“DUI — You can't afford it.”

The slogan posted on billboards across the state in a campaign to dissuade people from driving drunk has been updated since it was last used 10 years ago, but it remains fitting today.

Court costs and fees range from about $1,000 for first-time offenders to $4,000 for a third-time offender, and fines range from $300 to $10,000.

“Fines are set by law. Judges have no discretion,” said Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger.

Fines range from $300 for a first-time offender charged with general impairment for having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08% to 0.099%, to $2,500 to $10,000 for a third-time offender with a BAC of 0.16% or more or who was found to be driving under the influence of drugs.

Other penalties — such as probation, house arrest, imprisonment, driver's license suspensions, ignition interlocks, drug treatment and counseling, alcohol highway safety school — vary in accordance with the level of the offense, and some come with additional costs.

“For a first offense DUI and you're over .16(%) or on drugs, it's a $1,000 fine,” Goldinger said. “If you get a third DUI, it's a statutorily mandated $2,500 fine on top of all the other stuff, so, yes, it can get very expensive.”

DUI defendants ordered to be placed on electronic monitoring as a pretrial condition or as part of a sentence pay $15 a day for the monitor and a $25 connection fee.

The same fee is charged for a SCRAM alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet that defendants are sometimes ordered to wear.

Those who chose to make their payments online through the state's Unified Judicial System, instead of paying in person at the clerk of courts office, are charged a $2.75 convenience fee.

Defendants have to pay $225 to participate in alcohol highway safety school, which is a mandatory part of DUI sentences.

First-time offenders with high blood alcohol levels, repeat offenders and those who refuse to submit to a blood alcohol test are required to have ignition interlock devices that cost between $900 to $1,300 a year depending on the vendor. Offenders have to breath into the device to start their vehicle. The device won't let the vehicle start if it detects alcohol.

All DUI offenders in Pennsylvania are required to have and pay for a $100 Court Reporting Network evaluation to determine if they need for a more comprehensive alcohol or drug use assessment.

“They say ‘you can't afford it,’” county Clerk of Courts Lisa Weiland Lotz said while explaining the court costs and fess.

Everyone convicted of DUI has their driver's license suspended. Those suspensions last 12 months for first offenses and 18 months for two or more offenses. People accepted into the accelerated rehabilitative disposition program receive 30- to 60-day suspensions.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation charges $90 to restore licenses following a suspension. Commercial driver's licensees must pay a $218 license restoration fee.

Most insurance companies will cancel drivers’ policies after one DUI conviction. The few companies that will insure someone with a DUI conviction charge 40% to 50% more than a typical premium, and 60% to 70% more after a second conviction, said Jeff Howard, president of C.W. Howard Insurance in Butler.

He said DUI convictions are one of the most common reasons insurance companies cancel policies through his agency.

Insurance companies take a three-year look back at a person's driving record to determine their premium.

“Most insurance companies, if they discover that you have a DUI within a three-year period, will cancel you. It's increased exposure they don't want,” Howard said. “Insurance companies care about what happened in the last three years. They make decisions on driving records, accidents and violations in last three years. After three years they don't care.”

DUI offenders who are able to obtain insurance, but struggle to pay their fines and costs face a double whammy. Late or a lack of payment can hurt an offender's credit score, which can push insurance rates even higher, he said.

“A DUI could impact a person’s credit if they have a hard time paying fines. Insurance companies give discounts if your credit is good,” Howard said. “People with good credit have fewer claims, insurance companies have found.”

First-time offenders can have their criminal records expunged through the accelerated rehabilitative disposition, or ARD, process in Common Pleas Court, but expungements don't extend to driving records or prevent insurance companies from canceling policies or jacking up rates, he said.

“ARD can expunge records, but it does not expunge it from their motor vehicle record,” Howard said.

Court costs for the ARD program total $860, and the clerk of courts office charges a $77.75 fee to file for an expungement.

The clerk of courts office charges a variety of fees including document filing fees in criminal cases that cost $232.50 or $173.75 depending on when they are filed and a bench warrant fee of $35.75.

“It takes a lot to run a criminal justice system,” Lotz said.

The county commissioners update the clerk’s fees every three years, and the next update is due in May. The last update in 2021 resulted in a 5.59% increase. The fees cover filing and copying costs, and most of the money goes to the general fund to cover salaries and expenses, she said.

Common Pleas Court judges have discretion in imposing fees that cover the cost of probation supervision and the state imposed Substance Abuse Education Act fee based on the defendants ability to pay, Lotz said. The probation supervision fee varies based on the length of time the defendant is on probation and the substance abuse fee varies with the severity of the offense.

District judges can require a DUI suspect to post bond or impose pretrial conditions at their arraignment, but they look at each case individually, said former District Judge Sue Haggerty.

Variables that district judges consider include whether the suspect lives in or out of the county and state, the seriousness of the alleged offense, and criminal history, including previous DUI convictions, she said.

Pretrial conditions such as wearing a SCRAM monitor are typically ordered if a suspect has a criminal history, two DUI convictions in the previous 10 years or is considered a threat to the community, Haggerty said.

District judges “don’t always” impose bond for first time offenders with no criminal history, she said.

A person who hires an attorney to fight their DUI case in court can expect to pay between $2,500 and $25,000 for representation.

County tow truck and impoundment yard operators charge DUI offenders whose vehicles are towed after being arrested a $100 to $150 impoundment fee, $50 to $75 daily storage fee and $7 for each mile of towing.