Quick answer: Yes. Since October 1, 2025, a first refusal to take a breath or urine test after a Florida DUI arrest is a second-degree misdemeanor, not just an administrative license suspension. The suspension still applies on top of it. The change doesn’t affect FR-44 requirements directly, but it changes the path leading to one.
I’ve had a version of this conversation more times than I can count.
“I got pulled over. I refused the breath test. I figured that was the safer move.”
For a long time, that instinct wasn’t unreasonable. Refusing a breath or urine test after a DUI arrest in Florida used to mean an administrative license suspension and nothing more. It was a DMV problem, not a criminal one. That’s no longer true, and it hasn’t been since October 1, 2025.
The law is House Bill 687, though most people know it as Trenton’s Law, named for Trenton Stewart, an eighteen-year-old from St. Johns County killed by a repeat offender. It’s been on the books for almost a year now, and I still talk to drivers who are operating on the old assumption. That’s the part that worries me. A decision made on the shoulder of a highway at two in the morning, based on something someone told you years ago, can now follow you into criminal court.
What Actually Changed
Before this law, the first time you refused a breath or urine test, you lost your license for a year and the refusal could be used against you at trial. That was the extent of it. Only a second or later refusal could be prosecuted as a crime.
Under Trenton’s Law, that first refusal is now a second-degree misdemeanor on its own — up to sixty days in jail, up to six months of probation, and a fine. The administrative license suspension didn’t go away. It still applies, stacked on top of the criminal charge.
Officers are also now required to tell you at the time of the arrest that refusing can lead to a criminal charge, not just a suspension. That warning language changed along with the statute.
The law’s other major piece has nothing to do with refusals. It raised the ceiling substantially for repeat DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide cases. Someone with a prior conviction of that kind now faces a first-degree felony carrying up to thirty years, roughly double the previous maximum. That provision was the reason the bill existed in the first place, and it’s the part that got the least attention in the coverage.
What Didn’t Change
A second or subsequent refusal is still a first-degree misdemeanor. That was already the case before October 2025, and some of the write-ups floating around got that wrong. The escalation happened at the first refusal, not the second.
Blood tests work differently. The criminal refusal provision applies to breath and urine. In serious crashes involving injury or death, law enforcement can often obtain a warrant for blood regardless of consent, and that hasn’t changed.
And none of this changes what happens if you’re convicted of DUI itself. The penalties for the underlying offense are what they were. What changed is the calculation around refusing in the first place.
I’m not a criminal attorney. If you’re facing a DUI charge, or trying to understand how a refusal affects your case, that’s a conversation for a good DUI defense lawyer — not your insurance agent, and not a blog post. What I can speak to is what happens after, because that’s where I’ve spent the last several decades.
Where This Intersects With What I Do
However a DUI case resolves, the insurance side of it doesn’t resolve itself.
If a conviction leads to a license suspension, reinstating that license in Florida almost always means carrying an FR-44 — a state-mandated filing requiring much higher liability limits, held continuously, for a defined compliance period. If you’re new to any of this, What Is Florida FR-44 Insurance? A Complete Guide covers the ground from the beginning. The full reinstatement sequence — insurance, DUI education, ignition interlock, DMV documentation, and the order they have to happen in — is laid out in How Do I Get My Florida Driver’s License Back After a DUI?.
What Trenton’s Law changed is that more of the pathway leading up to that point now carries criminal exposure. A refusal that used to be a DMV matter can now become a criminal charge, and depending on how the case plays out, it can still end in the same place: a suspended license and an FR-44 requirement to get it back. Two separate problems, arriving on the same timeline.
That’s also where a second, quieter issue shows up. Drivers with more than one pending matter tend to lose track of paperwork, and the FR-44 filing depends on a case number tied to your specific suspension record. If that’s already a problem for you, How Do I Find My Florida FR-44 Case Number? What Works Now explains what still works and what doesn’t.
If You’re Already Partway Through an FR-44
None of this changes your situation. The requirement you’re carrying is the requirement you were given.
