Virginia Underage DUI: Section 18.2-266.1 and What Happens Next

Scope of this resource

This resource explains a narrow question: how Virginia Code § 18.2-266.1 describes a distinct under-21 alcohol-and-driving offense, how that section differs at a high level from § 18.2-266, and why age creates separate review paths.

It provides general information only and does not determine which law applies, predict an outcome, or replace review of the source material, charging papers, and individual facts.

“Underage DUI” is reader shorthand here; the exact statute written on the charge matters.

This page does not describe legal services, matter acceptance, fees, credentials, response times, confidentiality, or any promised result.

What section 18.2-266.1 addresses

Current § 18.2-266.1(A) addresses a person younger than 21 who operates a motor vehicle after illegally consuming alcohol.

The subsection also states a chemical-test band beginning at 0.02 and remaining below 0.08.

That language should not be shortened to “any detectable alcohol,” and a number by itself does not identify the charged statute or decide how the facts will be evaluated.

Subsection B classifies a violation as a Class 1 misdemeanor and states an offense-specific disposition.

Its text says punishment shall include license forfeiture for one year from the date of conviction and either a mandatory minimum fine of $500 or a mandatory minimum of 50 hours of community service.

That is a summary of the statute’s general language, not a forecast of any court order.

Subsection B also says the penalties and license-forfeiture provisions in §§ 18.2-270 and 18.2-271 do not apply to a violation of § 18.2-266.1.

The same subsection mentions an Alcohol Safety Action Program, a possible restricted license, and ignition interlock, but this page does not state eligibility, duration, timing, lawful purposes, fees, installation, compliance, or restoration rules.

Those details belong in the separate license, VASAP, restricted-driving, and ignition-interlock resource and depend on the governing sources and actual documents.

Section 18.2-266.1 versus section 18.2-266

Section 18.2-266 is Virginia’s separate general DUI statute and contains alcohol, drug, combined-influence, and specified-concentration theories.

Section 18.2-266.1 should not be treated as simply the general DUI statute with a lower number.

Being younger than 21 does not, by itself, establish which statute was charged.

A charging paper may identify § 18.2-266.1, § 18.2-266, another provision, or more than one allegation, so the written citation and alleged theory should be checked before drawing conclusions.

If the paper identifies § 18.2-266, the broad DUI framework and standard first-offense treatment belong in their dedicated resources.

If it identifies § 18.2-266.1, this resource provides only the narrow statutory and age-path orientation described above.

Drug or prescription allegations, high-BAC treatment, field-sobriety evidence, testing or refusal questions, and stop or body-camera issues remain separate topics.

No comparison here decides whether an allegation is proven or which defense, motion, or result may be available.

Under 18 versus ages 18 through 20

This resource uses two neutral review paths: a person who was under 18 and a person who was 18 through 20.

The distinction signals that different procedural sources and papers may require review; it does not state that age alone selects the charge, forum, or result.

For someone under 18, juvenile-specific sources and court papers require separate review.

This page does not state a categorical rule about release, a summons, parent or guardian involvement, forum, confidentiality, diversion, sealing, expungement, disposition, or outcome.

For someone age 18 through 20, juvenile-process statements should not be imported merely because the person was younger than 21.

The relevant age, statute, and process must be identified from the dated records rather than from a marketing label.

Questions about which version of a statute governs a particular event remain case-specific and are not answered here.

Records that help identify the lane

A small set of records can help identify the lane without deciding the merits.

• Start with the charging paper and note the exact statute or ordinance, the date alleged, and the court information printed on it.
• Confirm the person’s age on the alleged date from an appropriate record, without assuming that current age selects the governing process.
• Separate any chemical-test or refusal document by its exact label, because testing and refusal rules are handled in another resource.
• Preserve any administrative-license notice as a distinct record rather than treating it as the final court disposition.
• Keep the summons, warrant, release paper, and later court papers together so their dates and captions can be compared.

These categories orient the review; they do not prove what happened, resolve a statutory version, or predict a result.

This page does not ask visitors to upload records or provide a self-assessment.

Related Virginia DUI resources

Questions outside this page’s narrow job belong in dedicated resources.

• Use the regional DUI overview for the broad Virginia DUI framework and representation context.
• Use the first-offense DUI guide when the charge is the standard § 18.2-266 lane.
• Use the general DUI process guide for the arrest-to-resolution sequence.
• Use the license and VASAP guide for administrative suspension, restricted driving, interlock, and restoration chronology.
• Use the testing and refusal guide for preliminary breath testing, post-arrest chemical testing, implied-consent, and refusal issues.
• Use the field-sobriety, drug or prescription DUI, high-BAC, and stop or body-camera resources for those separate evidence and offense questions.

2026 source note and limits

Virginia’s official legislative records identify House Bill 561 as Chapter 1112, approved on May 14, 2026, with an effective date of July 1, 2026, and identify it as non-emergency legislation.

This date does not determine which statutory version applies to any particular matter.

This resource does not describe what changed before and after July 1, 2026 or make a retroactivity or savings-clause statement.

The legal propositions in this resource use cited current official Virginia statutory and legislative sources reviewed through September 28, 2026.

No independent Shepard’s or KeyCite subsequent-treatment check was performed, so this resource includes no case-law proposition.

The page remains informational and does not select governing law or provide a case-specific assessment.