Statute of limitations for DUI in New York

5 min read

Published October 11, 2025 • Updated April 23, 2026 • By DocketMath Team

Article claim inventory in progress

Trust release 4

This page has legal or numeric text that still needs claim-level inventory before we can treat it as verified.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws change frequently — verify all citations with current official sources.

Rule or statute summary

In New York, the statute of limitations (SOL) for bringing a criminal DUI prosecution is generally 5 years. This “general/default” period comes from New York’s criminal procedure time-limits statute and applies unless a specific exception applies to your exact charge or circumstances.

DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator helps you turn that SOL rule into a concrete date (for example, a latest filing/commencement date) by using the offense/incident date you enter. This is about whether the state can start a prosecution in time—it’s not about whether a DUI conviction is possible after a case has already been filed.

Note: Facts and charge details matter. Even though New York often uses a general 5-year SOL period for many criminal offenses, the outcome can change if the case involves different statutory timing rules, special circumstances, or a specific procedural posture. Use the calculator for early screening, not as a substitute for legal review.

Baseline timing rule (general default)

For DUI prosecutions, the default limitation period in New York (as provided in the jurisdiction data) is:

5 years from the relevant starting point used in the criminal SOL framework in N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 30.10(2)(c).

No claim-type-specific sub-rule was identified in the brief you provided for DUI, so the 5-year period is presented clearly as the general/default rule.

What the calculator helps you estimate

The calculator is designed to take the SOL period and compute a calendar-friendly deadline by working from your input date. Typical SOL questions you can sanity-check with the tool include:

“What is the approximate latest date the state could commence the prosecution under the baseline SOL?”
“If my incident date was X, would a filing around date Y likely fall inside or outside the baseline window?”

Because SOL calculations can involve technical rules about when the clock starts and whether any tolling or interruption applies, the safest framing is:

Use the output as a planning/screening estimate
Then confirm the operative dates using the statute and case record

What you should prepare before using the tool

To get the most useful output, gather:

The incident/offense date you want to use as the SOL starting point (often the date of the alleged DUI driving)
Any documents showing the offense/incident date (e.g., complaint/accusatory instrument)
The case commencement/filing date (if you want to compare “inside SOL” vs. “outside SOL”)

Citations

General SOL period (default): 5 years
N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 30.10(2)(c)
Source: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/30.10
Primary rule reference (for readers checking the statutory text):
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/30.10

Use these sources to confirm the authoritative text before finalizing the calculation.

N.Y. CPLR § 213

Quick statute anchor (how to read § 30.10)

Section 30.10 sets time limitations for criminal prosecutions. In this brief’s jurisdiction data, the (2)(c) subsection is the one tied to the 5-year limitation described here. Always verify the exact subsection language in the statute link above against your case’s specific facts and charges.

Warning: SOL questions can be affected by procedural events and how New York calculates commencement for SOL purposes. Use the calculator output to identify what to check next—not to make a final legal determination.

Use the calculator

Use DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator to convert the 5-year default period into a deadline date.

Go to: /tools/statute-of-limitations
Enter the offense/incident date (the date you want the SOL clock to start from).
Select/use the New York (US-NY) jurisdiction setting.
Apply the general/default SOL period: 5 years based on N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 30.10(2)(c).

Inputs and outputs (typical workflow)

The key idea: the calculator adds the SOL period to your input date (using whatever date rule the tool implements for the jurisdiction).

Input you enter	Calculator applies	Likely output you’ll review
Incident/offense date (e.g., 2024-06-15)	Adds 5 years under the default rule	A “latest filing/commencement date” near 2029-06-15
Earlier incident date (e.g., 2020-01-10)	Adds 5 years	A “latest filing/commencement date” near 2025-01-10
Later incident date (e.g., 2023-11-20)	Adds 5 years	A “latest filing/commencement date” near 2028-11-20

How to interpret the result safely

Treat the output as a screening estimate based on the general 5-year default.
If the prosecution was filed close to the computed boundary, you should review:
- which event New York treats as the operative commencement date for SOL purposes
- whether any case-specific doctrines affect SOL timing

If you’re comparing timelines, put the computed latest date next to the actual filing/commencement date and check whether the filing occurred before or after the deadline the calculator provides.

To jump straight into timing math, start here: DocketMath Statute of Limitations Calculator.