What Not to Do After a Montana DUI Arrest

After a Montana DUI arrest, the mistakes that do the most damage are driving when you have no valid license, talking about the case to anyone but your lawyer, deleting things, and letting a deadline pass. Each can create a new charge or close off an option, and each is avoidable. This page is part of our Montana DUI Guide. For what you should do instead, see the first 24 hours checklist.

Do Not Drive Without a Valid License or Permit

If you refused a test, the officer took your license and gave you a temporary permit that is not effective for 12 hours and is valid for 5 days following the date of issuance (MCA § 61-8-1016(4)(c)(ii)). Outside that window, and without a court-ordered stay, you are suspended. The temporary driving permit page has the details.

Driving during a suspension is punishable in general by a fine of up to $500, up to 6 months in jail, or both (MCA § 61-5-212(1)(b)(ii)). The penalty is heavier when the suspension came from a test refusal or a DUI conviction: imprisonment for not less than 2 days or more than 6 months, or a fine of up to $2,000, or both, and possibly up to 40 hours of community service (MCA § 61-5-212(1)(b)(iii)). On a conviction the Motor Vehicle Division extends the suspension by an additional year (MCA § 61-5-212(2)(a)).

A second arrest makes it worse again. A DUI committed while the license is suspended because of a prior DUI violation meets the definition of aggravated DUI, and so does a DUI in which the person refuses a breath sample while suspended under an implied consent statute (MCA § 61-8-1001(1)(c), (d)). See aggravated DUI.

Do Not Explain Yourself to Police

The urge to clear things up is strong, especially for people who have never been in trouble. Resist it. At your first appearance the judge is required to tell you that you may refuse to make a statement and that any statement you make may be offered in evidence at trial (MCA § 46-7-102(1)(e)). That applies to a follow-up phone call from an officer, to a conversation in the courthouse hallway, and to anything you say to a prosecutor without a lawyer.

The same goes for friends, coworkers, and the person who was in the car. Conversations with them are not confidential, and any of them can be called as a witness. Talk about the facts with your lawyer and no one else.

Be Careful With Insurance Statements

If there was a crash, insurers will call. Your own policy probably requires you to report the accident and cooperate, and you should not ignore that duty. But a recorded statement about how much you drank is a statement like any other. Before you give one, tell the adjuster a criminal charge is pending and that you need to speak with your attorney, then do so. You have no contract with another driver's insurer. Our page on DUI with a crash covers the criminal side of an accident case.

Stay Off Social Media, and Do Not Delete

Two separate rules. First, stop posting about the night, the arrest, the officer, or the case, and ask friends not to tag you. Posts, photos, and messages can be evidence, and jokes read badly in a courtroom.

Second, do not clean up what is already there. A person commits tampering with physical evidence if, believing that an official proceeding or investigation is pending or about to be instituted, the person alters, destroys, conceals, or removes any record, document, or thing with the purpose of impairing its verity or availability (MCA § 45-7-207(1)(a)). The penalty is up to 10 years in state prison, a fine of up to $50,000, or both (MCA § 45-7-207(2)(a)). That is far more serious than a misdemeanor DUI. Leave everything in place and let your lawyer decide what matters.

Do Not Pressure Witnesses

Asking a passenger or a bartender what they remember is one thing, and it is still better done by your lawyer. Trying to shape it is a crime. A person who, believing a proceeding or investigation is pending, purposely or knowingly attempts to induce a witness to testify falsely, withhold testimony or information, or not appear when summoned commits tampering with witnesses, punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $50,000, or both (MCA § 45-7-206). A release order may also bar contact with potential witnesses altogether (MCA § 46-9-108(1)(e)).

Do Not Ignore Dates or Release Conditions

• The court date. After a missed notice to appear the judge may at once issue an arrest warrant (MCA § 46-6-212(1)), and a reported failure to appear means a license suspension until you appear (MCA § 61-5-214). See missed court dates and warrants.
• The 30-day petition. A challenge to a refusal suspension must be filed in district court within 30 days after the officer's notice (MCA § 61-8-1017(1)). The statute contains no extension.
• Release conditions. If your release order says no alcohol, it means none, at home included (MCA § 46-9-108(1)(i)). A violation lets the prosecutor move to revoke your release, and a judge may issue a warrant (MCA § 46-9-503(1)). See bail and release conditions.
• The vehicle. Storage charges build, and a vehicle that is not reclaimed can eventually be sold.

Do Not Plead Guilty Just to Be Done

Wanting it over is understandable. But a guilty plea at the first hearing is entered before anyone has reviewed the stop, the arrest, or the test, and Montana does not allow a court to defer imposition of sentence for a DUI (MCA § 61-8-1011(4)). The conviction, the license suspension, and the prior that counts against you later all follow. You are entitled to ask for time before pleading, not less than 1 day (MCA § 46-12-203). Our page on pleading guilty or not guilty explains what can and cannot be undone.

This page explains Montana law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated. It is not legal advice about your specific case.