By JUSTIN ENRIQUEZ, US ASSISTANT SHOWBIZ EDITOR

Published: 09:41 EST, 5 March 2026 | Updated: 10:03 EST, 5 March 2026

Britney Spears has been arrested for DUI in California.

The Daily Mail has learned that the 44-year-old pop star was taken into custody by California Highway Patrol at 9:30 pm on Wednesday night in Ventura County.

The singer – who was recently seen breaking the law behind-the-wheel – has since been released according to Ventura County Sheriff records as of Thursday morning.

Spears is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, May 4.

Daily Mail has reached out Spears’ representatives and law enforcement sources for comment and has yet to hear back.

A DUI charge in California can result in very severe consequences.

When a person gets a DUI in California they have their driver’s license automatically suspended.

Britney Spears has been arrested for DUI in California 

Just last month, Spears was spotted behind the wheel of her Mercedes SUV appearing to break the law in LA with her cell phone pressed to her face

There is also potential jail time, a hefty fine of over $1,000 and mandatory DUI education programs.

A first offense typically involves three to five years of probation, 6-month license suspension and about six months of school.

Just last month, Spears was spotted behind the wheel of her Mercedes SUV appearing to break the law with her cell phone pressed to her face.

On February 12, she was photographed taking a spin around Los Angeles while appearing to be talking on the phone, which is illegal in California under the ‘No Touch’ law (Vehicle Code 23123.5).

It was, however, not an isolated incident for Spears, who, in recent months, was filmed swerving into the wrong lane on a highway after a night out. At the time, sources feared she was ‘spiraling’ amid the release of her ex-husband Kevin Federline’s memoir. 

Her history with the police also includes she was cited for a hit-and-run (misdemeanor) after hitting a parked car in 2007; she was cited for driving without a valid California license in 2008; and law enforcement visited her home regarding a video involving knives, but no charges were filed, in 2023. 

Developing story, updates to come… 

Britney Spears has quietly cashed in on her pop legacy, selling off the rights to her iconic music catalog in a blockbuster deal.

The 44-year-old pop superstar put pen to paper on a sweeping agreement that hands over her ownership stake in decades of chart-topping hits – including …Baby One More Time and Toxic.

Legal documents show the catalog was sold to music publishing powerhouse Primary Wave, though the exact price tag has not been disclosed, TMZ reported on Tuesday.

The outlet’s sources described the transaction as a ‘landmark deal,’ with estimates placing it in the same league as Justin Bieber’s reported $200 million catalog sale.

The records reveal Britney signed off on the agreement on Dec. 30 – and the insider said she’s happy with the decision and celebrating by ‘spending time with her kids.’

Daily Mail has not received a response to its request for comment from reps for Spears.

Britney Spearshas quietly cashed in on her pop legacy, selling off the rights to her iconic music catalog in a blockbuster deal; (pictured 2002)

The 44-year-old pop superstar put pen to paper on a sweeping agreement that hands over her ownership stake in decades of chart-topping hits – including …Baby One More Time and Toxic

Spears shares her two sons, Sean, 18, and Jayden, 17, with ex-husband Kevin Federline, whom she was married to for just under three years before their 2007 split. 

The pop princess now joins a growing wave of superstar artists cashing in on their catalogs, following major names like Bieber, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Shakira, KISS, Sting and Phil Collins. 

The trend has exploded in recent years as legacy acts lock in massive payouts for their music rights. 

Notably, Stevie Nicks sold an 80 percent stake in her publishing catalog to Primary Wave in 2020, with her copyrights reportedly valued at around $100 million at the time.

Spears’ catalog is widely regarded as one of the most valuable in modern pop, built on a hitmaking run that began with her 1999 debut.

Since 1999’s Baby One More Time, which sold over 10 million copies worldwide and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, she has racked up 11 No. 1 singles, more than 30 Top 10 hits, and nine studio albums. 

Hits like Toxic, Oops!… I Did It Again, Gimme More, Circus, and Womanizer have all gone multi-platinum, with cumulative album sales exceeding 100 million worldwide.

Her songs have earned multiple Grammy nominations, MTV Video Music Awards, and Billboard Music Awards, and they continue to generate massive streaming revenue, with billions of streams across Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. 

Legal documents show the catalog was sold to music publishing powerhouse Primary Wave, though the exact price tag has not been disclosed, TMZ reported on Tuesday

The outlet’s sources described the transaction as a ‘landmark deal,’ with estimates placing it in the same league as Justin Bieber’s reported $200 million catalog sale; (pictured in 2001)

Since 1999’s Baby One More Time, which sold over 10 million copies worldwide and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, she has racked up 11 No. 1 singles, more than 30 Top 10 hits, and nine studio albums

In addition, her tracks are in constant rotation on radio, film, commercials, and TikTok trends, giving the catalog long-term commercial earning power that few artists can match. 

The catalog sale comes as the singer has reignited tensions with her family, taking fresh aim at those closest to her amid the lingering fallout from her conservatorship battle. 

Spears claimed she is ‘scared’ of her family and ‘lucky to be alive’ in a bombshell new social media post.

In a bombshell social media post, the pop superstar claimed she is ‘scared’ of her family and ‘lucky to be alive.’

Four years after ending her 13-year conservatorship, largely controlled by her father Jamie Spears, 73, Britney slammed her relatives for ‘isolating’ her and insisted they will ‘never take responsibility’ for their actions.

‘I’m incredibly lucky to even be alive with how my family treated me once in my life and now I’m scared of them,’ the singer wrote in a lengthy caption.

‘They will never take responsibility for what they did,’ she wrote, adding, ‘We can forgive as people but u don’t ever forget.’ 

Spears also revealed her latest health setback, explaining she hasn’t been able to dance after breaking her toe twice – just four months after suffering a ‘horrible’ leg injury.