Traffic Citations or Court Suspensions

Please visit our Traffic Citations webpage for information on citations received in Florida.

Note: Traffic citations or court suspensions are not eligible to be considered for a hardship license.

Failure to Pay a Fine

A driver license will be suspended indefinitely if the driver fails to pay a traffic fine. To clear the suspension, contact the traffic court in the county where the traffic citation was issued and satisfy the citation requirements; some traffic courts allow payment for the traffic citation online via credit card.

Once the court requirements have been met, the county will update the department electronically with the clearance information.  You may then present a reinstatement fee, if applicable, to any Florida driver license service center or call 850-617-3000 to pay the reinstatement fee over the phone.

You may obtain the suspending citation information online or check the status of your clearance by using our Online Driver License Check.

Failure to Comply with or Appear at a Traffic Summons

A driver license will be suspended indefinitely if the driver fails to comply with or appear at a traffic summons. To clear the suspension, contact the traffic court in the county where the traffic summons was issued and satisfy the court requirements.

Once the court requirements have been met, the county will update the department electronically with the clearance information.  You may then present a reinstatement fee, if applicable, to any Florida driver license service center or call 850-617-3000 to pay the reinstatement fee over the phone.

You may obtain the suspending citation information online or check the status of your clearance by using our Online Driver License Check.

Failure to Complete Driver Improvement School

A driver license will be suspended indefinitely if the driver fails to complete a court-ordered driver improvement school, or if a school election was made for a citation but the driver did not or was not eligible to attend. To clear the suspension, contact the traffic court in the county where the traffic summons was issued and satisfy the court requirements.

Once the court requirements have been met, the county will update the department electronically with the clearance information.  You may then present a reinstatement fee, if applicable, to any Florida driver license service center or call 850-617-3000 to pay the reinstatement fee over the phone.

You may obtain the suspending citation information online or check the status of your clearance by using our Online Driver License Check.

Clearing a Traffic Citation Received in Another State

Any unpaid citation reported by another state will result in the suspension of a Florida driver license. To clear the suspension, obtain a paid receipt with the court seal of the county where the citation was received and present proof of the satisfaction along with a reinstatement fee, if applicable, to any Florida driver license service center.

For questions regarding your out of state citation you will need to contact the state and/or county in which the citation was received.  Other states’ contact information may be found here.

You may also send the proof of satisfaction and reinstatement fees by mail to:

The Bureau of Motorist Compliance
P.O. Box 5775
Tallahassee, Florida 32314-5775

Check or money orders should be made payable to the Division of Motorist Services.  Please include your Florida driver record number.  Allow ten business days for processing.

You may obtain the suspending citation information by using our Online Driver License Check.

Clearing a Court Financial Obligation

A driver license will be suspended indefinitely if a person fails to pay a court financial obligation related to certain criminal offenses. To clear the suspension, contact the court in the county where the suspension was issued and satisfy the court requirements.

You may then present proof of satisfaction in the form of an affidavit within 30 days, along with all applicable reinstatement fees, to any Florida driver license service center. (Additional suspensions may require additional clearance requirements).

Out-of-state residents may send the affidavit and reinstatement fee to:

The Bureau of Motorist Compliance
P.O. Box 5775
Tallahassee, Florida 32314-5775

Check or money orders should be made payable to the Division of Motorist Services.  Please include your Florida driver record number.  Allow ten business days for processing.

You may obtain the court suspension information online or check the status of your driver license by using our Online Driver License Check.