Editorial Policy
People find this site under a court deadline, and a wrong answer here can cost someone a license. This page explains how we research, how we handle uncertainty, and why money never moves a ranking.
The ⚠ rule
Every figure on this site is either sourced or flagged. When we can trace a requirement, duration, or fee to a state agency page or statute, we cite it. When we can’t — because the state doesn’t publish it, or the practice varies by county, or a provider won’t quote publicly — we mark it with ⚠ and say what we don’t know.
How a state page gets built
- Start at the state’s own DMV / DPS / licensing agency page for ignition interlock requirements.
- Trace the rule to its statute or administrative code section and cite the section number.
- Cross-check the state’s official list of certified device providers — we only list providers the state approves.
- Gather cost data from provider quotes and published fee schedules, presented as ranges, never as a promised price.
- Use the state’s own vocabulary (DWI in Texas, OWI in Wisconsin, OVI in Ohio, BAIID in Illinois) so the page matches what readers and courts actually say.
- Flag every unverified item with ⚠, publish the source list, and record the verification date.
Sources we use, in order
| 1. Primary | State statutes, administrative codes, and DMV/DPS/licensing agency pages and forms. |
| 2. Official secondary | State court websites, county clerk instructions, NHTSA and state highway-safety office publications. |
| 3. Provider data | Certified providers’ published pricing, service-center lists, and quotes — labeled as provider-supplied. |
| 4. Not accepted alone | Other comparison sites, forums, AI-generated summaries, or a provider’s marketing claim about the law. These can point us at a source; they can’t be the source. |
Updates and corrections
State pages are reviewed on a quarterly cycle, and immediately when we learn of a change to a statute, fee, or provider’s certification status. The “Updated” date on a page changes only when we actually re-verified it — we don’t refresh dates for SEO.
If we publish something wrong, we correct it and note the change. Send corrections with the page URL and an official source to corrections@ignition-interlock-compare.com; these go to the front of the queue.
How rankings and recommendations work
Provider comparisons are based on state certification, coverage and service-center density, total cost over a realistic term (install + monthly + calibration + removal + state fees — not the teaser monthly rate), contract and billing transparency, and documented customer-service patterns.
| Can’t buy | A ranking, a rating, a “best for” pick, a comparison winner, or the removal of a criticism. |
| Can affect | Whether a call button appears next to a provider — we can only route calls to companies we have a referral relationship with. |
| Always disclosed | Compensation is disclosed on every page and explained in full in our advertising disclosure. |
| Named regardless | If a state approves a provider we earn nothing from, we still list it, because leaving it out would make the page wrong. |
Tone: no moralizing
We don’t lecture readers about drinking and driving. People arriving here have already been through the court system; they need logistics, cost, and a phone number. We write in plain language, avoid scare tactics, and never use fear to push a call.
What we won’t publish
- Anything that helps a person tamper with, bypass, or trick an interlock device.
- A claim that a device is “required in all cases” — or not required — without a source.
- Guaranteed prices, guaranteed outcomes, or promises about what a judge will do.
- Fabricated reviews, invented statistics, or provider marketing copy presented as our research.
Who writes and reviews
⚠ Fill this in before launch. Name the author and any subject-matter reviewer, with relevant background and a way to contact them. In a legal-adjacent niche, an unnamed author undercuts both reader trust and search performance. See About us.