What do Pennsylvania DUI terms like ARD, CRN, BAC tier and ignition interlock mean?

Last updated October 26, 2026.

Almost every word on Pennsylvania DUI paperwork comes from the Vehicle Code (Title 75) or the Rules of Criminal Procedure. ARD is the pretrial diversion program in 75 Pa.C.S. 3807. CRN is the Court Reporting Network evaluation required before sentencing or ARD (3816(a)), a BAC tier is one of three penalty levels in 3804, and an ignition interlock keeps a car from starting unless your breath alcohol is under 0.025% (3801).

This glossary defines 38 terms in the order you are likely to meet them, each with its statute or rule and a link to the page that explains it in full. For the penalties themselves, see the tier table on our main DUI defense page.

In what order will I hear these terms?

1. The stop and the test. A breath or blood test and the warnings about refusing it.
2. The charge. Release with a summons or a preliminary arraignment, a preliminary hearing at the district court, then formal arraignment in the Court of Common Pleas.
3. The ARD decision. The District Attorney decides whether to submit the case; if a judge admits you, conditions follow and then a motion to dismiss.
4. Evaluation and sentence. The CRN evaluation, any full assessment, safety school, treatment and any mandatory minimum.
5. The license. PennDOT's notices, any appeal, the interlock and restoration.

How long each stage usually takes is set out in how long a DUI case takes in Delaware County.

What do the terms from the stop and the test mean?

• DUI (75 Pa.C.S. 3802). Driving, operating or being in "actual physical control of the movement of a vehicle" after drinking or using drugs, in one of the ways 3802 lists; see what happens after a DUI arrest.
• BAC tier (3804(a), (b) and (c)). The three penalty levels, general impairment, high rate and highest rate. The blood or breath alcohol level within two hours of driving usually decides the tier, but a crash, a refusal or drugs can too.
• General impairment (3802(a)). A BAC of 0.08% to under 0.10%, or drinking enough to be "incapable of safely driving." A first offense here brings six months' probation, a $300 fine and safety school, with no license suspension; see first offense DUI.
• High rate (3802(b); 3804(b)). A BAC of 0.10% to under 0.16%, or impaired driving with a crash causing injury or damage; minor drivers and commercial or school vehicle cases are sentenced here too. Crashes are covered in DUI crashes with injuries.
• Highest rate (3802(c); 3804(c)). A BAC of 0.16% or more. Drug cases, and impaired-driving cases with a refused breath test or warrant-based blood test, are sentenced here too.
• Controlled substance DUI (3802(d)). Any amount of a Schedule I drug, an unprescribed Schedule II or III drug, or a metabolite in the blood, or driving while drugs impair you.
• Minor (3801; 3802(e)). Anyone under 21, for whom 0.02% is the limit; see our juvenile DUI page.
• Commercial and school vehicle limits (3802(f)). 0.04% in a commercial vehicle and 0.02% in a school bus or school vehicle; see DUI and a commercial license.
• Two-hour rule (3802(g)). A test taken more than two hours after driving counts only if the prosecution shows good cause for the delay and that you did not drink after the arrest; see the two-hour rule.
• Implied consent (1547(a)). By driving in Pennsylvania you are "deemed to have given consent" to breath or blood testing when an officer has reasonable grounds to believe you were driving under the influence.
• Refusal (1547(b)). Declining a test after a DUI arrest, after the officer's required warning. PennDOT suspends the license for 12 months, or 18 with a prior refusal suspension or DUI sentence; see refusing a breath or blood test.

What do the charge and courtroom terms mean?

