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. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 24, 2026.
Providence County, Rhode Island, has about 676,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in Providence County starts two cases, a criminal case in the District Court and a license case before the Division of Motor Vehicles, 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: Providence County public records, Providence County arrest records, Providence County warrants, Providence County inmate search, Providence County criminal records, Rhode Island arrest records and Rhode Island inmate search.
The DUI Law in Rhode Island
Drunk driving is charged as DUI in Rhode Island, at a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more.
Driving in Rhode Island 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 Division of Motor Vehicles, separately from the criminal case.
Who Makes DUI Arrests in Providence County
The agencies that report for Providence, Cranston, Pawtucket, East Providence, Woonsocket and Central Falls and, elsewhere, the state police make the DUI arrests in Providence County.
In Rhode Island the police for a given address is the town police in a town with its own department and the state police elsewhere.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Providence County: Brown University (campus police).
Together, the 15 agencies in Providence County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 11,074 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Providence County does not break DUI out.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in Providence County
A driver arrested for DUI and kept in custody is in the custody of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, which runs every jail and prison in Rhode Island; its inmate locator is at doc.ri.gov/family-visitors/incarceration-search.
The Court Case
The Attorney General files the charge, and the case is heard in the District Court.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at courts.ri.gov/Public-Resources/Pages/case-information.aspx.
Statewide, Rhode Island Judiciary Public Portal is the courts' free statewide case search.
The License Case
The court case is only half the record. The Division of Motor Vehicles runs a separate administrative case over the license, which can suspend it before the criminal case is decided, and the Rhode Island Division 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 Access to Public Records Act.
- The court file: from the District Court, kept by the clerk of each court.
- The driving record: from the Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles.
More on each: Providence County arrest records, Providence County police reports and Providence County court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DUI limit in Rhode Island?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is a DUI case from Providence County heard?
In the District Court, brought by the Attorney General. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at courts.ri.gov.
Where is a person arrested for DUI in Providence County held?
In a facility of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, which runs every jail in Rhode Island.
Who handles the license after a DUI arrest in Rhode Island?
The Division of Motor Vehicles, in an administrative case separate from the court case.
Is this the official Providence County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.