Driving while impaired and alcohol limits

Key points

1. Everyone's driving is impaired at a BAC of 0.08, and many people are affected at lower levels.

   Source: Handbook p. 31

   “Everyone’s driving is impaired at a blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, of 0.08 percent, but many people are affected at much lower levels.”
   North Carolina Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 31

2. Refusing a required test means immediate revocation for at least 30 days plus a 12-month DMV revocation.

   Source: Handbook p. 31

   “Refusal to perform any required test will result in the immediate revocation of your driver license for at least 30 days and an additional, minimum 12-month revocation by the DMV.”
   North Carolina Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 31

3. A BAC of 0.08 or more, or 0.04 in a commercial vehicle, means immediate revocation for at least 30 days.

   Source: Handbook p. 31

   “If your blood alcohol concentration test shows a BAC of 0.08 percent or more (0.04 or more, if you are driving a commercial motor vehicle), your driving privilege will be revoked immediately for a minimum of 30 days.”
   North Carolina Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 31

4. It is illegal to drink any alcohol, including beer, while driving, or to carry an open container in the passenger area.

   Source: Handbook p. 31

   “Prohibit drivers from consuming any alcoholic beverage, including beer, while driving; • Prohibit the transport of an open container of any alcoholic beverage, including in the passenger area of the car;”
   North Carolina Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 31

5. After a DWI, the first license restoration carries a 0.04 alcohol restriction and later ones 0.00.

   Source: Handbook p. 32

   “On the first restoration, the alcohol concentration restriction will be 0.04. On a second or subsequent restoration, the alcohol concentration restriction will be 0.00.”
   North Carolina Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 32

6. A DWI with a BAC of 0.15 or more, or a second within seven years, requires an ignition interlock.

   Source: Handbook p. 32

   “a conviction of Driving While Impaired with a BAC of 0.15 or more, or another conviction within the past seven years, will require an ignition interlock device to be installed on the vehicle.”
   North Carolina Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 32

7. The legal age to buy any alcohol in North Carolina is 21.

   Source: Handbook p. 33

   “The legal age to purchase any alcoholic beverage in North Carolina is 21.”
   North Carolina Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 33

8. A driver under 21 convicted of driving with any alcohol or drugs in their body loses the license for one year.

   Source: Handbook p. 33

   “If a driver who is less than 21 years old is convicted for an offense of driving with any amount of alcohol or drugs in their body, their license will be revoked for one year.”
   North Carolina Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 33

Numbers to know

3 questions from the North Carolina practice test

1. 1. For a driver age 21 or older, which BAC level is the North Carolina per se DWI threshold?

   1. A BAC of 0.08 percent or more
   2. A BAC of 0.05 percent or more
   3. A BAC of 0.10 percent or more
   4. A BAC of 0.15 percent or more
   Show answer

   A BAC of 0.08 percent or more. North Carolina treats a BAC of 0.08 percent or more as one way to prove impaired driving for the ordinary driver. The 0.05 figure signals increased crash risk in the handbook, but it is not the stated per se threshold. A 0.10 reading is higher than the legal benchmark, not the benchmark itself. The 0.15 figure triggers an ignition interlock consequence in another rule. On a knowledge question, separate the proof threshold from risk statistics and later sentencing requirements.

2. 2. A North Carolina driver's chemical test shows 0.08 percent. What happens to the driving privilege?

   1. Nothing until the court date
   2. A warning is issued
   3. It is revoked immediately, and the limit is 0.04 for a commercial motor vehicle
   4. It is suspended only if a crash occurred
   Show answer

   It is revoked immediately, and the limit is 0.04 for a commercial motor vehicle. If your blood alcohol concentration test shows a BAC of 0.08 percent or more, or 0.04 or more if you are driving a commercial motor vehicle, your driving privilege is revoked immediately for a minimum period set by law. The revocation does not wait for a conviction or a crash. Willfully refusing the test brings its own revocation, with a limited driving privilege possible only after part of that period has passed.

3. 3. A North Carolina provisional licensee drives after consuming a small amount of alcohol. What license consequence can follow a conviction?

   1. A revocation occurs only when BAC reaches 0.08 percent
   2. The driver receives a warning unless a passenger was injured
   3. The license is suspended for exactly thirty days
   4. A one year license revocation can result
   Show answer

   A one year license revocation can result. The provisional rule is based on any consumption, not on reaching the adult BAC benchmark. A conviction for driving after consuming any amount of alcohol or drugs brings a one year license revocation. The 0.08 percent figure belongs to the general per se DWI standard and cannot be used as a safe harbor by a provisional licensee. A warning is not the stated outcome, while thirty days describes a different immediate revocation provision. Remember the young driver rule as zero amount, one year.

Source: the North Carolina Driver Handbook, Chapter 2: Alcohol and the Law. This lesson is a plain English summary, not the law itself; where it differs, the manual and the statute govern. Last checked 2026-09-27.