The Short Answer
No — debt from a DUI or DWI cannot be wiped out in bankruptcy. Under Section 523(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, debts for death or personal injury caused by operating a vehicle while intoxicated are specifically non-dischargeable. The same applies to restitution orders tied to criminal charges. The good news is that other debts — credit cards, medical bills, and unsecured personal loans — can still be discharged even if your DUI/DWI debt cannot.
The indisputable, yet sometimes complex, answer to this question is, no. However, many clients don’t even know to be asking this question so they may not find out a debt like this is not wiped out unless they discuss it with their bankruptcy attorney. Filing bankruptcy will not get rid of any debt incurred from a driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI) prosecution and here is why…
Driving while intoxicated and driving while impaired are one of the most common criminal offenses and can cause a large financial burden. The total cost can range anywhere from $5,000 to $24,000, not to mention court costs, medical bills and other surcharges that can make these fines difficult to pay. While most debts can be discharged in a bankruptcy, the Court deems debts from a DUI/DWI to be non-dischargeable. These debts are considered to be incurred from reckless behavior and should not be able to be wiped out. The Bankruptcy Code puts limitations by making DUI/DWI debts and obligation that must be repaid. In order to successfully be discharged from a bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Administration has to determine the debtor’s case is not presumed to be an abuse of the provisions of Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 under the United States Bankruptcy Code.
In Section 523(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, it states:
(6) for willful and malicious injury by the debtor to another entity or to the property of another entity.
(9) for death or personal injury caused by the debtor’s operation of a motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft if such operation was unlawful because the debtor was intoxicated from using alcohol, a drug, or another substance.
(13) for any payment of an order of restitution issued under title 18, United States Code;
Title 18 restitution covers “(i) a crime of violence, as defined in section 16; and (ii) an offense against property under this title, or under section 416(a) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 856(a)).”
Anyone can list in their bankruptcy petition the debt incurred from the DUI/DWI, but the debt from those charges will not be discharged. However, this does not stop your other dischargeable debts from being discharged. In other words, credit cards, medical bills and unsecured personal loans can still be wiped out despite your criminal restitution charges and personal injury debt from a DUI/DWI not being wiped out in a bankruptcy.
To know what debts may be specifically dischargeable in a DUI/DWI case speak with an experienced bankruptcy attorney.
Key Takeaways
- DUI and DWI debts are explicitly non-dischargeable under Section 523(a)(9) of the Bankruptcy Code because they involve operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
- Criminal restitution orders under Title 18 are also non-dischargeable under Section 523(a)(13), regardless of whether you file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.
- You can still list DUI/DWI debt in your bankruptcy petition — it just won't be eliminated, and listing it does not hurt your other dischargeable debts.
- Other unsecured debts like credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans can still be wiped out even when DUI/DWI debt survives bankruptcy.
- The total financial cost of a DUI/DWI can reach $24,000 or more, making it critical to understand exactly which portions of that debt bankruptcy can and cannot address before you file.
Attorney Insight
The mistake I see most often is that clients come in carrying a $10,000–$15,000 DUI judgment and assume bankruptcy will clean the slate entirely — they're blindsided when I explain that debt is specifically carved out by Congress. What makes it worse is that DWI costs in North Carolina can stack fast: fines, court costs, civil judgments from injured parties, and restitution orders all fall under different subsections of 523(a), and each one survives bankruptcy on its own terms. I always walk clients through their full debt picture before we file, because discovering a non-dischargeable debt after the fact doesn't change the outcome — it just adds disappointment to an already hard situation. The silver lining I remind people of is that discharging the surrounding debt — the credit cards that piled up, the medical bills — can still give them real breathing room even if the DUI debt remains.
