{"id":4436,"date":"2015-02-20T22:20:12","date_gmt":"2015-02-20T22:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/powersmccartan.wpengine.com\/?p=4436"},"modified":"2025-11-21T18:49:55","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T23:49:55","slug":"provisional-dwi-in-nc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/provisional-dwi-in-nc\/","title":{"rendered":"Provisional DWI in NC"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Frequently Asked Questions About Underage DUI in North Carolina<\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-15960 lazyload\" src=\"\/jshared\/img\/icons\/spinner.svg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Underage-DWI-Charges-in-Charlotte-300x168.webp\" alt=\"Image representing a Charlotte, North Carolina judge in a courtroom setting during an underage DUI case, illustrating how courts review evidence in 20-138.3 prosecutions\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Underage-DWI-Charges-in-Charlotte-300x168.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Underage-DWI-Charges-in-Charlotte-1024x574.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Underage-DWI-Charges-in-Charlotte-768x431.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Underage-DWI-Charges-in-Charlotte-1000x561.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Underage-DWI-Charges-in-Charlotte-214x120.webp 214w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Underage-DWI-Charges-in-Charlotte.webp 1312w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>If you are under 21 and charged with driving after consuming alcohol, you are likely facing what most people call &#8220;Underage DUI&#8221; pursuant to\u00a0 N.C.G.S. 20-138.3. The statute uses more formal language by describing the offense as driving by a person less than 21 years old after consuming alcohol or drugs. That formal title rarely appears in everyday conversation, which is why most people searching for information use terms like underage DUI, underage DWI, or provisional DWI.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The FAQs below reflect the questions people and their parents ask when facing these charges in Charlotte and across North Carolina. A fair amount of anecdotal information about underage DUI in North Carolina is inaccurate or incomplete, and the assumptions people bring to these cases too often create confusion. At the <a href=\"https:\/\/carolinaattorneys.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Powers Law Firm<\/a>, Bill Powers has helped clients understand and defend N.C.G.S. 20-138.3 charges for decades. The answers below come from those real conversations and give you a clearer picture of what these cases actually involve.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read_more_link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/provisional-dwi-in-nc\/\"  title=\"Continue Reading Provisional DWI in NC\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Frequently Asked Questions About Underage DUI in North Carolina If you are under 21 and charged with driving after consuming alcohol, you are likely facing what most people call &#8220;Underage DUI&#8221; pursuant to\u00a0 N.C.G.S. 20-138.3. The statute uses more formal language by describing the offense as driving by a person less than 21 years old [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[428,2561,2578,2569,2568,2563,2567,2562,2579,2177,2580,2571,2572,2574,2560,2576,2565,2566,1948,2573,2564,2577,2575,2570,2559],"class_list":["post-4436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-criminal-defense","tag-charlotte-criminal-defense-attorney","tag-charlotte-dui-defense","tag-charlotte-teen-dui-charges","tag-dl-123-insurance-form-nc","tag-dmv-one-year-revocation","tag-driving-after-consuming-21","tag-ec-ir-ii-testing-nc","tag-mecklenburg-county-courtroom-1130","tag-mecklenburg-county-criminal-court","tag-n-c-g-s-20-138-3","tag-nc-administrative-revocation","tag-nc-dwi-lawyer-bill-powers","tag-nc-misdemeanor-sentencing-grid","tag-nc-zero-alcohol-requirements","tag-nc-zero-tolerance-law","tag-north-carolina-drugged-driving-law","tag-north-carolina-implied-consent","tag-pbt-admissibility-nc","tag-powers-law-firm-pa","tag-prayer-for-judgment-continued","tag-provisional-dwi-nc","tag-thc-metabolites-nc-dui","tag-under-21-driving-charge","tag-underage-dui-license-consequences","tag-underage-dui-north-carolina"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Provisional DWI in NC &#8212; Underage DUI Charges in Charlotte<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Underage DUI in North Carolina carries real court and DMV consequences. Learn what to expect, how the laws work, and why legal help matters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/provisional-dwi-in-nc\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Provisional DWI in NC &#8212; Underage DUI Charges in Charlotte\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Underage DUI in North Carolina carries real court and DMV consequences. Learn what to expect, how the laws work, and why legal help matters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Underage-DUI-Charges-in-Charlotte.webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carolina Attorneys\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"23 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Provisional DWI in NC &#8212; Underage DUI Charges in Charlotte","description":"Underage DUI in North Carolina carries real court and DMV consequences. 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