$230 phone appointment.
Get some direction and peace of mind today
Available until 9pm
Melanie Coxon, 30+ years at the bar, tells you the realistic sentence, what happens to your licence, and what it costs from there. No lectures, no judgement.
Or text us on 021 911 133 and we'll ring you backGoogle reviews
We have the legal Rubik's cube for you staying out of jail.
Drink driving isn't one situation. The price and the process are different for each.
Under 800 mcg, most first charges end in a fine and a six-month disqualification. The job is to keep it as short as the law allows, and get your work licence paperwork moving while the 28-day stand-down runs.
$230 first appointment
Call 021 911 133 →A second charge within five years usually means an alcohol interlock: you blow into the vehicle every time you drive, but you drive. Same if you blew over 800 on a first charge. One call tells you how it works.
$230 first appointment
Call 021 911 133 →On a third, the law presumes prison. It can be rebutted, and there's a formula: the CADS course, the AA meetings, the references, the community work. You do your bit, we do ours.
$2,875, in 5 × $575
Call 021 911 133 →A section 106 discharge means no conviction is recorded at all. It's granted where a conviction would cost you far more than the offending deserves. Each one's on its own merits, and a $230 phone appointment tells you whether yours has legs.
$230 to find out
Discharge without conviction →A limited licence lets you drive under conditions, usually so you can keep your job. You can't drive during the 28-day suspension, but ring on day one, not day 27: the paperwork can be done while the clock runs.
$920 fixed, 2 × $460, plus the filing fee
Work / limited licences →That's normal. Ring, tell us the charge, the reading and your court date, and we'll tell you which of these you're in.
One call untangles it
Call 021 911 133 →One too many drink-drive convictions? Melanie Coxon has the formula.
One phone appointment with Melanie, for however long it takes.
You come off it knowing the sentence you're realistically looking at, what happens to your licence, which application is worth making, and what it costs from there. Most firms want a couple of grand up front before they start. We want $230.
After that, a fixed price in writing before any further work starts. Everything in the table can be paid off in instalments.
The wrap-up fee is the part you only pay if you get the result. If the application doesn't succeed, it's never charged.
Paid to the court and to NZTA, separate from our legal fee. Current as at August 2026. Check the current court fees →
Plead at your first appearance and you can be convicted and sentenced on the spot. Once a conviction is entered, a section 106 discharge is gone for good. One phone call first keeps every option open.
For a first or second charge, prison isn't the realistic outcome, whatever a frightened search at 2am told you. What's at stake is your licence, your record and how long the disqualification runs.
On a third or subsequent charge the law presumes imprisonment. That's the half people hear. The other half: it can be rebutted. Do the CADS course, go to the AA meetings, get the references, do the community work, and Melanie puts it to the judge properly. You do your bit, we'll do ours.
Melanie Coxon has practised traffic and criminal law in New Zealand for 30+ years. We're straight shooters: a realistic answer, not a comforting one, and you deal with her directly the whole way.
Whether it's your first time or you're on a first-name basis with the court staff, we're not here to judge. We're here to sort it and keep you moving forward.
First or second charge: very unlikely. Third or subsequent: a real risk, and we won't pretend otherwise. But there's a formula, and we know it because we've run it many times. The bottom line here is we know how to keep you out of jail! What we can promise is a straight answer: once we've read your file, you'll know the realistic range.
Over 400 mcg of breath or 80 mg of blood, disqualification is mandatory on conviction; the court only chooses how long. A limited licence can often keep you driving for work during it. A section 106 discharge means no conviction and no disqualification at all.
Drivers 20 and over: 250 mcg of alcohol per litre of breath, or 50 mg per 100 ml of blood. Under 20: zero. Police check this with a roadside breath screening test first; if that's over the limit, the evidential breath or blood test at the station is what any charge is actually based on.
Over the limit but no more than 400 mcg is an infringement: a fine and demerit points, no court. Over 400 mcg of breath, or 80 mg of blood, is a criminal charge, and this is the page for it. At the higher readings the police usually also suspend your licence at the roadside for 28 days. You can't drive during it, but you can ring us on day one, and you should.
For the appointment, no: it's a phone call, from anywhere in New Zealand. The court work happens at the Auckland courts — North Shore, Manukau, wherever you are. We'll tell you at the first appointment what that means for you.
Yes. Everything on this page can be paid in instalments; that's why the bigger fees are quoted as five payments of $575. If money is what's stopping you ringing, ring and say so. On a low income you may qualify for legal aid, and there's a duty lawyer free at the District Court on the day. We'll tell you if that's your better option.
One phone appointment: $230, usually the same day. You'll come off it knowing what you're facing, your options, and the cost. Because worrying about this at 2am won't help.
Or text us on 021 911 133 and we'll ring you backMon–Fri 9am–9pm · Sat 2pm–6pm
No credit, free call 0800 OK2DRIVE (0800 6523 7483)