What Happens in Arizona DUI Treatment? A Step-by-Step Guide to the 36 and 56-Hour Programs

If your DUI screening pointed you toward Treatment instead of Education, you're looking at more than the 16-hour course — either 36 hours or 56 hours, depending on what your screening found. Both build on the same foundation, but they go further. Here's exactly what each program includes, what the extra hours actually cover, and how the pieces fit together.

Who Gets Assigned Treatment Instead of Education

Same rule as always: your screening decides, not you. The 36-hour program is the standard recommendation when your results indicate a moderate-risk pattern — more than a first-time, low-BAC situation, but not the most intensive category. The 56-hour program is reserved for higher-risk indicators or repeat circumstances, where alcohol appears to have played a more significant role over time. Neither program is something you opt into; it's what your screening results point to.

What the 36-Hour Program Includes

The 36-Hour DUI Treatment program is made up of two components: 16-Hour DUI Education ($200) and 20-Hour DUI Treatment ($195), for $395 total. The education hours cover the same foundational material as the standalone 16-hour course — BAC, legal consequences, physiological and psychological effects. The treatment hours go further: behavioral patterns tied to drinking, coping skills, identifying personal triggers, and relapse prevention strategies. Where Education is about knowledge, Treatment is about the habits and patterns behind the DUI itself.

What the 56-Hour Program Adds

The 56-Hour DUI Treatment program includes everything in the 36-hour program, plus a third component: 20-Hour Supplemental Treatment ($200). That brings the total to 16-Hour Education ($200) + 20-Hour Treatment ($195) + 20-Hour Supplemental Treatment ($200) = $595 for 56 hours combined. The supplemental hours are the most intensive tier — designed for situations where alcohol has played a longer-term role, going further into comprehensive behavioral health work aimed at lasting change, not just meeting a compliance requirement.

How the Hours and Cost Break Down

The Format You Already Know

Treatment follows the same structure as Education: self-paced, online, with 24/7 access, led by a licensed counselor (Robin Fernandez, LIAC), and reported electronically to your court and the MVD as soon as you complete it. The completion window is longer than the 16-hour course given the additional hours — that timeline is confirmed when you enroll, so you know exactly what you're working with from day one.

Why Doing This Online Makes Sense

Thirty-six or fifty-six hours is a real time commitment, and doing it in a classroom would mean weeks of scheduled sessions built around someone else's calendar. Arizona DUI Services runs the entire program online, so you're working it into your life instead of rearranging your life around it. That matters everywhere in the state, but especially outside Phoenix and Tucson, where an in-person treatment program at this level may not exist within a reasonable drive at all.

What to Do Next

If Treatment is what your screening assigned, the components can typically be started together or built on top of the 20-hour piece if you've already begun. Either way, the sooner you start, the sooner the clock on your court or MVD requirement starts moving in the right direction.