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 September 30, 2026.
Chattanooga, Tennessee, in Hamilton County, has about 191,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in Chattanooga starts two cases, a criminal case in the General Sessions Court and a license case before the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, 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: Chattanooga public records, Hamilton County DUI, Chattanooga arrest records, Chattanooga warrants, Chattanooga inmate search, Chattanooga criminal records, Tennessee arrest records and Tennessee inmate search.
The DUI Law in Tennessee
In Tennessee the offense is DUI, and the limit is 0.08.
Driving in Tennessee 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 Department of Safety and Homeland Security, separately from the criminal case.
For charging and sentencing, Tennessee counts prior offenses within 10 years.
Who Makes DUI Arrests in Chattanooga
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Chattanooga (filed by the FBI as Chattanooga Police Department) make the DUI arrests in and around Chattanooga.
The FBI's agency list also places two other agencies and two campus police departments in Hamilton County (the arrest records guide names each one).
Together, the seven agencies in Hamilton County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 10,513 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Hamilton County does not break DUI out.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in Chattanooga
A driver arrested for DUI and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, held about 540 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at hcsheriff.gov/Corrections/Inmates-app, phone 423-209-7000. The Chattanooga inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
The Court Case
The District Attorney General files the charge, and the case is heard in the General Sessions Court.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at hamiltontn.gov/CircuitCourt_TNCaseFinder.aspx, phone 423-209-6700.
Tennessee 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 Department of Safety and Homeland Security runs a separate administrative case over the license, which can suspend it before the criminal case is decided, and the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security 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 Tennessee Public Records Act.
- The court file: from the General Sessions Court, kept by the Circuit Court Clerk and the Clerk and Master.
- The driving record: from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
More on each: Chattanooga arrest records, Chattanooga police reports and Chattanooga court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DUI limit in Tennessee?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is a DUI case from Chattanooga heard?
In the General Sessions Court, brought by the District Attorney General. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at hamiltontn.gov/CircuitCourt_TNCaseFinder.aspx.
Where is a person arrested for DUI in Chattanooga held?
At the county jail, run by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
Who handles the license after a DUI arrest in Tennessee?
The Department of Safety and Homeland Security, in an administrative case separate from the court case.
How long does a DUI count as a prior in Tennessee?
10 years.
Is this the official Chattanooga 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.