Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Palm Desert, California, in Riverside County, has about 53,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in Palm Desert starts two cases, a criminal case (in the Superior Court of California, County of Riverside) and a license case before the DMV, and leaves three records. This guide follows the arrest from the roadside to the court file and the driving record.
This guide covers the law, the arrest, booking, the court case, the license case, the records and common questions.
Related guides: Palm Desert public records, Riverside County DUI, Palm Desert arrest records, Palm Desert warrants, Palm Desert inmate search, Palm Desert criminal records, California arrest records and California inmate search.
The DUI Law in California
Drunk driving is charged as DUI in California, at a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more.
Driving in California is consent to a breath or blood test when an officer has cause to suspect DUI; the license case that follows a refusal or a failed test is run by the DMV, separately from the criminal case.
For charging and sentencing, California counts prior offenses within 10 years.
Who Makes DUI Arrests in Palm Desert
The Riverside County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Palm Desert (filed by the FBI as Palm Desert Police Department) make the DUI arrests in and around Palm Desert.
The FBI's agency list also places three campus police departments, seven state police units, two state agencies and one other agency in Riverside County (the arrest records guide names each one); the Highway Patrol's seven offices make the arrests on the state highways.
Together, the 13 agencies in Riverside County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 25,498 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Riverside County does not break DUI out.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in Palm Desert
A driver arrested for DUI and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, held about 3,760 people on an average day in 2025 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at riversidesheriff.org/213/Inmate-Information. The Palm Desert inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
The Court Case
The District Attorney files the charge, and the case is heard in the Superior Court of California, County of Riverside.
The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at rivcoda.org.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at epublic-access.riverside.courts.ca.gov/public-portal/?q=node%2F369.
California has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The License Case
The court case is only half the record. The DMV runs a separate administrative case over the license, which can suspend it before the criminal case is decided, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles keeps the driving record the conviction goes on.
The Records a DUI Leaves
- The arrest report: from the agency that made the arrest, under the California Public Records Act.
- The court file: from the Superior Court of California, County of Riverside, kept by the Superior Court clerk.
- The driving record: from the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
More on each: Palm Desert arrest records and Palm Desert court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DUI limit in California?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is a DUI case from Palm Desert heard?
In the Superior Court of California, County of Riverside, brought by the District Attorney.
Where is a person arrested for DUI in Palm Desert held?
At the county jail, run by the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
Who handles the license after a DUI arrest in California?
The DMV, in an administrative case separate from the court case.
How long does a DUI count as a prior in California?
10 years.
Is this the official Palm Desert website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.