Can I get a bread-and-butter license after a DUI in Pennsylvania?

No. Since August 2017, PennDOT cannot issue an occupational limited license for a suspension based on a DUI or a chemical test refusal. The usual option is an ignition interlock limited license, which lets you drive vehicles equipped with an interlock device during the suspension.

When can I apply for an ignition interlock limited license?

It depends on the suspension. A first offense at the high or highest tier, or a first drug DUI, can apply as soon as the suspension notice arrives. Repeat offenses with a 12-month suspension require 6 months served first, and 18-month suspensions require 9 months. Refusal suspensions follow the same 6- and 9-month timing.

How long do I have to keep the ignition interlock?

For most people it is at least one year, and the period does not end until the vendor certifies a clean record for the final stretch. Time spent driving on an ignition interlock limited license counts toward that period.

Do I need an interlock after a first DUI?

Not always. A first offense at the lowest tier with no prior offense usually carries no suspension and no interlock requirement. A first offense at the high or highest tier, a drug DUI or a refusal generally does require one before full driving privileges return.

What is changing in 2027?

Act 36 of 2026 replaces the ignition interlock limited license with a new ignition interlock driver's license under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3805.1. Most of the changes take effect in November 2027, 16 months after the law was signed. Until then, the current rules apply.

PA Ignition Interlock & DUI Work License

The bread-and-butter license, and why it usually doesn't apply

Pennsylvania's occupational limited license, or OLL, lets some suspended drivers drive to work, school and medical treatment. It is what people mean by a bread-and-butter license. But under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1553(a), PennDOT cannot issue an OLL for a suspension based on a DUI under § 3802 or a chemical test refusal under § 1547. That has been the law since Act 33 of 2016 took effect in August 2017.

An OLL can still matter if your license is also suspended for a reason that has nothing to do with DUI, such as points. If you have more than one suspension, the rules for each one can be different, so it's worth sorting them out early.

The ignition interlock limited license (IILL)

Today, the main way to drive during a DUI or refusal suspension is the ignition interlock limited license under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1556. It lets you drive only vehicles equipped with an approved interlock device during all or part of the suspension. Time spent on an IILL counts toward the interlock period you would otherwise have to serve when your license is restored.

A note if you look up § 1556 on the legislature's website: it already shows the section as repealed. That is because the repeal has been signed into law, but it does not take effect until November 2027. Until then, PennDOT continues to issue the IILL.

When you can apply

Under § 1556 and PennDOT’s IILL rules, the timing depends on the reason for the suspension:

A first offense at the high tier (0.10% to under 0.16%), the highest tier (0.16% or higher) or a first drug DUI: as soon as you receive the suspension notice.
A repeat offense with a 12-month suspension: after serving 6 months.
An offense with an 18-month suspension, such as a second offense at the highest tier or a third offense at the high tier: after serving 9 months.
A chemical test refusal: after serving 6 months of a 12-month suspension, or 9 months of an 18-month suspension.
An ARD suspension: eligible, but not required, for the length of the suspension.

A first-offense general impairment DUI with no prior offense usually carries no license suspension at all under § 3804(e). Our first offense DUI page explains the tiers.

How to apply

You apply to PennDOT by certified mail using the IILL petition (form DL-9108). You need proof that an approved interlock is installed in each vehicle you will drive, proof of insurance for those vehicles and the required fees, and you surrender your current license. For a refusal suspension, half of the refusal restoration fee is due with the petition. PennDOT's IILL page and fact sheet list the current forms and fees.

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Ignition interlock when your license is restored

Separately from the IILL, § 3805 requires most people with a DUI or refusal suspension to drive with an interlock for at least a year before PennDOT returns an unrestricted license. The exceptions are narrow. They mainly cover a first offense at the lowest tier and an ARD suspension, and only for someone with no prior offense who has not completed ARD in the past 10 years. Act 36 of 2026 adjusts these exceptions when it takes effect.

To finish the interlock period, your vendor must send PennDOT a declaration of compliance showing no violations during the final stretch of the period, which is two months for most drivers and 30 days for an ARD suspension. Violations include a start attempt at 0.08% or higher that isn't followed by a lower test within 10 minutes, a missed or failed retest, and a missed service appointment that leaves the device not working as required.

You lease the device from an approved vendor. PennDOT's fact sheet estimates the average cost at roughly $900 to $1,300 a year.

Driving an employer's vehicle

If your job requires you to drive a vehicle your employer owns, the law has a limited employment exemption. Your employer has to be notified and sign a notarized PennDOT form, and you must carry it while driving that vehicle. It does not apply if the vehicle is available for personal use, if you own or control the business, or to school buses and vehicles designed to carry more than 15 passengers.

What changes in November 2027

Act 36 of 2026, signed July 20, 2026, repeals the IILL in § 1556 and replaces it with a new ignition interlock driver's license under § 3805.1. Most of those changes take effect 16 months after signing, in November 2027. Until then, the current IILL rules apply.

Under the new law as written, an eligible driver can generally apply 30 days after the conviction, ARD admission or refusal report. Applications will be accepted by certified mail and at selected driver license centers, with online applications added later. Participants in certain approved treatment courts also become eligible, and picking up another suspension after the DUI or refusal notice, before the new license is issued, makes a driver ineligible. PennDOT will publish procedures closer to the effective date, so check before relying on the new rules.

Mistakes that cost people their license

Driving any vehicle without an interlock while on an IILL. That can lead to a new charge and a recall of the license.
Tampering with the device. That is a separate offense.
Missing vendor service appointments. The vendor reports them to PennDOT, which can recall the IILL until you are back in compliance.
Picking up a new suspension. A new offense that carries a suspension can lead PennDOT to recall the IILL or extend it.

Getting back on the road usually runs alongside the criminal case. Our ARD guide explains how ARD affects your license, refusing a breath or blood test covers refusal suspensions, and felony DUI covers longer suspensions for repeat cases.

This page is general information, not legal advice.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Pennsylvania DUI law changes often, and this page reflects the law as of October 2026. Every case depends on its own facts.

Ignition Interlock and the Work License After a PA DUI