• Release with a summons (Pa.R.Crim.P. 519(B)). After a warrantless DUI arrest, the officer must release you when the top charge is no higher than a first-degree misdemeanor under 3802, you pose no immediate threat and you are expected to appear. A summons follows; the other path is in how bail works.
• Preliminary arraignment (Pa.R.Crim.P. 540). The first appearance for a person held after arrest, sometimes by video, where the complaint is read and bail is set. The next step happens at one of the Delaware County district courts.
• Held for court (Pa.R.Crim.P. 543(B)). The ruling when the district judge finds a prima facie case, enough evidence that an offense happened and that you committed it; other charges are dismissed. See whether to waive the preliminary hearing.
• Formal arraignment (Pa.R.Crim.P. 571). The first step in the Court of Common Pleas, where you learn the charges in the information and the motion deadlines; see formal arraignment.
• Grade (3803). The class of offense: an ungraded misdemeanor with a six-month maximum, a second- or first-degree misdemeanor, or a third- or second-degree felony. Maximums are in our penalties chart.
• Prior offense (3806). An earlier DUI conviction or other disposition listed in 3806(a), entered before sentencing, for an offense within the 10 years before the new one. Out-of-state DUIs count when substantially similar; see whether a third DUI is a felony.
• DUI following diversion (3802(h)(1)). A new DUI within 10 years after completing ARD for an earlier DUI. Added by Act 58 of 2025, it is sentenced like a second offense (3804(a)(2)); see second offense DUI.
• Minor occupant (3803(b)(5); 3804(c.1)). A passenger under 18, which raises the grade and adds a fine and community service; see a DUI with a child in the car.
• Mandatory minimum (3804). The lowest sentence allowed for the tier and the number of priors, from six months' probation up to at least a year in jail. Repeat cases are discussed under prior drunk driving convictions.

What do the ARD terms mean?

• ARD (3807; Pa.R.Crim.P. 310). Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, a pretrial program the District Attorney moves to start, which lets you "earn a dismissal" (Rule 312(1)). Compare ARD in our three counties.
• ARD bars (3807(a)(2)). No DUI-ARD after a DUI conviction or ARD in the past ten years (unless that earlier charge was a first-offense 3802(a)(2) misdemeanor), after a crash that killed or seriously injured someone else, or with a passenger under 14. See ARD eligibility.
• ARD hearing (Pa.R.Crim.P. 312 and 313). In open court the judge confirms you understand the program, hears the facts and any victim, and states conditions you accept or refuse. If you do not finish, you are treated as having waived the statute of limitations and speedy trial rights for the time enrolled; see Rule 600.
• ARD conditions (Pa.R.Crim.P. 316; 3807(b)). Probation-type conditions, restitution and costs, but never a fine. DUI-ARD adds safety school, a CRN evaluation, any treatment and six to 12 months of supervision; see what a DUI costs.
• ARD suspension (3807(d)). None below 0.10%; 30 days from 0.10% to under 0.16%; 60 days at 0.16% or more, with drugs, an unknown BAC or a crash; 90 days for a minor. Weigh it in ARD or fight.
• ARD violation (Pa.R.Crim.P. 318; 3807(e)). On the DA's motion, the judge hears you and may end the program, and the prosecution resumes. A failed ARD is not expunged.
• Dismissal and expungement (Pa.R.Crim.P. 319 and 320). After finishing, you move to dismiss, the DA has 30 days to object, and the dismissal order also orders expungement. A non-public completion order is kept for 12 years for later DUI cases (3807(f)); see expunging a DUI.

What do the evaluation and sentencing terms mean?

• CRN evaluation (3816(a)). The Court Reporting Network evaluation, on PennDOT's instruments, required before sentencing or ARD to gauge involvement with alcohol or drugs. In Delaware County, Diagnostic Services does it; the steps are in the CRN evaluation and safety school requirements.
• Alcohol Highway Safety School (1549(b); 3804). A county course on alcohol and driving, offered at times that fit work schedules. It is required for DUI-ARD and for first and second offenses in every tier; class sites are on our Delaware County page.
• Full assessment (3814(2)). A deeper drug and alcohol assessment when the CRN shows a need for treatment, the BAC was 0.16% or more, or you had a DUI sentence in the past ten years. Montgomery County's version is in the Montgomery County Courthouse guide.
• Treatment requirement (3815(c); 1541(d)). Treatment follows the assessment, comes from a program licensed by the Department of Health, and must be finished before PennDOT restores the license.
• County parole for DUI (3815(a) and (b)). The judge may keep parole authority over a county DUI sentence, and an offender who needs treatment becomes eligible after the mandatory minimum; see treatment and house arrest for a second DUI.

What do the license and interlock terms mean?

