Interlock Restricted Driver License (SIIRDL), provided you install a certified interlock device within 90 days of the SIIRDL being issued. Getting one also requires filing SR22 proof of financial responsibility with ADOT and completing an alcohol screening approved by the state. The SIIRDL itself has no fixed schedule or paper logbook requirement; the interlock's electronic record of every start is the compliance record.

Interlock and Alcohol Monitoring

Where a court orders an ignition interlock or continuous alcohol monitoring, Pima County has a primary authorized monitoring provider along with a secondary local provider. The defendant covers the cost: a roughly $65 intake fee that isn't refunded, a court surcharge around $150 plus a $24 state fee, and a daily monitoring rate of $10-$15 that a court can reduce on a sliding scale for indigent defendants who show a genuine effort to pay. Falling behind on fees, or drinking while wearing a SCRAM bracelet, can count as a violation of release conditions, up to a new arrest warrant.