The B.C. IRP guide

Know exactly what you're facing.

B.C. invented the IRP — and the province publishes exactly what one costs. The prohibition levels, the real totals, the seven-day review window: everything drivers ask after a roadside stop, in one place.

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On this page What an IRP is The prohibition levels What it really costs How a review is won Questions

First principles

The province that invented the IRP.

In 2010, British Columbia became the first province in Canada to move impaired-driving enforcement out of criminal court and onto the shoulder of the road. The Immediate Roadside Prohibition: licence gone, vehicle impounded, and penalties are issued the moment the officer serves you.

Because it's administrative, the only way to challenge it is a RoadSafetyBC review — written or oral, decided by an adjudicator, applied for within seven days. Late applications aren't accepted. It's winnable, but only on paper, and only on time.

Your seven days started when you were served. RoadSafetyBC does not accept late applications — not by a day. Find your Notice of Driving Prohibition, check the date, then call.

The prohibition levels

Every level of a B.C. prohibition, in one table.

Consequences scale with the screening result and your record on a five-year look-back — and B.C. publishes the totals. These are the provincial figures.

Level	Prohibition	Vehicle impound	The money	Also expect
12-Hour · new driversGLP drivers · zero tolerance	12 hours	—	—	Any alcohol, THC or cocaine · your N-period clock restarts · no review available
24-HourAlcohol or drugs · officer's belief	24 hours	Possible, 24 hours	Towing & storage	You can request a screening or coordination test on the spot · stays on your record · review within 7 days
Warn.05 – .079 BAC · 1st / 2nd / 3rd in 5 yrs	3 / 7 / 30 days	3 / 7 / 30 days	$200 / $300 / $400 penalty + $250 reinstatement — provincial totals $600 / $780 / $1,330	Program referrals possible on repeats
Fail · or refusal.08+ BAC · or refusing a sample	90 days	30 days, mandatory	$500 penalty + $250 reinstatement — provincial total $1,430+	Responsible Driver Program & interlock referrals† · police can instead pursue criminal charges
90-day ADPThe criminal-track prohibition	90 days	Per the charge	Driver Risk Premium follows†	Issued for .08+, prescribed drug levels, or refusal — while the criminal case proceeds separately in court

Source: Province of British Columbia (RoadSafetyBC), gov.bc.ca, updated June 2026. Totals exclude taxes and program fees and may be out-of-date or inaccurate.

Beyond the schedule

What the table doesn't show.

Your job

No licence can mean finding alternative methods of commute. Ninety days off the road is an employment problem, not an inconvenience.

Your insurance

A prohibition may surface on your driving record and follow you long after the ninety days end.

The programs

The Responsible Driver Program is not free and neither is the ignition interlock system.

The tow yard

Storage bills from the moment it's hooked — the province's own estimate starts at $680 for a Fail, and the owner pays either way.

The playbook

How a review can be won.

RoadSafetyBC adjudicators don't re-live your evening — they review the record. Reviews succeed when the paperwork doesn't hold up. Four places we look first:

The device

Approved screening devices need current calibration and proper operation. Missing records and expired checks can end cases.

The testing procedure

How the roadside test was conducted, on what device, and whether the required steps were followed. Procedure matters in these cases — and it's one of the first things we review.

The service & the Notice

Seven days only works when the Notice is right. Defects in what you were served, how, and when can sink a prohibition on their own.

The narrative

The officer's report has to add up. Gaps, inconsistencies and boilerplate are exactly what an adjudicator notices.

Call today

Free, same or next-day read of your Notice — and an honest answer.

We build

Grounds gathered, disclosure requested, the written review drafted.

We file inside seven days

Written or oral — argued to RoadSafetyBC with one goal: your licence.

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Good to know

Before you call — the guide questions.

Is an IRP the same as a criminal DUI?

No. An IRP is administrative — no criminal charge, no court, decided on the record by RoadSafetyBC. But on a Fail, police can instead — or additionally, through the ADP route — pursue criminal charges. If that happens, you need defence counsel on both tracks. That's us.

How long do I have to apply for a review?

Seven days from the date you were served — and RoadSafetyBC does not accept late applications. Building a proper review takes real time inside that week, so call the day you're served if you can.

What actually gets reviewed?

The record: the officer's report, the device used and its records, how the testing was carried out, and the Notice you were served. An adjudicator weighs that paperwork — which is why what's in it, and what's missing from it, decides these cases.

Do I have to appear at the review?

Reviews are written or oral — oral hearings happen by phone, not in a courtroom, and counsel handles it. Either way, the record we file is what decides it.

What if I already missed the seven days?

RoadSafetyBC doesn't accept late review applications, but call anyway. If your matter is on the criminal track, that fight has its own timelines where acting fast still matters.

Can I drive at all during the prohibition?

No — driving while prohibited is its own offence, and it torpedoes everything else. Ninety days has an end date. Let's fight to make it zero.

The next move is one call

You've read enough to know it's fightable.

(604) 210-0151

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