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.
Washington County, Rhode Island, has about 130,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in Washington 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: Washington County public records, Washington County arrest records, Washington County warrants, Washington County inmate search, Washington County criminal records, Rhode Island arrest records and Rhode Island inmate search.
The DUI Law in Rhode Island
In Rhode Island the offense is DUI, and the limit is 0.08.
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 Washington County
The state police or the town police make the DUI arrests in Washington 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 Washington County: the University of Rhode Island (campus police).
Together, the six agencies in Washington County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,985 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Washington County does not break DUI out.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in Washington 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/Courts/SuperiorCourt/Pages/default.aspx, phone (401) 222-3250.
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: Washington County arrest records and Washington 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 Washington 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 Washington 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 Washington 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.