The 374-member sample consisted of first-time and repeat drunk-driving offenders. The number of DSM-III-R criteria was measured by a self-administered questionnaire. The preoccupation-with-alcohol scale (PAS) was used; this is appropriate, since a preoccupation with alcohol is closely related to drink-seeking behavior and a compulsion to drink, which are major tenets of the alcohol dependence syndrome. Other measures used were the severity of psychiatric symptoms, based on five dimensions of the SCL-90-R; level of interpersonal competence; age at first drink; age first drunk; amount spent per week on alcohol; drunk-driving offender status; family history of alcohol problems; and a history of severe cuts or burns since age 18. All of the measures show statistically significant relationships that indicate alcohol-dependence severity increases with the number of criteria present. The strong relationships between the number of criteria and the PAS and psychiatric symptoms provide substantial support for using the number of dependence criteria as a measure of severity. The clinical implication is that the number of criteria provides an objective measure of dependence severity that can be used for matching drunk-driving offenders with the level of treatment. 25 references, 1 table, and 1 figure