Jefferson County DUI Diversion Program

The Reality of DUI Diversion in Kentucky

Most Kentucky counties do not offer any diversion program for DUI charges. Standard misdemeanor diversion under Rules of Criminal Procedure 1001 and 1002 explicitly excludes DUI offenses. The statewide Behavioral Health Conditional Dismissal Program also bars DUI charges.

Jefferson County (Louisville) is one of the rare exceptions. The Jefferson County Attorney's Office operates a structured DUI First Offenders Diversion Program that can result in the charge being dismissed entirely. But the eligibility requirements are strict, the deadlines are tight, and the program demands significant time and effort over roughly a year.

Fayette County (Lexington), by contrast, completely excludes DUI from all diversion eligibility. If you were arrested in Lexington, diversion is not an option — your case must proceed through traditional criminal litigation toward either a trial, a plea to the original charge, or a negotiated amendment to a lesser offense like reckless driving.

Who Qualifies

To enter the Jefferson County program, you must meet every one of these requirements:

• First DUI offense — no prior DUI convictions
• BAC below 0.15 — a BAC at or above 0.15 is an automatic disqualifier
• No chemical test refusal — a refusal disqualifies you
• No statutory aggravating circumstances present
• No companion felony charges
• No accident involving personal injury or significant property damage
• No CDL — commercial driver's license holders are excluded
• No history of psychotic illness

A single disqualifier removes the option entirely. There is no discretionary waiver for individual factors.

The 45-Day Deadline

You must formally apply and enter the program within 45 days of your arraignment, unless a prior extension is approved by the program director. This is a hard deadline. Miss it and you lose access to diversion regardless of your eligibility on every other factor.

Given that arraignment typically happens within days of arrest, the practical application window is roughly six weeks from the day you were arrested. That window includes finding out the program exists, confirming your eligibility, and completing the application.

What the Program Requires

To participate, you must enter a formal guilty plea to DUI First Offense. The court then holds that plea in abeyance — it does not impose a sentence — and places you under a compliance monitoring period, typically one year.

During that year, you must complete:

• Alcohol and drug assessment at a CHFS-certified provider
• Recommended treatment or education based on the assessment results
• MADD Victim Impact Panel attendance
• 77 hours of volunteer community service — 40 hours in Phase I and 37 hours in Phase II, at pre-approved governmental or charitable organizations
• All court costs paid in full

The community service hours are substantial. At roughly four hours per week, completing 77 hours takes about five months of consistent weekly volunteering.

What Happens at Completion

If you satisfy every requirement, the guilty plea is set aside and the DUI charge is dismissed. The record is marked "Dismissed-Diverted."

Two important limitations apply after dismissal:

1. The dismissal record cannot be expunged for two years from the date of dismissal
2. The guilty plea you entered — even though it was set aside — may still be treated as a "conviction" for certain purposes outside of Kentucky's criminal justice system, particularly in federal immigration proceedings

That second point matters enormously for non-citizens. Under federal immigration law, a guilty plea combined with court-ordered community service or treatment can be interpreted as a conviction for immigration purposes, even after the state court dismisses the charge. Visa holders, permanent residents, and anyone with pending immigration matters should consult an immigration attorney before entering a diversion guilty plea.

If Diversion Is Not Available

For drivers arrested outside Jefferson County, or who do not meet the eligibility requirements, the case proceeds through traditional court processing. The main alternatives are:

• Plea to the original charge — a standard DUI conviction with the full penalty range
• Negotiated amendment to reckless driving — the prosecutor agrees to reduce the charge to reckless driving under KRS 189.290, which avoids the mandatory DUI service fee, interlock requirements, and the DUI conviction on your record, though the arrest record remains

The availability of a reckless driving amendment depends on the strength of the prosecution's evidence and the county prosecutor's policies.

The Kentucky First-Offense DUI Guide covers both the diversion path and the standard conviction track, including how each outcome affects your license timeline and long-term record.

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