Suspended License Information for Florida
Important Information on Suspended Licenses
- Causes of Drivers License Suspensions
- Suspended Driver's License Periods
- Checking the Status of Your Driver's License
- What Happens if I Drive with a Suspended Driving License?
- Traffic School Importance
- How to Reinstate Suspended Driver's Licenses
- Who Can Get a Hardship License?
- Duplicate Driver's License
- Suspended Driver's License Reinstatement Fees
Causes of Drivers License Suspension
In the state of Florida, there are two different kinds of drivers license suspensions. These incidents are classified as:
- Driving-related
- Non-driving-related
Furthermore, there are a handful of ways that you can be slapped with a drivers suspension notice. In terms of driving violations, you can end up with a suspended drivers license if you:
- Accrue too many points on your driving record from various driving tickets and violations.
- Fail to pay the traffic fines that you have been issued.
- Do not meet the minimum standard of vision for driving set forth by the state of Florida.
- Are caught driving under the influence (DUI).
- DUIs can also result in a revoked drivers license
- Refuse to take a chemical test.
- Refusing a test results in an automatic one-year suspension
- Subsequent refusals will come with an 18-month suspension
On the other hand, incidents that do not pertain to driving include not paying child support. The Florida court system can suspend your drivers license for this reason as well.
DMV.com Note: You will want to contact a DUI attorney or ticket attorney to limit your penalty fees and punishments.
Suspended Driving License Periods
The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is in charge of all drivers licenses, and their suspensions vary based on the offense committed:
- For not complying with a summons or paying a fine or child support, your suspension period will conclude when you go to court, pay the traffic ticket price, or pay the support
- If you have been deemed unable to drive a car safely, then the suspension lasts one year
- For vision that is inadequate, your driving license is suspended until you meet minimum Florida driver standards
- For a violation that causes serious injury or death, the suspension can last from three months to one year
You will receive a notice right before the suspension period is scheduled to begin, and if you do not receive it, you can check the status of your license on your Florida driving record. In addition, the Florida points system has its own breakdown for the removal of driving privileges:
- If you accumulate 12 points in 12 months: 30 days of driver license suspension
- If you accrue 18 points in 18 months: three months of drivers license suspension
- If you are charged with 24 points in 36 months: one year of driving license suspension
Checking the Status of Your Drivers License
If you are unsure where to go to see if your driving license is actually suspended, the easiest way to do so is to order your driving record online. Your driving record features information on your driving history, including all issuance and suspensions of licenses to drive.
What happens if I drive with a suspended driving license?
If you are caught driving with a suspended license to drive, your punishments will be increased, and can include:
- Jail time.
- Community service.
- Points on your drivers record.
- A longer suspension period.
- Higher fines.
The Importance of Florida Traffic School
Fortunately, you can prevent points from being attached to your license by attending an accredited traffic school in Florida. By taking the defensive driving course and submitting the class certificate, you will be able to keep points off your Florida drivers record and prevent your car insurance premiums from rising. However, you can only take a class:
- Once every year
- Five times every 10 years
Reinstating Suspended Drivers License
To reinstate suspended drivers license privileges, the overall process can be broken down into a few simple steps:
- Pay traffic fine
- Enroll in credible DMV traffic school (optional)
- Wait out suspension period
- Pay suspended drivers license reinstatement fee
- Pay other applicable driver-related fees, depending on reason for driving license suspension
However, certain violations do not require you to wait a fixed amount of time to reinstate revoked drivers license or suspended driving license privileges:
- If your offense was due to not paying a traffic citation, paying the fine removes the suspension
- If your violation was for not appearing in court, complying with the summons removes suspension
- If your offense was due to neglect to provide child support, suspension is removed when you do so
Nevertheless, being convicted of DUI or accumulating too many points on your Florida drivers record will result in a time-based suspension. And while FL defensive driving classes are not required for point-induced driver license suspensions, the following steps are necessary to reinstate your suspended drivers license after a DUI:
- Pay fines for driving under the influence
- Enroll in and complete an alcohol awareness course
- Get SR22 insurance
- Wait out suspension
- Pay reinstatement fees
- Pay additional alcohol-related offense fee
Additionally, DUI suspensions result in mandatory community service and can involve significant jail time.
Who can get a hardship license?
In the event that you have experienced a suspension for any of the following reasons, you will be eligible to apply for a hardship driving license:
- Getting points on your FL license
- Being a habitual traffic offender
- Driving under the influence
Keep in mind, however, that if you are convicted of DUI, you will have to take an alcohol awareness class before you can get a hardship license.
Duplicate Drivers License
There are no shortcuts when it comes to having a suspended drivers license. One common misconception is that you can obtain a duplicate driving license when your drivers license suspended. However, that is not the case. You must wait until your license suspension period is over, and complete all of the requirements in order to regain your driving privileges.
The only instances in which you can apply for a replacement are if your current license to drive is lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed.
Suspended Drivers License Reinstatement Fees
In order to fully reinstate your suspended drivers license in Florida, you must pay the following fees:
- Suspension fee: $45
- Revocation fee: $75
There are also a number of other fines associated with different driver violations, which must be paid as well:
- For not paying child support: $60
- For unpaid traffic fines, D-6 suspension fee: $60
- For alcohol- or drug-related violations: $130
- For not having insurance for car: $150