Do You Get a Criminal Record for Drink Driving in Ireland?

How a Drink Driving Conviction in Ireland Affects Your Criminal Record 

You’ve just been arrested for drink driving. Your first thought is probably:

“Am I going to lose my licence?”

But your second thought — the one you don’t say out loud — is this:

“Am I now a criminal?”

This isn’t just a legal question. It’s a reputation question. A career question.

A life question.

So let’s answer it properly.

Straight Answer: Do You Get a Criminal Record?

Yes — but not always.

It depends entirely on how your case is handled.

"So we checked the law.

And the law was clear:

Accepting the FCPN meant no court

No court meant no conviction

No conviction meant no criminal record"

Here’s the Key Rule

If you’re convicted in court, then yes, you’ll get a criminal record for drink driving.

That’s guaranteed.

But if you qualify for a Fixed Charge Penalty Notice (FCPN) and accept it in time, you’ll avoid a conviction — and your record stays clean.

This isn’t a technicality. It’s a legal fork in the road.

One route ends with a criminal record.

The other doesn’t.

Understanding Convictions vs. Penalties

• A conviction only happens in court.

• If you’re eligible for and accept an FCPN — you will not have a conviction.

Think of it like this:

Scenario	Criminal Record?
Pay a speeding fine?	No
Lose a speeding case in court?	Yes
Pay a drink driving FCPN?	No
Lose a drink driving case in court?	Yes

What is a Fixed Charge Penalty Notice (FCPN)?

It’s a legal shortcut — but only for low-level cases.

If your alcohol reading is within certain limits, you’ll be offered a fine and a short disqualification (3 or 6 months).

If you accept it, you skip court.

And if you skip court, you skip the criminal record.

"This isn’t a technicality.

It’s a legal fork in the road.

One route ends with a criminal record.

The other doesn’t"

FCPN Eligibility (This Is Crucial)

• Blood: Legal limit is 50mg

• If your blood reading is 51–100mg, you qualify

• Breath: Legal limit is 22mcg

• If your breath reading is 22–44mcg, you qualify

• Urine: Legal limit is 67ml

• If your urine reading is 68-135ml, you qualify

• 
  

If you go over those limits — even slightly — the FCPN is not available.

You’ll get a summons.

You’ll go to court.

And if you lose?

You’ll be convicted.

Moral? Don’t lose and you don’t get a conviction.

Example From My Files

A successful businessman — living in South Korea, visiting Galway — was arrested after failing a roadside breath test.

His breath reading was 37mcg.

That meant he qualified for a 6-month disqualification via FCPN.

He was terrified of one thing: a criminal conviction.

Not because of embarrassment, but because it would have ruined his professional status, revoked his gold-tier airport visa, and caused immigration issues abroad.

"But a word to the wise:

the law presumes that you received the FCPN.

In other words, the law assumes

the FCPN made its way to you"

So we checked the law.

And the law was clear:

Accepting the FCPN meant no court

No court meant no conviction

No conviction meant no criminal record

That was the path he took. The record stayed clean.

Another client was stopped at a checkpoint.

He ended up giving him a breath reading of 23mg, i.e. one mg over the limit of 22mg.

I was never consulted and I never fully understood why, but he felt aggrieved at being prosecuted and face a 3-month disqualification as he was only marginally over the limit.

He received the FCPN but did not pay it.

A summons to court arrived so we had to fight it.

We won, but it was too close for comfort.

But What If You Never Receive the FCPN?

Post can go missing. Garda admin errors happen.

If you should have received a fixed penalty but never did — and you get summoned instead — you can give evidence under oath.

If the judge accepts that no FCPN was received, the entire prosecution may be struck out.

"A conviction changes more than your licence.

It changes how employers see you.

How countries see you.

How future opportunities see you"

That’s written into the law (s.29 Road Traffic Act 2010). And yes, I’ve seen it happen.

But a word to the wise: the law presumes that you received the FCPN.

In other words, the law assumes the FCPN made its way to you.

There's no point saying that you live in a house with 6 or 7 other flatmates and that you never received the FCPN.

After all, one of them could have picked it up and put it somewhere you didn’t see it.

In that situation you likely wouldn’t have done enough to ‘rebut’ the presumption that you received the FCPN, and you’d likely be convicted.

Remember, the law presumes you got it.

The Bottom Line

This is the single most important line in this blog:

You only get a criminal record for drink driving if you’re convicted in court.

And a court conviction is not inevitable.

Final Takeaway

A conviction changes more than your licence.

It changes how employers see you. How countries see you.

How future opportunities see you.

If you qualify for the FCPN, it’s often the smartest route.

If you don’t qualify, the only way to protect your record is to fight and win.

Because once you’re convicted, there’s no going back.

And after all, it’s the choice between going off the road…or driving home.

And everybody wants to drive home.