• Conviction suspension (3804(e)). 12 months for an ungraded or second-degree misdemeanor, 18 months for a first-degree misdemeanor or felony, and none for a first general impairment offense. See when PennDOT suspends your license.
• Supersedeas (1550(b)). The hold that filing and serving a license appeal puts on most suspensions until the court decides; see appealing a PennDOT suspension.
• DUI-related driving under suspension (1543(b)). Driving while suspended for DUI-ARD, a refusal or a DUI, a separate crime with mandatory jail; see driving on a DUI suspension.
• Ignition interlock device (3801). A PennDOT-approved device that blocks starting unless the breath sample is under 0.025%.
• Ignition interlock limited license (1556). Today's license letting a person suspended for a DUI or refusal drive vehicles with a working interlock. Act 36 of 2026 repeals 1556 sixteen months after July 20, 2026; see the new interlock license.
• Ignition interlock driver's license (3805.1, once in effect). The replacement license. A person suspended for a DUI, ARD, juvenile disposition or refusal may apply 30 days after the conviction, ARD admission or refusal report, with fees, proof of an installed interlock and insurance.

What changes the answer?

• The date. Act 36 changed 3803 and 3804 at once, but most interlock changes, including 3805.1, start 16 months after July 20, 2026 (Act 36, section 12).
• An earlier ARD. The official notes to 3806 record that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 2025; Act 58 of 2025 then amended it and added DUI following diversion, which reaches only a new DUI within 10 years after completion.
• The county. ARD and the CRN follow state law but are run locally. Chester County's program is in the Chester County Justice Center guide.
• Facts besides the BAC. A crash, a refusal or drugs can raise the tier (3804(b) and (c)). Which charges can be lowered is a separate question, covered in whether a DUI can be reduced or dismissed.

For example: reading the papers after a first DUI

Here is a hypothetical. A driver stopped in Springfield blows 0.12% and is released at the station. A summons arrives listing 75 Pa.C.S. 3802(a)(1), the impaired-driving charge, and 3802(b), the high rate charge. As a first offense in the high rate tier, a conviction would carry at least 48 consecutive hours in jail.

At the district court, the driver's lawyer raises ARD. The ARD papers list a CRN evaluation, safety school, costs and supervision, and the 0.12% result means a 30-day ARD suspension. Matching each term to its statute shows what is required and when. This example is only an illustration; every case depends on its own facts.

What mistakes do people make with DUI terms?

• Treating ARD as nothing. A new DUI within ten years after finishing it is charged as DUI following diversion.
• Confusing the CRN with the full assessment. The CRN comes in every case; the full assessment only on a 3814(2) trigger.
• Assuming the BAC alone sets the tier. A crash, refusal or drugs can raise it.
• Reading "ungraded" as "not a crime." It is a misdemeanor with up to six months.
• Mixing up the two interlock licenses. The limited license applies until Act 36's change takes effect.

What should I do this week?

1. Gather the summons or complaint, any bail papers and every PennDOT letter.
2. Circle each statute number, such as 3802(b) or 1547(b), and match it here.
3. Write down the next hearing date and the mailing date of any PennDOT notice.
4. Ask what any program you are told to schedule is for before you sign anything.
5. Work through our first-week DUI checklist.
6. Talk with a DUI lawyer before the preliminary hearing.

Frequently asked questions

What does "3802(a)(1)" on my complaint mean?

It is the impaired-driving form of DUI, proven without relying on a test number. The BAC charges are 3802(a)(2), (b) and (c), and a complaint can list more than one.

Is ARD a conviction?

No. Completing it leads to dismissal and, unless the DA objects, expungement (Pa.R.Crim.P. 319 and 320). A new DUI within ten years after finishing is still charged as DUI following diversion.

Is the CRN evaluation the same as safety school?

No. The CRN evaluates your involvement with alcohol or drugs (3816(a)); safety school is a class on alcohol and driving (1549(b)).

When does the new interlock license start?

Act 36 was approved July 20, 2026, and section 12 makes it effective 16 months later. Until then the limited license under 1556 applies.

Where can I read these laws?

The Vehicle Code is on palegis.us, and the criminal rules are in Title 234 of the Pennsylvania Code; the Sources below link each section used here.

Call Giribaldi Law at (610) 891-8303 or contact us online for a free consultation about the terms in your DUI case.