Hours to Zero BAC
How long to eliminate alcohol from your system?

You will probably be surprised to learn how much time it takes for your body to eliminate alcohol from the bloodstream even though you can raise your BAC quickly by slamming drinks. BAC goes down at a slow and predictable rate. This is because your liver can only metabolize a predictable blood alcohol concentration per hour.

The normal body will metabolize between .015 percent and .020 percent BAC per hour. We use a conservative .016 percent BAC per hour in the following charts. Some heavy drinkers may eliminate alcohol at a slightly higher rate and certain physical conditions may cause some people to metabolize alcohol at a slower rate.

The following charts will give you an idea of the number of hours it takes for women and men to reach zero BAC (no alcohol remaining in the blood stream) for a variety of body weights and different numbers of drinks.

Instructions:
1. Find the chart for women or men.
2. Find your weight along the bottom of the chart.
3. Find the amount of drinks consumed during the entire drinking episode in the left-hand column.
4. Note where the "Number of Drinks" consumed and your weight intersect. This is the number of hours to zero BAC from the time you started drinking.