What matters for you is continuity. An FR-44 isn’t really a policy in the ordinary sense — it’s an ongoing compliance obligation, and the clock is about how long you carry it without interruption. How Long Do You Need FR-44 Insurance in Florida? gets into why a lapse can restart or extend the period, and Why Was My Florida Driver’s License Suspended Again? covers the ways a reinstated license goes back into suspension even when the driver did nothing wrong.
If your FR-44 is just beginning, What Should I Do When My Florida FR-44 Starts? is the one I’d read first. And for the wider picture of what a DUI actually sets in motion beyond the license itself, What Happens After a Florida DUI? is the place to start.
What I’d Tell a Client
If you or someone in your family is dealing with a DUI stop or arrest, the first call belongs to a criminal defense attorney. That part is genuinely outside what I do, and I’d never pretend otherwise.
Once the insurance piece becomes relevant — a suspension, a reinstatement, an FR-44 filing — that’s where I can help. I’ve walked hundreds of Florida drivers through exactly that, and I’d rather have the conversation with you before you’re standing at the DMV than after.
If you’re a parent of a new driver, or you know someone who’s about to be in that position, the thing worth passing along is simply that the ground moved. A lot of people are still working from an understanding of Florida law that expired in 2025.
If you want to understand where you’d stand, or you’re already sorting through an FR-44 situation, I’m easy to reach.
Florida FR-44 Insurance Resource Guides
Understanding Florida FR-44 Insurance — Start here if you’re new to all this. What an FR-44 actually is, why Florida requires it, and how it’s different from a normal insurance policy.
License Reinstatement and FR-44 Compliance — Getting your license back, staying compliant once it’s filed, and avoiding the lapses, missed payments, and mistakes that lead to another suspension.
Florida FR-44 Insurance Companies and Rates — What actually moves your rate, where the real discounts are, switching carriers the right way, and what an FR-44 costs over time.
Florida DUI Education and Consequences — What a DUI conviction actually triggers in Florida, from license suspension through the FR-44 requirement itself.
Beyond DUI — Related situations that come up along the way: moving in or out of Florida, household questions, and how Florida’s rules compare to other states. (Coming soon)
Florida Auto Insurance — Back to the main site for general Florida auto insurance guidance beyond FR-44.
Continue Reading About License Reinstatement & FR-44 Compliance
- How Do I Get My Florida Driver’s License Back After a DUI? — The complete step-by-step guide to coordinating your FR-44, DUI requirements, ignition interlock and DMV reinstatement.
- Why Was My Florida Driver’s License Suspended Again? — Common reasons a reinstated Florida license gets suspended again, including a verification mismatch that can happen even when the insurance never lapsed.
- How Do I Find My Florida FR-44 Case Number? What Works Now — What to do when you’ve lost your suspension paperwork or can’t find the case information needed for reinstatement.
- Did Florida Change the Rules for DUI Refusals? (This article) — What changed under Florida’s newer DUI-refusal law and where license suspension and FR-44 requirements fit into the picture.
- Can Bristol West’s Excluded Driver Option Lower FR-44 Costs? (Archived) — A carrier-specific update about excluded drivers on Florida FR-44 policies; retained for historical reference.
- Has Progressive Changed Its Florida FR-44 Rules? (Archived) — A historical update on Progressive’s FR-44 payment and filing rules; verify current options before relying on older carrier information.
- Does a Government Shutdown Affect Car Insurance? (Archived) — Why financial disruptions and missed insurance payments can become much more serious when continuous FR-44 compliance is required.
About the Author
Written by Clifford Schimek — Florida Auto & FR-44 Insurance Expert
I handle FR-44 filings and the insurance side of Florida license reinstatements every day. Laws like this one are a good reminder of why I tell every FR-44 client the same thing: the insurance side of a DUI rarely starts and ends with buying a policy — it’s a process, and it pays to understand it before you’re standing at the DMV. If you ever need help or just want a straight answer, you can always call or text me directly.
Clifford Schimek — Florida Auto & FR-44 Insurance Expert
Call or text: 305-796-2968
Learn More About Cliff
Why Clifford Schimek? – The case for working with me
Florida Auto Plus Insurance – Agency website
Florida FR-44 Information and Guidance – For Florida drivers who need an FR-44 filing
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