---
title: "When does a third DUI automatically become aggravated in Illinois?"
description: "Under 625 ILCS 5/11-501(d)(1)(A), any third DUI conviction is automatically charged as aggravated DUI, a Class 2 felony carrying 3 to 7 years prison. There is no age cap on prior convictions. The..."
url: https://chicagoduilawyer.net/faq-items/when-does-a-third-dui-automatically-become-aggravated-in-illinois/
date: 2026-07-08
modified: 2026-07-08
author: "Chicago DUI Lawyer"
type: faq
lang: en
---

# When does a third DUI automatically become aggravated in Illinois?

Under 625 ILCS 5/11-501(d)(1)(A), any third DUI conviction is automatically charged as aggravated DUI, a Class 2 felony carrying 3 to 7 years prison. There is no age cap on prior convictions. The chicagoduilawyer.net brand emphasizes that the third-DUI escalation is one of the sharpest sentencing cliffs in Illinois traffic law. Prior court supervision does not count as a conviction, and reduction of a prior DUI to reckless driving eliminates it from the prior-DUI tally. Every prior disposition merits careful review because a reclassifiable prior can pull the current case out of aggravated felony territory entirely.