{"id":1797,"date":"2026-03-29T12:51:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T16:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baronedefensefirm.com\/blog\/?p=1797"},"modified":"2026-03-29T14:04:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T18:04:44","slug":"should-i-refuse-the-breath-test-if-stopped-for-dui-in-michigan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baronedefensefirm.com\/blog\/should-i-refuse-the-breath-test-if-stopped-for-dui-in-michigan\/","title":{"rendered":"Should I Refuse the Breath Test If Stopped for DUI in Michigan?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Michigan breath test refusal is not a single decision. It is two separate questions with two separate answers, because Michigan law treats the roadside preliminary breath test and the evidentiary breath test at the police station as fundamentally different instruments governed by different statutes with different consequences for refusal. Understanding that distinction is the most important thing a Michigan driver can know before they are ever put in the position of having to decide.<\/p>\n

What Is the Difference Between the PBT and the Evidentiary Breath Test in a Michigan DUI?<\/h2>\n

Michigan law recognizes two categories of breath test in a DUI investigation. The first is the preliminary breath test<\/a>, or PBT, a small handheld device an officer asks you to blow into at the roadside before any arrest has been made. The second is the evidentiary breath test, administered on the Intoxilyzer 9000<\/a> at the police station after you have been placed under arrest.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading \u203a<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The question of whether to refuse a breath test in a Michigan DUI investigation has a different answer depending on which test the officer is asking you to take. Refusing the roadside preliminary breath test and refusing the evidentiary breath test at the police station are governed by entirely different laws with entirely different consequences, and most people facing this decision do not know the difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,13,25,10,7,6,27],"tags":[144,153,156,137,155,154],"class_list":["post-1797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blood-testing","category-breath-testing","category-dui","category-dui-defense","category-dui-stops","category-dui-trials","category-owi","tag-drunk-driving-michigan","tag-implied-consent-michigan","tag-michigan-breath-test-refusal","tag-michigan-dui-lawyer","tag-michigan-owi-defense","tag-pbt-refusal-michigan"],"yoast_head":"\nMichigan Breath Test Refusal | PBT vs. Evidentiary Test<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Michigan breath test refusal carries different consequences depending on which test you are asked to take. Here is why the distinction mat\" \/>\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.baronedefensefirm.com\/blog\/should-i-refuse-the-breath-test-if-stopped-for-dui-in-michigan\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Michigan Breath Test Refusal | PBT vs. Evidentiary Test\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"A Michigan breath test refusal carries different consequences depending on which test you are asked to take. 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